Amblyopia is a common vision disorder during childhood, affecting as many as 5% of kids worldwide. Also called “lazy eye,” amblyopia can have a significant effect on a child’s learning and development, and its progression and effects can change as your child gets older.
As a leading pediatric ophthalmology specialty practice, ABC Children's Eye Specialists offers the most advanced treatment options for amblyopia, helping kids enjoy the clearest vision possible.
In this post, our team offers an overview of amblyopia, including why it happens, how it evolves, and what we can do to help your child see clearly again.
Amblyopia is a relatively common vision problem in kids that happens when your child's eyes and brain don’t work together to support normal vision. Specifically, amblyopia occurs when there’s a communication “breakdown” between your child’s brain and one eye (rarely both).
Over time, the brain begins to favor one eye, making it stronger than the other. The weak eye, meanwhile, lags behind in development. The brain begins to ignore visual information from that eye, leading to reduced vision that won’t get better on its own.
Amblyopia can make it harder to focus and see clearly, and it also alters depth perception and eye coordination, leading to problems with many daily activities, like schoolwork, reading, sports, and even socializing.
Since amblyopia usually only affects one eye, kids don’t always realize they have a problem, which is why comprehensive pediatric eye exams are so important.
Like most vision issues, early treatment is the key to achieving the best results. While later treatment can still yield clear vision for your child, delaying care means they may experience problems at school and in other areas of their lives.
Amblyopia symptoms can evolve as your child grows and the brain becomes more used to working with only one eye. While your child is quite young, they may respond well to wearing an eye patch over the stronger eye for a set time each day.
This forces the brain to work with the weaker eye, improving vision and coordination over time. For slightly older kids, special eye drops or contact lenses can achieve the same goal as a patch, but without the need to keep a patch in place for hours a day.
In some instances, we may recommend eyeglasses for young kids. Wearing glasses can help provide clear vision and support activities like reading and schoolwork that can otherwise lead to significant delays and frustration.
One reason why early treatment is important is because at this stage, your child’s brain is still rapidly developing, which means it can adapt more quickly to a change in vision. As your child grows and brain development slows. treatment may take a little longer or require a different approach.
For kids in the early years of elementary school, vision therapy can play a key role. This treatment involves a sequence of exercises and activities designed to strengthen the weaker eye while promoting coordination between both eyes and the brain.
Therapy can be used along with patching.
While treatment during early childhood is ideal, older kids can definitely benefit from treatment. By the time a child reaches their teens and preteens, the brain is less adaptable, but it can still “learn” how to see properly with some extra effort.
Some visual therapy techniques use digital options, like game-based training to help older kids stay motivated. For kids of all ages, parental involvement is important for keeping kids on track with their therapy.
Amblyopia treatment plays an important role no matter what your child’s age may be. The earlier you seek treatment, the quicker your child can begin enjoying all the advantages of clearer vision.
To learn more about amblyopia treatment and how we can customize a plan for your child, call our offices to request an appointment with the team at ABC Children’s Eye Specialists in Phoenix, Avondale, Sun City, Gilbert, and Mesa, Arizona, today.
