King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital in Riyadh explained the causes that lead to functional lazy eye and how to prevent and treat it.
The hospital stated that functional lazy eye is one of the common eye diseases in children and it occurs when the image received by the brain from one eye is weaker than the other eye, and therefore it receives the image from the stronger eye, ignoring the image from the weak eye.
He noted that the causes of the disease include strabismus and refractive defects (myopia, farsightedness, astigmatism), as well as posterior tamponade and eyelid drooping, explaining that treatment requires covering the healthy eye for certain hours a day determined by the doctor.
He pointed out that the treatment includes the use of some drops, such as atropine, which dilate the pupils of the stronger eye, and then surgical intervention in the event the doctor discovers the presence of a disease such as congenital tamponade or eyelid drooping, as well as the use of eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct refractive defects.
