Amblyopia, other wise known as “lazy eye”, is the most common cause of preventable blindness in children. While the loss of vision usually occurs in one eye, rarer forms of bilateral amblyopia do exist. This type of “blindness” occurs in approximately 2 out of 100 healthy children. In amblyopia the loss of vision is not from a disease of the eye but rather the lack of development of the visual brain. Therefore, by definition, a child with amblyopia has healthy eyes, yet the brain can not see.
Therefore, the cause of amblyopia is not due to a disease process. Instead the cause of amblyopia is when there is interference in the infant’s binocular visual development. This means that amblyopia occurs when the visual brain of the baby stops developing normally from the lack of proper “two-eyed” visual input. As a result, even with healthy eye structure, the child is not able to see clearly from the affected eye. So, a child with amblyopia will typically have 20/20 eye sight in one eye and the other eye will be poor. The severity of the amblyopia will be measured by how poor the eye sight is in the affected eye. In addition to poor sight, the child with amblyopia will also have “stereo blindness” or poor depth perception. This only adds to the visual difficulty since the child who is “stereo blind” will not be able to experience the benefits of three dimensional vision.
There can be many causes for amblyopia. But, the underlying mechanism for amblyopia is when something prevents a developing child from seeing with both eyes simultaneously. The most common causes are strabismus (eye teaming failure, such as crossed eyes) and unequal refractive error (example: high farsightedness in one eye while the other eye is normal).
Debunking old myths and practices:
Over the years amblyopia was thought to be only treatable if caught before age 6. This myth has been disproven. Current research shows that amblyopia can be treated even in 18 year olds. More research needs to be done, but what we know is that there is “plasticity” in the human visual brain at nearly any age. I have personally successfully treated amblyopes well into their 60’s.
A commonly prescribed form of treatment for amblyopia, yet insufficient by today’s standards (based on Clinical Practice Guidelines), is what is called “occlusion therapy”. Occlusion therapy or “patching” is where the patient wears an eye patch on the “good eye” for typically hours at a time during their waking hours. While the research shows that a child’s visual brain will show improvement in their amblyopic eye sight with a patching regimen, this “old school” approach (when used alone) can be very difficult and disruptive for the developing child to handle. It creates visual disorientation and confusion in spatial judgements. This in turn creates frustration and often emotional upset in the patient. Furthermore, unilateral patching therapy only teaches a patient how to be a “one eyed person” since it does not address the underlying cause for the amblyopia which is the lack of binocular (two-eyed) vision development.
Therefore today’s “best practices” approach for the treatment of amblyopia involves a combination of monocular and binocular training of the visual brain through office-based vision therapy. This is done with a vision therapist under the direct supervision of a Doctor of Optometry along with prescribed home-oriented visual activities to complement the weekly or bi-weekly in-office procedures.
This treatment approach yields the best outcomes, often resulting in normalization of eye sight in the amblyopic eye and the development of stereo vision (3-D vision) for the child. Eye patching alone is no longer the standard of care.
Read more about Amblyopia from the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD). Click here!
Read about the Clinical Practice Guidelines established by the American Optometric Association. Click here!
Dan L. Fortenbacher, O.D., FCOVD
Hello, 48y/o male here with constant double vision, since a small child right eye has always veered out, at age 38 had my first surgery, ended up with vision actually aiming crossed eyed, bad diplopia, prisims didn’t work, after much begging I found a second surgeon, he brought vision closer but fusion impossible, left eye is strained and sees different blurriness every time I blink, since I’m left eye dominant I default to blurry vision with the chaos of other vision whirling left and right, I patch left dominant eye, drive, work, etc yet it’s a horrible existence… Any hope for people in my predicament?
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
Hi I’m 27 years old and I got amblyopia lAzy eye on my right eye and there is no vision in my eye at all the only thing I can see is light and very near thing to it and I just want my eyes to straight to take out the laziness from the eye is is possible can u plz answer my coments thanks
Halo my son is 4 years Old , today i visited eye doctor for Check up after completing Check up he Said tht my son wnt need glasses at Present but in two r three years he may get .My question is he will get glasses for sure are not in future nd automatically is their any change for not getting glasses anymore.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
I have a son hes 6 yrs old and hes mostly blind in his left eye and he has very little vision in that left eye each time we go to the doctor they say its getting worse is there anything we can do to bring his vision back
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
i am 29 yrs old and i have a problem in my left eye is there any treatment for me
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
My younger brother 9 years old had been discovered having the right amblyopic eye with no vision yesterday, accidently when meeting optometrist checking the visual acuity, so,what is the most suitable treatment? And is it possible for him to regain the vision of his right eye? Please any doctors do reply me as soon as possible..
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
My 10yr old has had surgery on both eyes an he has 20/30 in one eye an 20/60 in the other he has an lazy eye an now Dr requesting that they patch the lazy eye. He swears he can see tv an other objects but yet he stands rite in front of tv so close it’s getting worse I think he’s been wearing glasses for bout 5yrs now is this all that can be done I wear glasses but never had What my sons been thru.. What else can help? Mom in Ohio..
Mom in Ohio and Dnyaneshwar N Patil,
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
My agr is 32 & I have the amblyopia.now I am selected for Saudi Arabia & Kuwait in both the countries. So can I will be fit in medical test? Is there any treatment to cure this?
Hi.
My 5 year old has lazy eye with severe poor sight. I put her through a year and a half of eye patching with no improvement at the age of 2 which made her aggresive towards me and her sister. All got better when we was told to stop. Docors told us to try again only after a few weeks of patching she is back to hitting and generally miserable even without the patch on. We was told this is our only hope but is effecting her her daily life. I am in the uk and have searched for any other oppotunites to help without patching but seems to be all in america. Please can you help?
