Amblyopia, often referred to as lazy eye or lazy vision, is a serious eye condition that affects vision. A lazy eye occurs when vision in one (or possibly both) eyes is impaired due to the eye and brain not working together properly.
Children with amblyopia have blurred vision in one eye and clear vision in the other eye. The brain starts to ignore one eye and uses only the eye with clear vision. The brain then starts ignoring the images seen by the healthy eye, and the eye becomes weak and loses its ability to see (sharpness). The result is still blurry eyes that don’t connect properly to the brain and don’t develop normal vision.
What symptoms indicate amblyopia?
Amblyopia symptoms might be difficult to identify. Children who suffer amblyopia may have impaired depth perception, making it difficult for them to gauge how close or far something is. Parents may also observe the following indicators that their child is having trouble seeing clearly:
- Squinting
- closing one eye
- They tilt their head
Frequently, amblyopia is not recognized by parents until a doctor identifies it during an eye exam. For this reason, it’s crucial that all children receive a vision screening at least once between the ages of 3 and 5.
Treatment for amblyopia
If there’s a vision issue causing amblyopia, the doctor might treat that first. For example, doctors might suggest glasses or contacts (for kids who are myopia or farsighted) or surgery (for children with cataracts).
The subsequent stage is to re-train the cerebrum and power it to utilize the more fragile eye. The more the mind utilizes it, the more grounded it gets. Treatments
Wearing an eye patch on the stronger eye. By covering this eye with a stick-on eye patch (like a Band-Aid), the brain needs to utilize the weaker eye to see. Few kids just have to wear the eye patch for 2 hours a day, while others might have to wear it whenever they’re awake.
Putting special eye drops in the stronger eye. A once-a-day drop of the drug can temporarily blur near vision, which powers the mind to utilize the other eye. For certain kids, this treatment fills in as well as an eye patch, and a few parents find it simpler to use (for example, since small kids might attempt to pull off eye patches).
After your child starts treatment, their vision might begin to get better within half a month. Be that as it may, it will most likely require a long time to come to the best outcomes. From that point forward, your kid might in any case have to utilize these medicines now and again to prevent amblyopia from returning.
It’s important to start treating children with amblyopia early — the sooner the better. Kids who grow up without treatment might have long-lasting vision issues. Amblyopia treatment is normally less successful in grown-ups than in children.
Note: At Bharti Eye Foundation, our best eye specialists have years of experience in fixing amblyopia. So, Feel free to contact us.
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