Posts Tagged ‘Amblyopia’

Treatment options available for Lazy Eye (Amblyopia)

Early treatment of lazy eye or amblyopia before the age of two is considered to offer the best outcomes. Treatment of amblyopia after the age of 17 is not dependent upon age but requires more effort including vision therapy.
Most of the treatments described below are meant to treat the amblyopia itself. Once the weaker eye’s visual data is accurate, rehabilitation of the relationship between the brain and the eye can begin.
- Patches : It means covering one eye for a period of few weeks to as long as a year. The better-seeing eye is patched, forcing the “lazy” one to work, thereby strengthening its vision. Most often, patients are required to wear the patch for six hours a day. Some of the drawbacks of patching are the child cannot see well and is often frustrated and uncooperative if the good eye is covered. Often the patch has to be taped over the child’s eye to prevent him from removing it.
- Atropine eye drops : It blurs the vision of strong eye. Atropine dilates the pupil, resulting in blurring when looking at things close up – this makes the lazy eye work more. It can have rare side effects such as irritation in the eye, reddening of the skin and headaches.
- Vision therapy : The vision therapy is a combination of patching or eye drops, eye exercises, computer software to augment the exercises, and prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. Vision therapy is basically physical therapy for the eye. It is thus a form of neurological training and rehabilitation.
- Lazy Eye Surgery : It is most successful in cases where the child’s amblyopia is caused by constant unilateral strabismus in a single eye. The surgery is performed to turn the eye in the proper direction, both for vision and cosmetic purposes.

In conclusion, improvements are possible at any age, but early detection and treatment offer the best outcome.

| More

If you found this post informative, why not sign up to receive new posts ?
It's simple, and free, and you can even opt to receive by email:
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Good Health Tips by Email

Prevention and Diagnosis of Lazy Eye (Amblyopia)

Since amblyopia usually occurs in one eye only, many parents and children may be unaware of the condition. Parents fail to take their infants and toddlers in for an early comprehensive vision examination and many children go undiagnosed until they have their eyes examined at the eye doctor’s office at a later age.
The most important diagnostic tools are the special visual acuity tests other than the 20/20 letter charts currently used by schools, pediatricians and eye doctors. Examination with cycloplegic drops can be necessary to detect this condition in the young.
Early detection of lazy eye is very important in increasing the probability that the disorder will be completely corrected with no permanent vision damage. Since lazy eye tends to be present from birth, it is very important that infants receive a complete eye examination before they turn 6 months old. A child suffering from amblyopia has the best chance of being cured if the disease is diagnosed and treated before the age of 2.

Lazy Eye (Amblyopia): causes and symptoms

Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, is a unique disorder. It is a poor vision in an eye that did not develop normally during childhood. It commonly affects one eye but may also involve both eyes.
- It is not correctable by glasses or contact lenses.
- It is not due to any eye disease.
- The brain does not fully acknowledge the images seen by the amblyopic eye.

Causes of Lazy Eye

Amblyopia is caused by various conditions which prevent the brain from using both eyes together.
- Constant strabismus : it is the constant turn of one eye.
- Anisometropia : It is the different vision or prescriptions in each eye.
- Blockage of an eye due to cataract, trauma, lid droop, etc.
- A condition in which the brain to avoid double vision ignores the image from the deviating eye which leads to poor visual development.
- Amblyopia can occur due to the causes for stimulus deprivation like ptosis, cataract, glaucoma, patching or any other obstacle that blocks the vision in the eye.

Signs and Symptoms of Lazy Eye

- A lazy eye is not always easily recognized.
- A child may not even be aware that one of his eyes is not working with the other.
- Photographs that show milky white spots in a child’s eye, rather than the more common red spots, may indicate the early development of cataracts.
- If your child routinely closes one eye while reading or watching the television, the vision in that eye may be impaired.
- If your child is not performing well in school, consult an eye-doctor before questioning his/her learning ability.
- Consult an eye doctor if your child’s eyes don’t appear to be working in unison when he or she focuses on an object.
- Avoidance of activities such as athletics or indoor activities such as reading or coloring may be a sign of vision problems.