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org You can search for doctors in the UK, there are several. Good luck on your journey!
I have a almost 5 year old son that has 20/40 and 20/400 vision they suggest patching which clearly causes a lot of frustration. My child also has Congenital Hypothyroidism…. I am in the CT area how can I get a Dr. on board with the suggestions you have listed.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
Hi
Please help me. My “left eye is weak”. I realize it when i was 16 year old. That time doctor say me there is “NO solution”. I am from india, state- maharashtra. so i ignore it and after that complete my diploma and degree in “COMPUTER ENGINEERING”. Now i am 22 year old and i am afraid to do career in “SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT” because when i sit in front of my PC then it cause me stress my eyes. Please help me what to do…..
Can i change my career path now, Could the right eye be getting weaker and more unable to make up for the weaker left eye which causes them to feel stressed? …. please guide me… i need help.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
Im 17 years old i have amblyopia in my ledt eye I have been on diet to improve my central nervous system to try and tackle the cause of the problem also i have been playing tetris with half of each lense covered horizontally to force my eyes to work together ive
notcied some results but overall its difficult to focus my eyes together what can i do? And does smoking weed cause a lazy eye? Oh ive also been listening to music beats to work on my perceptual learning although it probably has no effect on my vision
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
I am taking my two year old to be checked for amblyopia as it runs in his family. His father has it–one eye is better than 20/20 and the other eye is practically blind…even if he wore the strongest glasses his bad eye can only be corrected to 20/450. However, I was curious to know what they will do to check my two year old for this as he hates drs and cries throughout the appts. I really don’t want him to get drops put in to test it either. So I want to know if its possible to check it at this age or should I wait until he is older. ( on another note his eyes are not visibly lazy but neither are my husbands…but sometimes when he looks up I notice one eye looks a little bit different than the other but normally his eyes look completely normal )
Hi Courtney,
Its never too early to take your child for an eye exam! The American Optometric Association and COVD both recommend that every child have an eye exam in the first year of life. The optometrist will do everything possible to make your child feel comfortable during the exam. If you try to make some of the procedures into “games,” you can obtain a good deal of information. You and the doctor can discuss whether or not the “drops” are indicated at this first visit. Good luck and let us know how things turn out!
Thanks for share new information of Amblyopia.I didn’t know about these thinks so thanks again for your beneficial post.
en.neurovision.co.il
Hi im 22 years old and i was dignosted with biltral amblyopia in both eyes and the doctor told me that there was no cure for it at my age i was just woundering is that true ? And the bad thing is the hospital discharged me because they couldnt do anything for me and now i dont know what to do i need some advice on this
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: http://www.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
my daughter is almost 5. from what i understand she is almost blind in the right eye, and her dep perception is off.her doctor said 4 hours of patching and check up every 2 months she did this for several months. 5 months ago they said she improved greatly so they uped the patch to 6 hours a day check up 6 weeks. now there has been no improvement so they have upped patch time to 8 hours. but insisted i do full time. she is having trouble in school is this affecting her learning? they keep insisting on eye drops to put in her good eye as a more permanent all the time patch… what do i do?
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: locate.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
My 5 year old son was diagnosed with amblyopia and we have been doing the patch therapy 8-10 hours a day for the last 5 months or so and at first it seemed to be helping but now his strong eye that wears the patch on it is starting to shut down and cross in too. His physician said they were not worried about that and to keep patching it. It is a concern to me as a parent seeing the other eye get increasingly worse. He does have another appointment with a different physician for a second opinion. Is that normal for that to happen? Thanks in advance!
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. A second opinion is always a good idea…..You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: locate.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
Lazy eyesare known asAmblyopia and it cannot be easily corrected with spectacles or any type of contact lenses. Lazy eye is caused when the brain uses only one eye rather than the other. Because one of the eye is not used and clear vision does not develop in that particular eye.And this can be corrected by lazy eye therapy.
hello, mys sister is 14 years old and has an amblyopic eye. We live in a developing country and there aren’t many good ophthalmologists here. What kind of vision therapy i can practice with her at home? Thank you
Hello Nour, I wish there was a simple answer to this question, or more eyecare providers in developing countries. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. I don’t know if there are any COVD members in your country, but you might start by checking the COVD membership directory at covd.org Good luck on your journey!
dear sir i’m karan , my age is 22 and my left eye is lazy eye and after some year ago when i realize my one one eye is not good then i go to eye care doctors and dr say it is not possible to improve lazy eye in adults . in this case what should i do , it is possible to treat lazy eyes. i’m from delhi pls sujust me any eye care clinic/hospital where yhis will done
my e mail add is karanrawat9971@gmail.com
Hello Karan,
If you go to http://www.covd.org and use the Locate a Doctor function, you will find doctors in India. I have no idea if they are in Delhi or anywhere close, but they will be able to give you more information about doctors/clinics that can provide diagnostic and treatment services. Good luck on your journey!
I had a six months old boy who is very irritable once “occlusion therapy” is about to start, He was diagnosed with congenital cataract at the age of 2 months old and lens was removed bilaterally. Due to complications right eye developed glaucoma and undergone surgery as well. So now we’re doing occlusion therapy to the right eye as prescribed by PO every day at least 4 hours. But the problem is once I will put patch on the left eye (good eye) He will start screaming or He will be unsettled or otherwise will go to sleep. So patching was extended due to his sleeping hours was deducted to cover up the number of hours. My question is that, Is there any other way to keep my boy settled during these times of patching or at least divert His attention to make Him more active? And, is there any Opthalmologist/optometrist or so.. doing the therapy for my six months old baby? is it effective for His age to do the occlusion therapy?
