Children who screen positive for amblyopia, reduced vision in one eye, before age 2 appear to have better visual outcomes than those whose vision problems are detected during screenings between ages 2 and 4, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Children with amblyopia (commonly known as lazy eye) need only wear an eye patch for three to four hours a day for 12 weeks to improve vision, say researchers in a study published on bmj.com today.