article_snippet: Alicia has suffered from an impairment in Alicia left eye since Alicia was two and is also extremely short sighted and is only able to see about a metre in front of Alicia due to the condition termed 'lazy eye'.
article_snippet: Specialists at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, have warned the family that if her right eye has not improved by the time Alicia is eight-years-old, the six-year-old 'pirate girl will be 'stuck' with that level of vision for the rest of the six-year-old 'pirate girl life.
article_snippet: The childhood condition amblyopia, or more commonly known as a 'lazy eye', occurs when the vision in an eye doesn't develop properly.
article_snippet: This usually means that the child can see less clearly out of one eye and relies more on the 'good' eye.
article_snippet: David Allamby, a leading London-based laser eye surgeon, explained the condition develops when the brain connections responsible for vision are not made properly. '
article_snippet: You need good vision in each eye to develop clear vision,' David Allamby, a leading London-based laser eye surgeon said. '
article_snippet: That develops during the first six or seven years of life.
article_snippet: The occipital lobe at the back of the brain processes visual imagery and the brain learns to see by getting clear images from the retina and through the optic nerve. '
article_snippet: That process is learned over time and if anything interrupts that, such as a squint, the eye can't see as well as the other and the brain doesn't get the image the brain needs to process clear vision. '
article_snippet: Having a lazy eye is like having a low megapixel camera - it's not well defined.
article_snippet: Eye patches increases the number of 'megapixels'. '
article_snippet: The earlier it's noticed the more effective the treatment can be, so if anyone notices a turn in the eye or the child not paying attention or poor hand eye co-ordination anyone notices a turn in the eye or the child not paying attention or poor hand eye co-ordination should make a visit to the opticians.