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: locate.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
I know this is a late reply considering you did post this last year, but you may want to try putting the patch on before he’s even really awake in the morning. Then you’re not taking away vision in the middle of the day, he’s waking up that way, then the patching is over once the prescribed time has passed.
My kid is 9 months’ old .the right eye has no vision and the left eye has no lens(when she was 4 months’ old she did an operation to remove left eye’s lens because of phpv) .now she wears a glass .what treatment can be the best for her? we are in China .thanks very much.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: locate.covd.org Good luck on your journey!
Hello dr.
Im 23 years old now..n im having the same symptoms as an amblyopia patient. during my childhood i wear spec coz i cant see clearly through my right eye soon after i stopped wearing it.then a 2 years ago i consult a doctor but he said it cannot be treated n he said it wont effect my left eye anyway.But im affraid in future in will gv any other severe problem.can u gv me any sugesstions with your kind reply.
thank u doc.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: locate.covd.org Good luck with your patients!
Hi, I’m almost 16 and I was wondering if the eye patch is still a good idea for me if I cant see good out of my left eye. Everything is blurry and I can’t see words at all. I can see objects well. What do you think is the best thing for me to do? I really want my vision to go back to the way it was.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: locate.covd.org Good luck with your patients!
sir, i have a question here regarding amblyopic therapy. i have a patient here in Pakistan who is fourteen years old. his right eye is 6/6 while the left one is 6/60 and his left eye is esotropic too. his both eyes was 6/6 ten years ago. now i have advise him patching therapy for three hours in a day in a good eye. i advise him for follow up after one month. my question is will he improve in vision in the bad eye as his bsv is good.
looking forward for your kind advise.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. You might consider reaching out to a COVD member directly. Perhaps our membership directory can help you find a doctor: locate.covd.org Good luck with your patients!
Hello Dr.,
Thanks a lot for thr excellent article. My 5 year old daughter has amblyopia and is taking vision therapy for the last 6 months. Her pediatrician is not very happy about this. She has been persuading us to go with occlusion therapy and we are very much confused. What should we do here?
Thanks,
VJ
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. We would strongly encourage you to consult with an optometrist near you for the proper diagnosis and management of the possible visual dysfunctions you describe. You can start your search here. Best wishes on your journey!
My 3 1/2-year-old daughter has been treated for the past year for amblyopia. We seen a improvement from four lines of difference down to two. Her weaker eye is 20/40. And her ophthalmologist asked us today if we wanted to stop as there had been no further improvement since last September. My answer was “no”. Our only treatment has been to use drops as she is resistant to patches. We did decide today to start using a frosted lens as my daughter loves her glasses. I would like to receive more information about your therapy treatments. Your article is the first that I’ve heard anything about this. We are currently being treated at this Cincinnati Children’s Hospital which has been known for its quality of care.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. We would strongly encourage you to consult with an optometrist near you for the proper diagnosis and management of the possible visual dysfunctions you describe. You can start your search here. Best wishes on your journey!
When my daughter was about 10 our doctor told us she had amblyopia. She is currently 14 and she’s been getting more and more insecure about her appearance. Is there a possibility that she could get surgery to help, or is it too late? Also, her ‘lazy eye’ seems to be smaller than her other one… Is that normal?
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. We would strongly encourage you to consult with an optometrist near you for the proper diagnosis and management of the possible visual dysfunctions you describe. You can start your search here. Best wishes on your journey!
I am suffering from amblyopia and i’m 16 years old. will i go blind?. can using correct prescription glasses prevent amblyopia from progressing? I use spectacles of power -1 for left eye and -3 for right eye.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. We would strongly encourage you to consult with an optometrist near you for the proper diagnosis and management of the possible visual dysfunctions you describe. You can start your search here. Best wishes on your journey!
hi…my son is diagnosed with concomitant esotropia ……doctor prescribed glasses and patching for one eye…he is 5 yrs old………..is this the best treatment for him or do we have any other advanced treatment for him…please advise
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. We would strongly encourage you to consult with an optometrist near you for the proper diagnosis and management of the possible visual dysfunctions you describe. You can start your search here. Best wishes on your journey!
Is there often a link between amblyopia and colourblindness? My 11 year old son was recently diagnosed with amblyopia. He also struggled with the colour test. We are going for a second opinion with a specialist but wanted to check if anyone had any experience with this before going?
I do not know of any link. But glad you are getting a second opinion! Good luck.
Hi there, I am seema from Pakistan. My 7 years old son was diagnosed Amplyopian recently..initially he had plain right & +3.75 in left eye..started lenses + patch treatment ( 2 hrs/ day)..He got panic sumtimes & didnt follow the routine properly but we got him bak on track…just 2 weeks ago wen we took him for check-up ,his right eye also showed an increase by + 1.5.
At school-goi8ng age, we find it very difficult to maintain thedaily patching routine…is there any other way out?? does diet help?? I am much worried about him…
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. We would strongly encourage you to consult with an optometrist near you for the proper diagnosis and management of the possible visual dysfunctions you describe. You can start your search here. Best wishes on your journey!
My 6 year old daughter was diagnosed with amblyopia 3 months ago. The muscles are fine, it’s just the visual difference in the eyes. Her left eye was at 20/200 no lense at diagnosis. After two weeks with her glasses only she could see 20/125 using the lense. One month later, wearing glasses full time and patching with fine motor exercises for a couple hours a day her left eye is at 20/80 with a lense. The doctor says that we will add in vision therapy once the improvement slows. Is waiting for the vision therapy typical?
Thanks,
Leah
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. We would strongly encourage you to consult with an optometrist near you for the proper diagnosis and management of the possible visual dysfunctions you describe. You can start your search here. Best wishes on your journey!
