Lazy eye is a type of vision disorder. Lazy eyes or amblyopia. Amblyopia, which is seen in about 3% of people, occurs when the eye does not have normal vision in childhood. This disorder, which is usually seen in one eye due to lazy vision impairment due to various factors such as refractive errors (camera, Myopia or astigmatism, ocular deviation (lupus or strabismus), or blurred vision (due to factors such as cataracts, corneal opacity, or drooping eyelids) occur. The lack of image clarity in the patient's eye and the better image created in the healthy eye causes the brain to choose between the two eyes, the healthy eye to see, and in fact blocks the path of sending the image from the patient's eye to the brain Off.
Eye laziness in children
Eye laziness in children can be completely cured if diagnosed early, otherwise it can lead to low vision or blindness. 3, 4 year olds can not say that they have difficulty seeing and because they have always seen the same and have no other experience to see. Therefore, screening is practically the only way to diagnose this problem. The only way to prevent lazy eye is to diagnose it in time. Because many of these factors are unknown to families, all children's eyes should be examined at least three times before school at different times. If the child does not have a problem, visit the child's eye examination once a year, otherwise every 6 or 3 months or monthly depending on the doctor's opinion. Diagnoses eye laziness. Especially when one eye is weaker than the other, the doctor is more likely to consider lazy eye.
Depending on the age of the child, the following tests are performed on him:
Neonates (3 months old): A red reflex test to diagnose juvenile cataracts using an optical magnifying glass (ophthalmoscope).
Infants (1 to 2 years): Test the infant's ability to focus on an object and follow moving objects and examine for strabismus.
Toddlers (2 to 3 years old): Red reflex test, photoscreen, and automatic vision test.
Treatment of lazy eye in adolescents and adults
For many years, doctors believed that lazy eye, if left untreated as a child, had no hope of curing it and could not be cured in adulthood. According to experts, the best and most vital time to start treatment for lazy eye is 8 years old, and after this time, treatment will become impossible. But new research and studies have shown that adolescent and adult eye laziness can be treated by using computer programs that stimulate nerve changes and significantly improve the quality and accuracy of a person's vision.
One of these computer programs called RevitalVision has been successful in improving the vision of children and adults with lazy eye and has been able to restore the quality of vision to a large extent to normal. This treatment consists of 40 40-minute sessions that take several weeks to complete. In a laboratory study of 33 children and adults with lazy eye (9 to 54 years old), nearly 70.5% of people had significantly improved vision after using RevitalVision.
What is the cause of lazy eye?
When the normal function of the eyes is disturbed, lazy eye occurs and in many cases it can be said that the cause of lazy eye is hereditary.
In general, the causes of lazy eye are divided into three main categories:
1. Strabismus (ocular deviation): Eye laziness often occurs after ocular deviation. In strabismus or aberration of the eyes, the child uses the eye that has better vision to escape diplopia, and as a result, the eye that deviates does not develop and becomes lazy.
2. Refractive errors: Refractive errors are a type of vision disorder that can be corrected by prescribing glasses. Eye laziness occurs when a refractive error occurs, including farsightedness, myopia, or astigmatism in one eye (when the other eye is healthy) or in two eyes (while there is a significant difference in vision between the two eyes). In this case, the weaker eye becomes lazy. Severe refractive errors in both eyes can also lead to laziness in both eyes. It is usually difficult to diagnose this type of amblyopia, because in this case the appearance of the eyes is normal and the child seems to have no vision.
3. Factors blocking the visual pathway: Factors blocking the visual pathway are referred to as drooping eyelids, cataracts, corneal opacity, etc. These problems usually cause the most severe amblyopia.
Treatment of lazy eye
It is important to start treatment for lazy eye in childhood. During this period, complex connections between the eye and the brain are being formed. The best results are obtained when treatment is started before the age of 7, although half of children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 17 also respond positively to treatment.
Treatment options depend on the cause of the lazy eye and how much the condition has affected the child's vision. Your doctor may have the following recommendations:
Corrective glasses
Glasses or lenses that can correct problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism that lead to lazy eyes.
• Eye patch
Your child should use a stronger eye patch to mimic a weaker eye. The eye patch is usually used for two to six hours a day.
• Semi-transparent filters
This special filter is placed on the lenses of stronger eyeglasses. As a result, it blurs the stronger eye and, like an eye patch, is used to simulate a weaker eye.
• Eye drops
Twice a week, an eye drop of a drug called atropine (Isoputo atropine) can temporarily blur vision in the stronger eye. This encourages your child to use his weaker eye and is a substitute for a patch. Side effects of this drug are photosensitivity.
• Surgery
If your child's eyes are left or crooked, your doctor may recommend eye muscle surgery. Surgery may also be needed if your child has drooping eyelids or cataracts.
Activity-based therapies such as drawing, doing puzzles, and playing computer games are also common. The effect of adding these activities to other therapies has not yet been proven.
For most children with lazy eyes, proper treatment will improve their vision in a matter of weeks to months. The course of treatment may last from six months to two years.
Your child should also be monitored for the return of lazy eye. In 25% of children whose lazy eye is relieved, the disease may come back. In this case, treatment should be started again.