What are the treatments for amblyopia?
Treatments include:
Correcting the underlying eye disorders
For example: refractive errors such as short or long sight can be corrected with glasses; cataracts can be removed; etc.
Making the the affected eye work
The main treatment for amblyopia is to restrict the use of the good eye. This then forces the affected eye to work. If this is done early enough in childhood, the vision will usually improve, often up to a normal level. In effect, the visual development of the affected eye catches up. The common way this is done is to put a patch over the good eye for a time. This is called 'eye patching'.
The length of time an eye patch is used, and how long it should be used each day can vary. It depends on the age of the child and how bad the amblyopia has become. Basically, treatment is continued until vision is normal, or until there is no further improvement with continued treatment. This may be for several weeks or for several months. The child is then monitored every now and then up to the age of about eight to check that the eye remains 'in use' and is not becoming amblyopic again. Sometimes spells of 'maintenance' treatment are needed up to the age of eight when the vision pathways are mature and fixed.
Sometimes eye drops or special glasses are used to blur the good eye instead of using an eye patch. Again, this forces the child to use the amblyopic eye to see.
Vision therapy is also sometimes used. In particular, as maintenance treatment. For example, playing 'visually demanding' games with a child which require a lot of use of the affected eye.
What is the outlook (prognosis)?
As a rule, the younger the child is treated, the quicker the improvement in vision is likely to be, and the better the chance of restoring full normal vision. If treatment is started before the age of about 6-7 years then it is often possible to restore normal vision. If treatment is started in older children then some improvement in vision may still occur but full normal vision is unlikely to be achieved.
The most important point is that you must follow the advice given by an orthoptist or eye surgeon about patching (or similar methods to force the affected eye to work). The most common reason why eye patching does not work as well as it might is because treatment is not followed as instructed. Wearing an eye patch for much of the day for several weeks or months may be irritating to some children. However, do try to encourage your child to persist with treatment for the long-term benefit of good vision.