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here regularly. I’m quite sure I’ll learn many new stuff
right here! Best of luck for the next!
hi im suffering from this disease can any therapy of this ///
Hello Karan, yes there is treatment for amblyopia. Check the Locate a Doctor function on COVD’s homepage (covd.org). I hope you will be able to find a doctor for an evaluation and then determine if vision therapy might be able to help you overcome your amblyopia. Good luck.
Also I live I the lower Hudson valley area of NY- any resources with actual people who can help would be greatly appreciated ❤
~Nicole S.
Hello everyone!
My 3 month old daughter has been diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia & the doc told me that the only thing to do right now is patch the weaker eye for 4 hours a day! Please tell me there is more I can be doing- they say there’s nothing to be done until she can cooperate (tell us what she sees) I’m freaking out. Thank you.
My Best,
Nicole S.
Sir….my right eye vision is 20/400 by birth and i can see only colours from my right eye….but my left eye is normal…i went to many doctors but they said this is not curable..please tell me if the treatment of this is available or not…i am so much tensed ..i cant even apply in different government jobs due to my right eye issue
Hello Hassan,
Again, it is very difficult to provide advice from afar. I have no idea why you have such poor vision since birth. It sounds like you have seen many doctors and none have offered any hope of improving your vision. You might consider finding a doctor using the Locate a Doctor function at covd.org. These doctors will be able to examine you and provide treatment if there are any indications that your vision can be improved. Good luck.
My son was born on 07th June 1999, after about a year we noticed squint in his left eye and consulted the doctors in Delhi how had advised to observe it for some time as in most cases it gets resolved with age. Since it was not resolved, we decided to go for surgery which was conducted on 20th March 2003. Thereafter he had regularly been checked up by the ophthalmologists in Delhi and had been prescribed glasses. Details of the glasses he had worn is as below:
RIGHT LEFT
SPH – CYL – AXISSPH – CYL – AXIS
14/02/03+.75 +1.25 80+.75 +1.00 90
13/01/04+.75 +2.25 80 +.50 +.75 100
12/07/05+.50 +2.25 80 +1.50 +1.0 90
10/08/06+.50 +2.25 80 +1.50 +1.0 90
12/4/10+0.50 +2.25 80 +1.25 +1.50 90
Patching (Occlusion) was started on 10th Aug. ’11 and the details of glasses used are as below:
Patching in the ratio of 1:1 (One day right eye followed by one day left eye)
RIGHT LEFT
SPH – CYL – AXISSPH – CYL – AXIS
8/08/11+4.00 -2.75 160 (6/6P)+3.75 -1.75 180 (6/12P)
15/07/12 Patching in the ratio of 2:2 (Two days right eye followed by two days left eye)
29/12/12 Patching in the ratio of 1:5 (Two days right eye followed by five days left eye)Vision RIGHT 6/6P LEFT 6/6 P
24/1/13 Patching in the ratio of 3:1 (Three days right eye followed by one day left eye)
RIGHT LEFT
SPH – CYL – AXISSPH – CYL – AXIS
+4.25 – 2.75 80 (6/6 P) (+4.25 -2.25 100 (6/9)
I would appreciate your comments of this case.
Hello,
my kid is 4 and half years old. Recently, he has been diagnosed with lazy eye (Amblyopia ) problem. Stats are as follows:
Right Eye: CYL:2.25 AXIS:10 V.A.: 6/18
Left Eye: CYL2.50 AXIS:170 V.A. 6/18
Doctor has recommended the glasses.
I am really concerned if it can be corrected or atleast stopped from increasing?
Any suggestions to improve the visibility are highly appreciated.
Best Regards.
My 6 year old has been diagnosed with amblyopia +6 in both eyes. She will get her glasses next week. I find it strange that we never knew she had a vision problem, it is only in the last couple of months that she has been sitting close to the TV so we took her to get her eyes checked. Now with hindsight we realise why she never watched a lot of TV and was quite clumsy but her vision has not slowed her down, she runs around at 100 miles an hour and is like a monkey. If I understand the the optometrist, it is hoped that the glasses will relax the eye muscles and train her brain to see better. My question is that is it possible to get contact lenses for this condition as they would be more convenient for an active little girl.
I have being reading about Amblyopia since a week (of course i have it in my right eye and i am 20 + 4 months). Actually my doctor didn’t tell me about it when i had -11.50 in RE and -1.80 in LE at the age of 7 otherwise I’d have treated well 😦 . I have acquired almost all information but just want an answer for my Question.
*Does Patching Improves Eyesight? If yes how much? Does it reduce Diopter of eye OR teach how to use amblyopic eye?
what exactly happens if a child uses a patch or get treated with other therapies?
Really hoping an answer thanx alot…
My son is 20 and he did patching when he was young. He is about to graduate with a degree in criminal justice. We just found out he needs 20/30 vision corrected to become a police officer. His bad eye is 20/200 without glasses. Is it possible to get normal vision with glasses or surgery?
Hi,
I am 34 years old. I have double vision, strabismus. When I was 13 I had surgery on my left eye, and that just made the alignment even worse. So at age 14 I had surgery on the right eye. No success at all. I used to be able to tilt my head to one side a little to see straight is what I call it. The vision out of my left eye is slanted. I am so uncomfortable looking at people in the eye when I talk, and it seems to be gettting worse to where i can’t pull the eyes together at all anymore. Is surgery my only option? I found a Dr. Wright in LA. Please tell me what I can do……I am a cosmetology student about to graduate. I feel that I still cut and color hair amazing despite my problem….and many people don’t even know that I am suffering from this. It is very embarrassing to me :(.
