What are childhood cockeye and lazy eye?

Cockeye (cross-eye) disorder is caused by the unsystematic development of the muscles that move the eye and is often accompanied by farsightedness. To accommodate this problem and prevent blurred vision, the child's brain disconnects the weaker eye from the visual pathway by shifting the axis of the weaker eye a few degrees.

Cockeye disorder can be treated by covering the stronger eye with a patch for a period of time to require the weaker eye to get stronger. Without this treatment, the stronger eye will get stronger while the weaker get progressively weaker. If the two eyes cannot work together in harmony, spatial vision will fail to develop and the weak eye will become “lazy.” The lazy eye is not anatomically malformed, but it will not see a sharp picture even with the aid of glasses.

The diagnosis of a lazy eye requires the cooperation of the child, and therefore it should only be attempted after the age of three.

In the worst-case scenario, surgery can make the muscles of the strong eye weaker and that will cause the weaker eye to adapt and become stronger.