Symptoms

Some children with amblyopia have an eye that wanders or does not move with the other eye. This is sometimes called "lazy eye." But in many children amblyopia is hard to detect. Signs that could point to amblyopia or a condition that raises the risk for amblyopia include:

• Eyes that do not move together in the same direction.
• Eyes that do not fix on the same point.
• Crying or complaining when one eye is covered.
• Squinting or tilting the head up, down, or sideways to look at something.
• Cloudiness in the black center of the eye (cataract).
• An upper eyelid that droops and covers most of the eye (ptosis).

Parents may not be able to tell whether a child has a vision problem. There may be no warning signs, and young children may not complain about poor vision. Most doctors recommend eye exams for children before they start school.