Hi,
I have a nearly 2 year old girl. She was prem, so prob nearer to 20 months. She was also born with congenital toxoplasmosis, but does not have any lesions in her direct field of vision. She has been patching one of her eyes since 3 months of age. She is meant to be up to 2 hrs a day, but lately, she just hates the patch. I really want to try to help her but don’t know what to do. Our only available therapy where we live is patch therapy. What can I do to try to help her eye develop. They say that she significantly uses one eye over the other and it is obvious when you watch her. Thx
HI, am a 43 year old who has Amblyopia, my eyes are getting worse as each year goes on,. I am at a job where it is required that I stair at the computer all day, do you have any auggestions.
Hi Dr.Rochelle,
This is Arshia again with you.My son has been patching for 2 weeks now.And now, he feels his left normal eye sometimes sees double vision.Is this normal? This was never before patching.And sometimes in his right lazy eye, the hazy vision suddenly becomes stretched and little bright.Is this normal and does it happens if the brain is confused & cannot decide to look from which eye? As the disparity between the two visions is huge. Left normal is 20/20 & Right lazy eye is 20/400. What immediate precaution should be taken? Should I stop patching and just continue with putting only the corrective lens in his right eye which has -12 power.Please advice.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Arshia Khan.
Arshia,
it is so difficult to offer advice without examining your son….. Have you tried to find a doctor in India? That is the best advice I can offer at this point. Try COVD’s Locate a Doctor function. Good luck to you and your son, RLM.
My son is nine years old and just diagnosed with ambitious in January 2012. Patching has been difficult and unsuccessful. where can I find someone that offers the occlusion therapy? We live in south carolina
Hello Andrea,
Your best bet is to go to the Locate a Doctor function on the COVD website. http://www.covd.org/
Hope there is someone close to home. Good luck, RLM
Hi,
I had sent a query earlier…but many of the words got omitted.
As I had mentioned, earlier,my son is 10 yr old .He was recently diagnosed with Amblyopia of his right eye,he has 20/400 vision and -12 as power, his good eye has 20/20 vision.
We have started occlusion and he has been given a corrective contact lens to be worn on the lazy eye and occlude the other eye.We manage to do 3 hrs of Patching on weekdays as he has school , but in weekends we try to keep for longer hours.
In these 3 hrs, we have 2 hrs of intense activity, like computer vision games and other lazy eye activities, coloring,pencil push ups, tracking a ball and catching it when thrown.Although when reading he brings his eyes quite near and the words have to be in bigger fonts, else he cant read.
I would be very keen to start Vision Therapy for him, but I am afraid we dont have it in Kuwait, I reside here.I have heard that Vision therapy helps for the older children and adults as well.I am planning to take my son to US for the treatment in summer vacation.although, it wouldnt be easy for me to stay for longer time in US, as I would come in Visit Visa.Approximately how many sessions would be required to have the therapy done? Would you suggest if any centers are in India?As I am from India, and its easy for me to be there and do the sessions for a longer time, if required.
Thanlk you for your input.Any advice and information would be very helpful, as we are quite desperate.
Warm Regards,
Arshia Khan.
Hello Arshia,
How I wish there could be developmental optometrists everywhere, so you and so many others wouldn’t have this problem! You are definitely on the right track and you have started a vision therapy program for your son. The contact lens, the patching with activities, these are great first steps toward trying to help your son improve his visual skills. There are a few optometrists in India that are Fellows of COVD. Please use the Locate a Doctor function on COVD’s website. If they are not practicing in a city that you can get to, then call them, maybe they can help you find someone in India that practices vision therapy. Good luck, RLM
i have amblyopia as i see blur images from my right eye. my doctor said that i can’t recover because i am 19 years old now he was also saying that if i don’t wear glasses , i ll become squint . . . is it true because i came to know about poor vision in my right eye 4 years back 😦 my left eye is 6/6 and right eye is + 1.25
Aruj, it is NEVER to late to treat amblyopia! I am not sure where you are, but use the Locate a Doctor function on COVD’s website. I hope you will get a second opinion from a developmental optometrist and start a vision therapy program. Good luck, RLM
Hello,
I really was so mpressed to fall upon this site , Asti has such positivity for patients and their parents…to keep the hope alive.Thanl You.
Coming back to my question, my son is 10 yrs old, he was recently diagnosed with Ambylopia of his right eye, with 20/400 vision and -12 power.Although his left eye has 20/20 vision.I was quite disappointed by many Ophthalmologists who gave vague answers and said my son has crossed the age of cure..hat was so depressing.
I would like to know, how long should the is ion therapy be given? I am residing I. Kuwait, but. Can go o India o get the treatment done. Would like to know, if there are any is ion Therapy centers in India, wherein I can go.If not I have to travel o Ud for a couple of months in Summer to treat his eye.Kindly, help and do lemme know, with this condition of my son do I have any ope.Thank oh.Warm regards,
Arshia Khan.
i have amblyopia as i see blur images from my right eye. my doctor said that i can’t recover because i am 19 years old now he was also saying that if i didn’t wear glasses , i ll become squint . . . is it true because i came to know about poor vision in my right eye 4 years back 😦
my age is 19 at present ,when i was15 suddenly one day my left eye VISION turned red color for few days afterwards it was cured, i went to doctor recently i was told it was amblyopia the worst part is left eye sight was -20 while right eye is -11 ,i know that the sight difference is greater 3 .Is there any solution for my problem
Hello Krishna,
It’s very difficult to tell what type of vision problem you have and, therefore, what the most appropriate treatment might be. If you think you have amblyopia, try the Locate a Doctor function at covd.org to find a doctor that might be able to help you. Good luck!
Dr. R. Mozlin
i am coming up 17, wanting to drive. I think i have amblyopia but havent been diagnosed with it. Im going to the opticians to see if they can diagnose me with anything as its annoying me now! do you know if i can still drive with this condition?
