How is amblyopia treated?
Has your child just been diagnosed with amblyopia by an ophthalmologist? He can now be cared for and his vision disorder properly treated.
Anne-Claude Roulier, an orthoptist at the Jules-Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital, explains the amblyopia treatments that allow for a rehabilitation of the child’s vision.
What is amblyopia again?
Amblyopia, a pathology also called “lazy eye”, is a visual disorder that develops during childhood. It is characterised by a reduction in visual acuity in one eye that cannot be explained by a structural abnormality or other eye disease.
Amblyopia can be caused by a misalignment of the eyes (strabismus), a refraction problem (such as a severe myopia or hyperopia) or a partial obstruction of the eye (such as a congenital cataract or ptosis, the fact that an eyelid covers the eye). If left untreated, amblyopia can lead to a permanent decrease in visual acuity in the affected eye.
If you want to learn more about this visual anomaly, please visit our page on amblyopia.
Treatment options for children with amblyopia
The techniques for treating amblyopia are quite simple. The first step is to enable both eyes to receive a clear image. This includes the prescription of glasses with optical correction.
It is then necessary to force the brain to use both eyes to continue with visual development. The most effective and quickest method is to cover the good eye with a patch. This will then force the weaker eye to work, to transmit an image to the brain.
The treatment can be adapted according to the child’s age and the degree of vision of the bad eye. Depending on the orthoptic assessment, one to several hours of occlusion are required every day.
What are the chances of regaining good vision?
The earlier in life the treatment is undertaken, the greater the chances and speed of treatment. As soon as the eye specialist diagnoses amblyopia, treatment must be started, as it is no longer possible to re-train the brain to develop vision after a certain age.
Find out more about children’s visual problems
You now know how wearing glasses and eye patches can help your child develop harmonious binocular vision.
Our paediatric orthoptics specialists also offer some tips to encourage your child to wear his patch. Do you want to know more about children’s eye diseases? For example nystagmus, astigmatism, diplopia or congenital glaucoma. We invite you to visit our dedicated pages.