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Although new studies have demonstrated that treatment is possible after the age of seven, eyeglasses and drops are no longer sufficient. Vision therapy is required, and normally this vision therapy is relatively extensive. Eye glasses, contact lenses and other corrective eyewear are unable to correct the vision loss from the eye with amblyopia so this vision therapy treatment is usually the only option for adults who wish to restore vision in the lazy eye.

Vision therapy involves using different procedures on the eyes to help the brain better process signals sent by the eyes. Special computer devices, including therapeutic lenses, filters, and prisons, may be used to help to train the lazy eye. Typically, extensive repetition is required.

Most people have heard of a lazy eye before, however most people do not fully understand what a lazy eye actually is. The correct term for a lazy eye is actually amblyopia. This is a condition that is caused by the brain not translating the correct visual information that an eye is trying to transmit. Many people have often mistaken a lazy eye for a different condition known as strabismus. Strabismus is the condition in which one of the eyes seems to be lazy. It does not follow the other eye at the same time and often seems unfocused or doing its own thing. This is why many people have given the term lazy eye to the wrong medical condition.

The reason amblyopia is known as lazy eye is because the information from one eye is not making it to the brain. Therefore it is known as being lazy. Amblyopia is not a condition that can be treated with glasses or contact lenses, however when detected early on in childhood it can be remedied.

There are a few factors that can contribute to the development of amblyopia. If a child is born with eyes that are of two different prescriptions then the brain may choose to see only that of the stronger eye, therefore eliminating the vision from the lazy eye and causing the amblyopia to worsen over time. Also the condition mention above called strabismus can cause amblyopia. If one of the eyes is constantly out of focus or lagging behind, the brain may ignore what that eye is doing altogether. Other times a drooping eyelid that blocks some of the vision or a cataract or other form of vision impairment can also result in amblyopia.

Luckily if caught early enough there are things that can be done to strengthen the vision in the weaker of the two eyes. If the cause of the vision impairment is due to a drooping eyelid then the eyelid may need to be fixed surgically to allow for better vision. If the underlying cause is something that can be remedied then that is always the first step. The next step involves forcing the weaker of the two eyes to become stronger. This is done by blocking the vision in the stronger eye and making the weaker eye do all the perceiving. This can be done with an eye patch over the stronger eye or with eye drops that cause the stronger eye to become blurry for a few hours a day. This will not weaken the stronger eye but will however give the weaker eye a chance to take over and catch up to the stronger eye.

There are currently many ways to treat amblyopia. The most common of which is to prescribe spectacles, or to patch the unaffected eye and force the amblyopic eyes to work.

With spectacle prescription, we aim to assist the affected eye to see clearer, thus attempting to rekindle the development of the affected visual neuro-pathway. Similarly, when the patient patch their good eye, they are forcing the affected eye to be left with no choice but to see and develop. These method are often sufficient, especially if the patient is discovered early and treatment before the age of 5.

However, there would be cases when this two treatment is not effective. Or sometimes, the child refuses to patch due to social insecurity or skin sensitivity; thus hampering the treatment process. This delay worsen the treatment process as when the patient grows, amblyopia becomes more difficult to treat as previously explained.