Hello Leanna,
Of course without a diagnosis it is impossible to know if you can obtain a driver’s license or not. Make sure you ask lots of questions when you do see the doctor– what is the diagnosis? do I need glasses? can anything be done to improve my vision. Good luck, Dr. R. Mozlin
hi i am 20 years old and from South Africa.If any one knows of a good optometrist i can go to please let me know. as i have Amblyopic and i have had it since i was born, i have been for 5 operations and it has helped , my vision is not blurred but just needs to be strengthened in the one eye, as the other one is perfect. i need to just here from a optometrist if i can be opperated on to make the eye straight . or if a patch on the “good ” eye is all that i am going to need, i need help , i can live like this anymore.
thanks
bianca
Hello Bianca,
South Africa is a big place, so my suggestion is go to the Locate a Doctor function at covd.org. There are several doctors practicing in South Africa, I just don’t know which ones are in your part of the country. I hope you can find the help you are seeking. Good luck with your vision, Dr. R. Mozlin
My 2 and a half year old was diagnosed with amblyopia a year ago. She has a lazy left eye which turns inwards and was found to be extremely long sighted in both left and right eye (Left – +6 Right +4) At first she was given glasses with the appropriate lenses in but kept taking them off, so her optomotrist gave her a slightly weaker prescription, thinking that may have been why she was taking them off all the time. Thankfully, she actually started wearing her glasses full time after a couple of months and now is back on her stronger prescription lenses. She was checked over a couple of months ago and we were told she needed patch therapy for 4 hours a day. We had no success at all, my daughter is a toddler and would not tolerate the patch at all, not even for a minute! So we went back to the optomotrist and saw a different one who said that 4 hours a day was a little exessive for a child her age and recommended 2 hours per day instead. My daughter actually started wearing the patch for a little while here and there thru the day, (usually half an hour per time, but 2 or 3 times a day so totalling 1.5 hours) We try and do as much in the way of visual therapy with her while she’s wearing it to really utilise the short spells she has it on for. I realise that while not ideal, surely this is better than nothing? We’ve noticed her squint has improved a little and when she’s wearing her glasses, the squint has practically vanished. Of course, without her glasses, the squint is there, especially when she’s tired, but it’s definatly improving. My question is, what would be the next step if the patch therapy isnt working properly for her? My biggest concern is that while her lazy is being treated, she’s still only seeing thru one eye rather than both! What can we do to help while she’s not wearing her patch?
Thank you!
Hello Nix,
It is, of course, difficult to determine the best course of treatment for your child without examining her, but it sounds like you are on the right path. The fact that her eyes are straight or straighter with the glasses is a very good prognostic sign. Treating the amblyopia with patching is also very important. When your child gets a little older, it will be possible to begin a more active vision therapy program to strengthen her ability to use both eyes together. At your next visit with the optometrist, ask if and when that might happen. Good luck with your daughter, Dr. R. Mozlin
My son is three and has been wearing an eye patch for six hours a day for about a month. We have no problems keeping the eye patch on him. I don’t know why people have problems with keeping it on. He doesn’t like it, but he has no choice in the matter, end of story. Try ortopads, they ate stick on and have less irritating adhesive. Also if you put tincture of benzoin on the area first, it was irritate less. I was wondering when should we start to see improvement. So far there isn’t any.
Hi Dawn,
Thank you for your comment to my post. In response to your question about when you will see improvement from occlusion therapy, the changes should begin to happen certainly within a month. If not, that would indicate there are factors in your son’s case that could be complicating his progress. Once again, the primary point of this blog post to which you responded is that patching therapy should not be thought of as the best approach. In fact, there can be many problems associated with occlusion only therapy. To this point, please refer to my most recent post on the VisionHelp Blog entitled: “The psychosocial and emotional consequences of occlusion therapy….an antiquated treatment for amblyopia”
I’m 16 years old and my left eye is amblyopic, are there any treatments i can do at my age to strengthen my left eye?
Julian,
Treatment for amblyopia is not limited by age! Our “old” brains can learn “new tricks! To find a doctor that can help you, go to covd.org and use the “Locate a Doctor” function. Good luck! Dr. R. Mozlin
there is something good behind every cause,and for that reason we ambylopic are unique.there is nothing to worry about what we are gifted of !!!
Nishant,
Thank you for reminding us that we are all unique and everyone has their special gifts.
RLM
When I was 5, my parents started taking me to eye therapy for amblyopia in downtown Bellingham, WA. I did some eye patching during therapy and at times didn’t. My weaker eye (left) is not lazy and I think its due to my vision doctor and parents research. I want to start going again, now at 23, because my left eye seems to be getting weaker. Is that normal? Should I worry? I love that there is still a chance for my vision to get better!
John,
If you haven’t already done so, try the Locate a Doctor function at covd.org. Yes, there is still a chance that your vision can get better. RLM
my child suffers from severe amblyopia in his right eye. he was diagnosed at age 5 and he is now seven. he was not a good candidate for vision therapy. he is been on eye patching since then. he is also been on continuous vision test on a monthly basis and also using eye glasses. we found out that his vision in both eyes had gotten worst. we were asked to wait and see. i can not wait i am helpless please help
My son suffers from ambloypia. He has perfect vision in his right eye and it is his left eye that he has problems with. He was diagnosed with it at age 3 and all they had us do was patch. I was told when he was 7 that there was nothing else to do, because the eye and the brain stop developing at that age.
I have not heard of the vision therapy before and have located a doctor that does it, but I can not get him in until August. Are there anything suggests as to things I can do now to help him instead of the patching until I can get him in. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
my daughter is the same situation..she is 7 now and have been patching for a while now..I dont see that she is getting better..recent eye doctor visits have shown that the weak eye has not gotten better, in fact it got worse and she really dislikes the patching..at what age will patching NOT work is the question?
