Amblyopia, also called lazy eye, is a disorder of sight due to the eye and brain not being in sync and not working well together. It results in decreased vision in an eye that otherwise appears normal. This disorder is the most common cause of decreased vision in a single eye, among children and younger adults.
Amblyopia can be caused by any condition that interferes with focusing during early childhood. This could be poor alignment of the eyes, one of the eyes being irregularly shaped such that focusing becomes difficult, one eye being more nearsighted or farsighted than the other, or even clouding of the lens of an eye. After the underlying cause is fixed, vision is not restored right away as the mechanism also involves the brain. Amblyopia can be difficult to detect and therefore vision testing is recommended for all children around the ages of four to five to ensure that all is well as far as sight is concerned.
Cause of Amblyopia
Amblyopia is mostly caused when the brain favors one eye and refuses to use the other. Simply stated, it is a dysfunction of the brain which blocks vision from one eye because it can’t use the two eyes together. Because one eye is “turned off” clear vision does not develop in the lazy eye. Amblyopia affects 2 to 3 percent of the population. Though Home Remedies like honey drops and clarified butter are sometimes employed, it is suggested that a proper evaluation at an expert Ayurvedic centre be first done to ensure proper treatment. According to Ayurveda, an increased vata dosha results in defect of dhatus. Hence dhatus (eye tissue) are either under developed or over developed resulting in reduced power of focusing of one eye. This phenomenon generally occurs during pregnancy or in early childhood age. The target of treatment is to balance the vata dosha and hence dhatu poshan resulting in normal function of eye. Balanced diet, eye exercise, Ayurvedic medicine and netra kriya kalpas (tharpana etc) are potent enough to correct this pathology resulting in improved vision.
Itoozhi Ayurveda specializes in treatment of Eye Disorders and offers expert advice.
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