The Difference Between “Amblyopia” and “Low Vision”

While talking with patients, I realized that “amblyopia” and “low vision” have different medical and social meanings.

◯ Amblyopia
A condition in which the development of visual acuity and binocular function stops because, in infancy and early childhood when vision is developing, the child was unable to see clearly for some reason.
Causes:
Refractive error (hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism), strabismus, form deprivation (congenital cataract, corneal opacity, ptosis, eye patching, etc.)
Childhood amblyopia can be detected early
Amblyopia (Japanese Ophthalmological Society website)

◯ Low vision: low vision / visual impairment / partial sight
A condition in which a person is not blind but has very low vision
Causes:
Diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, high myopia, macular degeneration, cataract, corneal opacity, retinitis pigmentosa, etc.

Here are some links to public documents:
Survey study on the safety and convenience of people with low vision (related to barrier-free guidelines, etc.)
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Report of the survey project on how to support people with low vision who have difficulty reading and writing
Japan Federation of the Blind (social welfare corporation)

Learn about visual impairment
Japan Blind Marathon Association (certified nonprofit)
The meaning of “amblyopia” used in ophthalmology and the meaning used in society do seem to differ.
“Low vision” has also been described with expressions such as social amblyopia and educational amblyopia.
Please also see our earlier article on this site:

The work of orthoptists / Pediatric ophthalmology and low vision
Together with our full-time orthoptists, we provide care for both.
For amblyopia in particular, the timing of testing and treatment is very important.