My name is Norbert. I am 26 and I come from Slovakia.
I would like to ask you if there is a cure (treatment) for lazy eyes in this age. My left eye is all right, but the right one is not. I try to use my right eye, I am able to recognise objetcs, but can not focus on (sharpen) objects and read texts clearly. It makes me quite unhappy.
In my childhood I was cured by strabismus and lazy eyes, but unsuccesfully.
I would like to work as a lorry driver, for which I have a driving licence, but I can not. I would like to trye all the possibilities of treatment. . On the Internet, I learned that it is possible. and I would like to know more about it, and how to get therapy, it would be by to help you we thank you.
i am 22 and hv my left eye amblyopic. m afraid wat too do. will it worsen in future or wud affect my better eye
My child is 2-1/2 and the optometrist ordered glasses for him. Nothing else was recommended. Should my son be having patching and eye drops?
Concerned,
Shelley
Hello Shelley,
Without having more information about your son’s visual status, it is impossible to know what is the best course of treatment. Just make sure you follow up with the optometrist and ask questions. Good luck with your son’s treatment.
My son is 13. He was diagnosed with amblyopia at age 5. He was in a study at Cal State Fullerton School of Opthamology. We did all the patching. He has always fought me about wearing glasses. We even tried contacts. This year he asked me to take him for an eye exam. We found out his vision in his amblyopic eye had gotten worse. He was fitted for new glasses and the dr recommended 2 a day of patching. What else can we do to help improve his eye sight? Thank you!
Sometimes patching is not enough. Since amblyopia is a brain problem, your son may need to be taught how to use his vision and get his eyes working together. You might want to have him evaluated by a developmental optometrist to determine if he is a good candidate for vision therapy. Good luck!
Struggling with amblyopia and double vision since birth, has led me to travel around Asia and the USA in search of a cure. Most vision therapist, optometrists, eye muscle surgery doctor, slight therapists and neurologists doctors have promised results but did not deliver any after months of training.
Whatever treatment showed any hope I went and applied to my eyesight- leading only to disappointment after disappointment.
Right now my double vision has been aligned after a month of treatment and a couple more months of training is yet required to “graduate” from doctor Yang’s vision therapy facility.
However, what is amazing are the results…… never in my life was I able to control double vision but within a month double vision is gone and now working on improving the vision of the amblyopic eye.
I’m posting this comment on the website because I know how many people out there suffer from vision problems and can make living life difficult. Doctor Yang’s vision therapy clinic is very hidden and located in Seoul—– perhaps those who are in search of a treatment for their vision problems can find it
Hi
I kniw this post is old but could you kindly provide Dr. Yangs contact info as I am in the search for a visuon therapist in Seoul fir my son.
Greetings,
I cannot find an address for Dr. Yangs in Seoul. Please contact Dr. Shin, she will be able to direct you to doctors involved in vision therapy in South Korea (use the Locate a Doctor function at covd.org and search for doctors in South Korea).
Good luck! RLM
Hi, my 3 year old daughter has amblyopia due to a refractive error difference between her eyes – +3.75 and +6.75. she started patching 2 weeks ago and although we have successfully done patching every day so far, it has not got beyond 2 hours. we were advised to do 6 hours a day. during the time she wears the patch i try to keep her busy with drawing, stickers, little toys etc. Is 6 hours really necessary in your opinion? what eye exercises is possible to do with a 3 year old? thankyou for you help
When considering how to help your 3 year old get the best vision therapy treatment for her amblyopia, it is important to know that trying to do it on your own without professional guidance has many obstacles. Just as you have found even occlusion therapy, one of the most basic forms of vision therapy, has limitations. So my best advice is that you find a doctor who will do more than send you home with an eye patch to be worn 6 hours a day. I would suggest that you go to http://www.covd.org and click on the Doctor Locator to find a Doctor who is Board Certified in Developmental Vision and Therapy. One other idea for you to gain insight is to go to another helpful Vision Advocacy Community called SOVOTO. You can check it out at http://www.sovoto.com and enlist the advice of the participating doctors and parents who are engaged in ongoing discussions.
Hi cjp . . .my 4 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with same thing. . .+3.00 and +4.75 . . .well, that is one of 3 different eyeglass . prescriptions we have received over the past 2 months! I’m sooo lost. . . what has worked for your daughter and how is she doing now? We have visited a vision therapy doctor in NC, but we don’t know if that is the way to go . . .the Ophamologist says patch 6 hours a day, Vision Therapy says 0-2 hours a day. . .what do we do??? Any advice would be helpful!
Thanks,
Shelley
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development is an organization of professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of visual conditions that can have significant impact on the lives of our patients. This includes very complex disorders such as strabismus and amblyopia. Our goal is to reach out to patients and potential patients around the world to help them make better decisions when seeking eye and vision care. Due to the complexity of these conditions and the uniqueness of every person’s visual and health status, we cannot offer diagnosis or treatment advice in response to comments or questions on this blog. We would strongly encourage you to consult with an optometrist near you for the proper diagnosis and management of the possible visual dysfunctions you describe. You can start your search here. Best wishes on your journey!
Thank you.
I have NOT improved my amblyopic eye. I now enjoy wonderful 3-d vision; however the amblyopic eye is as it always was. Professional advice should always be sought when considering amblyopia; I am not qualified to offer any advice.
Kit
Just going through your post.How have you improved your 3d vision .Please share.
Thanks
I’m in Australia.
I’m in contact with an appropriately qualified health professional. I have no medical qualifications.
Kit Bunker
I would certainly be interested in what you have done to help yourself. I understand you don’t have any medical qualifications, but still your post of improving your amlyopic eye is interesting.
