FAQ & Answers
What’s the difference between lazy eye and ptosis?
- Often mistakenly used interchangeably, true lazy eye and ptosis are two very different conditions. Lazy eye, or amblyopia, is a vision development disorder that occurs when one eye doesn’t develop normal vision acuity. Because the brain favors the stronger eye, this leads to reduced vision in the weaker eye, and it actually drift or look misaligned. Treatments for lazy eye include glasses, patching, vision therapy, medicated eye drops, and surgery. Lazy eye may make the eyes appear asymmetrical, but this is caused by the eye, not eyelid, position.
- Ptosis refers to the actual lowering of the upper eyelid margin–the edge where your eyelashes are. Unlike lazy eye, ptosis can affect one or both eyes and is caused by a weakness or dysfunction of the levator muscle or tendon that is responsible for lifting the upper eyelid.
- Lazy eye affects vision and ptosis affects eyelid position.
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