Amblyopia, commonly known as ‘Lazy eye’, is a vision-related disorder that affects young children. And you can get this condition treated using our Amblyopia therapy software!
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In some children, only one of the two eyes focuses properly. This is a vision problem called lazy eyes (the medical term for this is Amblyopia). It is caused when the two eyes send different images to the brain. For example, it may happen if one of the eyes is more nearsighted, farsighted, or has more astigmatism (refractive error) than the other, or if the child has a squint. The brain then primarily processes the information coming from the better eye, ignoring the other. If unnoticed or untreated, it can continue to affect in later years. It is estimated that about 4% of children and between 1-5% of the adult population is affected by this visual impairment.
Our eyes have a set of muscles that help with eye movements. A weakness in any eye muscle will lead to abnormalities in the movement, such as turning inwards or outwards or having uncoordinated movements. This condition is called “Squint” or “ Strabismus”. The brain tends to ignore the hazy visual images coming from the affected eye which is non-aligned. This eye then becomes a “Lazy eye.
When a child develops a lazy eye, parents may observe that their child faces difficulty focusing on objects, or they squint or shut one of the eyes to view the objects or surroundings clearly. Often, the child’s eyes may appear to turn inward, outward, or they may not work together in coordination.
Older children may also complain of poor perception of depth and an inability to view things clearly from a distance, such as writing on the classroom board.
When children develop such symptoms, It is important to consult a pediatric ophthalmologist as soon as possible to enable early treatment.
If a child with lazy eyes does not receive early treatment, the condition may worsen and persist in adulthood. Sometimes, a child may be undiagnosed for visual disturbances at an early age and may receive a diagnosis as they grow older, when visual disturbances intensify.
The common complaints of adults having lazy eyes are:
● The child may be seen squinting or shutting one eye.
● Parents may be able to see uncoordinated eye movements in their child.
● The child may complain of inability to view the classroom board clearly.
● Blurred or double vision
● Poor depth perception
● Increased complaints of eye strain.
Eye drops are instilled into the normal eye and cause a temporary blurring of vision in the normal eye. This prompts the brain to turn towards visual impulses coming from the weaker or lazy eye. The effect is similar to patching.
However, the success of these approaches depends on how regularly the child is in applying the patches/eye drops. Most children do not like this kind of patching and tend to resist it. Very often, parents do not apply the patch to avoid social stigma. Compliance with patching is very low
Patching or penalization can also lead to visual problems in the normal eye. Patching has limitations of age and does not help in correcting the adult lazy eye.
Treatment for eyes using dichoptic technology is an emerging and highly effective approach for correcting Lazy eyes and improving vision. Dichoptic eye treatments work by offering simultaneous and separate visual stimuli to both eyes. In simpler terms, depending on the impairment, both eyes are presented with different stimuli simultaneously, which helps enhance the contrast difference perceived by both eyes. This can help achieve a balance between the normal eye and the lazy eye.