I am 60 and have amlyopia in my left eye, 20/80-20/100. I was patched as a child and remember some kind of vision therapy. I had the amlyopic eye straightened with surgery at age 2. Once I entered first grade I don’t remember any further patching or eye therapy.
My question is can anything be done for the weak eye at my age? I have a cataract on my good eye, although not bad enough for removal, and some map-dot dystrophy in both eyes.
In fact, I know more about my condition now than I ever knew as a child or young adult. All I knew was I had a lazy eye. Had I known more about what amlyopia was I would have pursued it long ago.
So, again…is there anything I can do at my age?
Good day.
I’m in my 70’s, and have had an amblyopic eye since I was about six. really bad, I cannot read the top letter on an eye test chart.
My lack of full 3d vision has been a horrible experience; you cannot play ball games and walking on rough ground is very difficult.
However I have experimented on my own eyes, using a patching method of my own devising, with brilliant results.
Of course this is an ‘anecdote’, and though an experiment, it is thoroughly ‘unscientific.’
I wonder, would you be willing to read a full account of what I did and why? I think I may actually be ‘on to something’. I’ll e-mail the seven pages if you’d like.
Best wishes,
Dr Kit Bunker
(Dr because of my engineering PhD, I’m not a medical man)
Dr. Bunker,
I’m surprised no doctor has responded to your post?? Are the 7 pages something a “lay person” can read? What was/is the vision in the amplyopic eye before and after your treatment?
I’ve read that “experimenting” on your own can cause problems with the good eye. I certainly wouldn’t want to do that.
Dr. Fortenbacher…would you take a look at Dr. Bunker’s material and report to all of us?
Thank you,
Jan
Samantha, There is new research that indicates that fewer hours of patching can be as effective as the longer patching hours that we previously would have prescribed. That being said, without knowing your daughters case and the severity of her Amblyopia, it is difficult to know if reduced hours would be indicated for her.
What I do know is that the best outcomes for Amblyopia treatment include two factors: parents who are well informed about the condition and great communication between doctor and patient. Please browse the COVD website for more information regarding Amblyopia and ask as many questions here as you want! We have many doctors that love to help with information. Also, please let your doctor know of your concerns about the length of patching and your daughter’s resistance. Great doctors want to be kept in the loop and to make this process as easy as possible for your entire family. This can be accomplished while also making sure that the best treatment plan for success has been implemented.
Thank you for your question!
My 5 year old daughter was diagnosed today with Amblyopia and we were told to patch the “good” eye for 8-10 hours a day. This has not gone over well and she has picked the patch off twice. She just will not have it. Is 8-10 hours a little excessive? Thanks in advance for your response.
Thank you Samantha for raising the question as it is one of the more common reasons why occlusion therapy when prescribed in the way you just described is unsuccessful in treating amblyopia in young children.
Think about it, most of us would be very uncomfortable coving one eye and trying to manage or lives 8-10 hours of the day even if we have 20/20 visual acuity. The young child who has reduced sight due to amblyopia and forced to cover the “good eye” for the good part of 8-10 hours of the day will often go into a panic mode. Thus the patch comes off and the battles between child and parents begin.
However, there is help. First of all it is critically important to find a doctor who will treat your daughter’s amblyopia with a more comprehensive approach. Yes, occlusion techniques can be utilized but usually while playing a game that includes eye-hand coordination. There are a variety of other approaches that use “graded occlusion” where some of the vision is reduced in the good eye without opaque occlusion. But, what is essential to your daughters success in her amblyopia treatment is for your doctor to include binocular vision therapy in the regimen of care.
You can find a doctor closest to you by going to the COVD website (http://www.covd.org) and click on the “Doctor Locator”. Look for the doctor who is a Fellow and has the initials FCOVD after their name which indicates that he/she is Board Certified in Developmental Vision and Vision Therapy.
Dan L. Fortenbacher, O.D., FCOVD
My Daughter was diagnosed with this a couple years ago. She is now 9. Our eye Doc told us that a lot of kids have this and it is not a concern at all. No treatment was perscribed and it is now really bothering me that I see they can treat this problem! We were told at the time that she was probably too old to bother treating? Wow…
Thank you for your comment Jason. Yes, amblyopia can be treated even into adulthood.
However, it is important that you seek the care of a doctor who will do more than eye patching alone. As was the point in this article, occlusion therapy (patching the “good” eye) is the approach that will yield improvement in the sight of the amblyopic eye, but occlusion therapy by itself does not help the patient to develop the critically important use of both eyes (binocular vision). Therefore, look for a doctor who provides office-based vision therapy to get the help your daughter needs to treat her binocular vision.
If your not sure how to find a doctor who provides this care, go to the COVD website at http://www.covd.org and click on the Doctor Locator.
Thank you!! I was a childhood patient of Dr. Appel at the Gessell Institute, treated for amblyopia. Your articles reinforce my belief that my parents did everything possible to improve my vision with what was available at the time, and that I was seen and treated by experts, (despite one opthamologist I went to in my thirties who thought I should have been “cured” and implied that the care I had been given was substandard). I’m delighted to see how things have changed for the better.
Has there ever been success in patients who have suffered any eye injury let’s say in my case in the 50’s that was previously unable to correct at a young age (in my case 2 yrs), later correcting the the eye itself and regaining sight. Just wondering, Thanks Jeff.
Hi Jeff,
Based on your question it sounds like you suffered an injury to the eye causing a loss of vision. Damage to the eye is not amblyopia and therefore would not be treatable with amblyopia treatment regardless of your age.
On the other hand, if you did have amblyopia your age would not normally be the limiting factor. However, to be able to sort this out, you should see a doctor who is Board Certified in Vision Development, an FCOVD. To find an FCOVD doctor go to http://www.covd.org and click on the Doctor Locator.