Lazy Eye or Not?

Question

I have a really weird wandering eye. My brain will only focus on one eye at a time and sort of ignore the other one, so the neglected eye will drift off, although it doesn't get fuzzy vision or anything. I thought maybe I had a lazy eye, but usually lazy eye affects one eye and leads to poor vision. However, both of my eyes have equally good vision, it's just that I can't focus using both of them.
What could be causing that, and is there a way to learn to focus both of them at the same time? I was cross-eyed as a child and had to have surgeries - could this have something to do with this?

Answer 1

"both of my eyes have equally good vision, it's just that I can't focus using both of them."

That's the exact description of alternating strabismus.
Because your eyes aren't pointing in exactly the same direction, were you to use both at the same time you'd see double. The brain has evolved this "either/or" technique to avoid that. It's not as common as where one eye becomes neglected, "lazy", but it's not that rare, especially where the drift of the eyes is out rather than in.

To use both eyes together would require two things... The eyes well aligned, and the ability for "fuse" the two images into one.
The first is likely to require further surgery, and the second may or may not be present, but could be assessed by a clinic equipped for orthoptics. You'd need the advice of an ophthalmologist as to your particular case.

(Some people when they get to 40+ find this state useful, and have spectacles with one eye corrected for distance and one for near, avoiding all the expense and trickiness of varifocals.)

Answer 2

'lazy eye ' isn't really a scientific name for a condition.
I have good vision in both eyes too but not binocular vision.
I have had 3 eye operations and my eyes still 'wander'.
The one I am not using at one time moves out of alignment with the other.
I've learnt a lot from looking up strabismus and amblyopia on the internet.
There are good descriptions of these conditions which are often called'lazy eye'

Answer 3

u have alternating squintmostly convergent i think,,,lazy eye(amblyopia)is a normal eye with reduced vision and no pathology,,u have good vision ,,but u lack binocular vision,,

Answer 4

the same ol' decent lazy eye fixed to rest on, aim free yet so un true