Lazy Eye Doctors can save you a lot of time and money while saving your child's eyesight. Optometrists can take the easy way out today and treat lazy eye with eye drops once a day and in some cases once a week instead of having you come in 3-4 times a week for intensive eye therapy.
Lazy Eye (amblyopia) is loss of sight caused by a blurred image in on eye usually because the eye is crossed (turned in or out) or by a large difference in prescription between the eyes that has not been corrected by eye glasses. Sometimes, children are born with cataracts that cause amblyopia, and children with very large prescription in both eyes can develop amblyopia bilaterally. A clear image is essential for the nerves to develop from the eye to the visual cortex, the part of the brain responsible for sight.
Forget the pirate patch, eye drops are the treatment of choice today for lazy eye. No more daily struggles with your child to keep an eye patch on, one drop in the morning and your responsibility is done for the day. Lazy eye, (technically referred to as Amblyopia), is the most common cause of permanent sight loss in children and if not treated by age 7 to 9 it persists into adulthood with permanent damage to the visual cortex area of the brain. It is the leading cause of vision loss in one eye in the 20-70 year old age group, occurring in around 3% of the population.
Most of the information on the success of treatment of lazy eye has been from limited,uncontrolled studies. There is a great opportunity for future learning about improving the treatment of lazy eye.
Amblyopia is still usually treated with outdated methods of occlusion (patching) of the eye that sees well. Patching therapy typically has very poor compliance, especially since you cannot be with your child every minute of the day. Kids don't like wearing patches after the novelty wears off and may be subjected to ridicule by peers. Evidence indicates that compliance is probably the most important factor in the outcome of treatment of lazy eye.A study by the National Eye Institute of 419 children found that 79 percent of those that wore an eye patch were successfully while74 percent of those receiving the atropine eye drops had successful outcomes. There was no significant difference in the treatment outcomes. One positive finding about patching in recent years is the eye does not need to be patched all day long. In moderate cases of lazy eyes that see better than 20/100, 2 hours a day may be enough to achieve good results. Even severe cases may only require 6 hours of patching. If a child is home from school by 3:00 pm and puts a patch on until bedtime they may not need to wear a patch at school.
Using a cycloplegic eye drop that prevents the good eye from focusing forces the lazy eyes to work to see thing at closer distances. As a side effect of the drops the pupil of the good eye stays dilated, so it needs some form of UV protection in eyeglasses or sunglasses. This is not a new method but it has started catching on due to recent studies showing it is effective and very well accepted by parents and children. Without a patch blocking one eye completely the child is able to maintain some level of binocular vision which helps the treatment process. It also assures there is no impairment to peripheral vision, making it a safer alternative to a patch.
Atropine is the drop normally used but we substitute homatropine. It is safer and there is really no need to keep the effect lasting overnight while the child is asleep. An alternative is to use atropine one or two days per week depending on how long it lasts. If the child's eye stays blurry for 4-5 days once a week dosing can give 1-2 days off to help prevent the development of ambyopia in the good eye. One drop a week is pretty easy treatment for the parent and the child. Children with moderate lazy eye may do well with homatropine or even a weaker drop after school on a daily basis. There are different options available depending on what you and your child think will work with your lifestyle. It's no longer a one size patch fits all!
There is a tremendous cost and time saving to the parent due to less frequent office visits and a great reduction in the amount of eye exercises needed to restore the sight. If you think there is no way you can get a drop in your child's eye every day we have a secret for that too. If your child has a lazy eye treatment can be a pleasant experience today!
For adults with amblyopia the answers are not as easy. The brain loses it's ability to grow new nerve connections. Depending on the time the vision became blurry, adult treatment may or may not be successful. If during childhood there was an adequate period of time when the eye had a clear image, the nerves may be developed and responsive to treatment. If a crossed eye is present treatment could result in irreversible double vision. As more is learned about the brain, the more we know that brain development can continue to occur throughout life, it is just much harder to achieve. Someday, adult treatment of lazy eye will probably be a routine procedure.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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