Treatment of Lazy Eye or Amblyopia

Treatment of Amblyopia
The best results are always achieved if the treatment of amblyopia is started as early as possible. If necessary, children with refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism can wear glasses or contact lenses when they are as young as one week old. Children with cataracts or other “amblyogenic” conditions need to be treated promptly in order to minimize the development of amblyopia. One of the most important treatments of amblyopia is correcting the refractive error with consistent use of glasses and/or contact lenses. Other mainstays of amblyopia treatment are to enable as clear an image as possible, for example, by removing a cataract, and forcing the child to use the non dominant eye by patching or blurring the better seeing eye with eye drops. Eye drops are used to “penalize” the good eye and force the use of the weaker or amblyopic eye. We may be able to use eye drops instead of patching when the amblyopia is not very bad or when a child is unable to wear the patch as recommended. For mild to moderate degrees of amblyopia, studies have shown that patching or eye drops may be just about equally effective. Generally, we start to see improvements in vision within weeks of treatment, however for optimal results it will be necessary to be patient for many months.

In some cases, treatment for amblyopia isn’t successful and it is difficult to stop treatment but is recommended when there isn’t any real benefit. Children who have amblyopia in one eye and good vision only in their other eye can wear safety glasses and sports goggles to protect the normal eye from injury. As long as the good eye stays healthy, these kids function normally in most aspects of society.

If you or someone you know has questions or concerns about the treatment of amblyopia or needs a kids eye exam, please call Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visit Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, Google+ or www.facebook.com/michelsonlaservision

Michelson Laser Vision and Alabama Eye & Cataract Center are leading eye care centers in Birmingham located at UAB-Highlands, 1201 11th Avenue S, Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama 35205 and staffed by UAB Medicine eye doctors.