Is Amblyopia treatable?
Yes. In most of the cases the amblyopia is treatable. The treatment involves 'forcing' the brain to use the weaker eye and thus stimulating its visual development. This is done by patching the better eye. The schedule of patching is decided by the ophthalmologist depending upon the degree of amblyopia and the age of child.
When should it be treated?
As soon as possible. The earlier the amblyopia is detected and the treatment started, the better are the results. The aim is to stimulate the brain to use the suppressed eye before permanent change has occurred, so that it gets a chance of normal development. Generally speaking, an amblyopia that is not treated by 10 years of age has a poor chance of recovering the vision.
Why is it important to treat amblyopia?
If an amblyopic eye is not treated by 10 years of age, the amblyopic eye may permanently stay weak. This has many disadvantages like:
• Both eyes can not be used simultaneously and hence depth perception (three-dimensional vision) is not present. Many occupations are not open for people who have good vision in one eye only.
• It is important to give best possible vision to the amblyopic eye even if the other eye is seeing well. The importance of this becomes obvious, in case the person loses the other (better) eye, sometime later due to some injury or disease.
What are the factors that determine the success of treatment?
The success of amblyopia treatment largely depends upon the motivation of parents and the cooperation of the child. Patching of the better eye, especially when the amblyopic eye has very poor vision is not tolerated well by the child. The parents have to understand the importance of this treatment and should explain the same to the child to ensure better cooperation.
The other factors that determine the success of treatment are:
• The severity (depth) of amblyopia
• The age at which the treatment is started: The earlier the treatment is started, the better are the results
• Any other complicating factor in the eye preventing sufficient gain of vision, e.g., glaucoma, cataract, retinal or optic nerve disorders
My child has squint and amblyopia. Which should be treated first?
Amblyopia has to be treated first in all these cases. Once the amblyopia has been taken care of, the surgery may be done for squint correction.
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Amblyopia
