Unfortunately, the research has been extrapolated—and misinterpreted—by many physicians to mean that once vision has developed within a critical period in childhood, visual skills become fixed and cannot be improved. Recent research tells us a different story. We now know that the circuitry of the brain can actually change at any age as a result of our actions and experiences.
For example, a study funded by the National Eye Institute NEI showed that children ages 7 to 17 years experienced improvement when treated for amblyopia. More specifically, for amblyopia the visual skill that needs to be retrained is the aforementioned binocular vision.
Remember, poor binocular vision is the root cause behind amblyopia. Healthy binocular vision is when both eyes see similarly and the brain can easily combine the images. With poor binocular vision, the two images cannot be combined into one single image and one image is ignored. And therein lies the key. Generally speaking, the plasticity of the brain decreases as a person ages. However, it is still possible at any age to retrain the visual system, restore binocular vision, and correct amblyopia.
Amblyopia can be difficult to detect because there are no cosmetic indications. With strabismus, for example, the eyes may be crossed, or one turned outward or inward. Some of these symptoms result in clumsiness or difficulty in activities like throwing or catching an object. An adult may bump into objects or may experience issues while driving and judging distances.
The only way to truly determine if someone has amblyopia is through a functional vision exam. A functional vision exam includes a comprehensive assessment of visual information processing, binocular function and other visual skills. Amblyopia lazy eye in adults can be treated through three approaches.
Note that one or all of these may be required. They can be modified for density and opaqueness over time, as symptoms improve. For this reason, they may be useful after patching has occurred, as a secondary treatment. Medicated eye drops can be used to blur the vision in the dominant eye, making the weaker eye work harder.
The medication typically used is atropine, which is sold under the brand name Isopto Atropine. It may be used several times daily to diminish vision in the dominant eye, making the lazy eye work harder.
Atropine is covered by insurance, though your plan may require you to get the generic type. Games and activities designed to challenge the weak eye have been shown to be beneficial, but these may not be enough to correct vision as a stand-alone treatment. Eye training tools include specific types of computer or iPad games and activities such as putting together jigsaw puzzles and drawing pictures. Training with computer games and videos has been shown to be effective in several small studies, including one from and one from However, more research is needed before it can be considered effective enough to use without other forms of therapy, such as wearing an eyepatch.
Surgery for lazy eye is done to adjust the length or positioning of the eye muscles. It may be used when amblyopia is caused by a:. Surgical solutions for lazy eye usually require additional strategies, such as eye patching, in order to correct vision. Surgery is also used to improve the cosmetic appearance of the eye. The risks associated with this type of surgery include overcorrection or undercorrection of the eye.
There are also the usual minimal risks associated with any type of surgery, such as infection. Recovery time at home will take a few days to a week. During this time, there may be red or pink tears coming out of the eye.
The eye may also be red. Mild pain and swelling are to be expected. Costs for this type of surgery will depend on your insurance and geographic location.
Amblyopia sometimes called "lazy eye" is reduced vision in one eye because the eye and the brain aren't working together properly. The affected eye often looks normal, but it's not being used normally — the visual part of the brain is favoring the other eye.
There are two primary causes of amblyopia : 1 misalignment of the eyes called strabismus and 2 the eyes having significantly different amounts of refractive error. In the case of amblyopia, one eye has better visual acuity than the other. There is also difficulty with depth perception resulting from poor or no development of stereopsis.
A child who has trouble catching and throwing objects, or is clumsy and always bumping into things may have amblyopia. For years, medical practitioners have referred to the cat study and told people that there is no treatment for amblyopia, as the critical period had passed.
But recent research and treatments using vision therapy have proven otherwise. Knowing that the brain can be retrained, developmental optometrists use a variety of methods to get the two eyes to work as a team and see visual space accurately. The approach begins with finding the right lens or glasses. Patching and vision therapy, which includes a series of visual activities, may then be used in tandem to retrain the visual system.
Every case of amblyopia is different, and a functional vision test should be administered to determine the extent of the vision problem. We like to feature case studies of people who have used vision therapy to overcome lazy eye. In this video, one of our former patient's mother discusses how vision therapy helped her daughter overcome amblyopia.
You'll note that she mentions her daughter's eye turn -- it is possible to have amblyopia and strabismus a turned eye at the same time. Often strabismus is what causes the amblyopia, as the brain chooses not to receive the two conflicting signals.
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