Treatment for Amblyopia

Amblyopia is a condition that occurs in people at a very early age and is sometimes confused with being squint or cock-eyed – the more common term being lazy-eyed. The condition is in fact not one where the eye itself is at fault but rather one in which the brain is to blame. This is because of improper stimulation at the crucial years of ocular development, which is estimated to be before the age of 2. The condition manifests itself in the appearance of being lazy-eyed or can take other forms. The interesting part of this condition is that in most cases it is reversible if tackled at an early age and curiously, the treatment may even involve video games.

Amblyopia Causes

Amblyopia is a condition that arises for no known reason though a type of amblyopia called form deprivation amblyopia is caused by injury during childbirth from forceps, which causes the development of a cataract. Even this form of the disease is reversible. The other types of amblyopia are strabismic amblyopia and anisometropic amblyopia. Strabismic amblyopia develops with the appearance of one lazy eye. There is generally a feeling of dual vision because both eyes are actually looking in two different directions. Anisometropic amblyopia is symptomised by a refractive error in both eyes that causes the weaker eye to go amblyopic. In all of these conditions, and especially in children, the brain will compensate for the incorrect vision by relying only on the good eye. This causes something tantamount to atrophy in the weaker eye. If the condition is not treated before the age of 10, the chances of the brain trying to recreate nerve connections is very slim and this means that the problem could last forever. The key in treating this disease in children is the reliance on neuroplasty – the ability of the brain to correct damage and grow correctly.

Amblyopia Therapy

The treatment therefore requires the penalization of the good eye by wearing an eye patch. This will encourage the use of the weaker eye, exercise it, and possibly return it to 20/20 vision. This is the treatment in both strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia. Care must be taken not to overdo the use of the patch or amblyopia will occur to the good eye. The curious therapy that has shown some promise in this disease is the use of video games because of the processing and attention to fine detail that it requires.