1.What is amblyopia?
Amblyopia is defined as amblyopia in which there is no obvious organic pathology in the eye and the corrected visual acuity is ≤0.8.
2.What are the common treatment methods for amblyopia?
The key to amblyopia treatment is accurate optometry, and children also need dilated pupils for optometry and appropriate glasses.
(1) Traditional masking method + fine vision homework: Cover the eye with good vision, force the amblyopic eye (eye with poor vision) to see, and do fine vision homework at the same time, such as: training with amblyopic inserts to stimulate the development of the optic nerve system and make the amblyopic eye improve its vision. This method is simple and easy to implement and is suitable for strabismic amblyopia and refractive amblyopia with reliable results.
(2) Visual stimulation therapy (i.e., CAM stimulator): the use of contrast, spatial frequency of different bars, as a source of stimulation to stimulate the amblyopic eye to improve visual acuity. This method is easy to implement, each treatment time is short, quick results, especially for refractive amblyopia, other suppression therapy, posterior image therapy, etc.
3.How can I detect amblyopia in my baby early?
The best way to detect amblyopia is to check the vision of all children in detail around the age of 3. Generally speaking, parents should routinely go to the hospital for eye examinations if they find that their child is reading and writing with both eyes too close to the book, looking at people with one eye gaze and the other eye skewed, or looking at people with a tilted head.
4.What is the danger of amblyopia?
Amblyopia is a curable disease if it occurs during the sensitive period of visual development. If amblyopia in children is not detected and treated early, it will lead to low vision in one or both eyes, seriously affecting the visual function of both eyes, leading to the disappearance of fusion and becoming stereo-blind.
5. Is it better to treat amblyopia at an older age or at a younger age?
Many parents think that amblyopia should be treated when the child is older, because the child will know better and the treatment will be easier to cooperate. Some studies have shown that the critical period is within 2 years of age, the sensitive period is before 6-8 years of age, the treatment effect is extremely poor after 12 years of age, and the treatment is almost hopeless after 16 years of age.
6.Is it possible to stop the treatment after the amblyopic eye’s vision is restored to normal?
Most parents think it is not necessary to treat amblyopia after it has recovered to normal vision after treatment. The restoration of normal vision in the amblyopic eye is only the first step of treatment, and later on we have to train the monocular, fusion and stereo vision functions of both eyes.
Key points of amblyopia treatment
1. Early
The younger the age of amblyopia treatment, the better the results. The earliest treatment can be started from 1-2 years old, and amblyopia before 6 years old can be easily treated to more than 1.0; the above-mentioned refractory amblyopia, such as more than 6 years old before treatment, is difficult to cure to more than 1.0, and amblyopia above 12 years old is generally considered basically ineffective.
2.Wearing glasses
When amblyopia is accompanied by hyperopia, astigmatism or myopia, glasses should be worn as early as possible according to the doctor’s requirements. Wearing glasses is the basis of amblyopia treatment. If you don’t wear glasses, the treatment effect will be poor or even ineffective, causing more harm.
3, amblyopia treatment instrument and computer software joint treatment
Amblyopia can be seen as a kind of “optic atrophy” or “optic cell sleep”, more serious amblyopia must be added with amblyopia instrument to exercise the “atrophy” of vision, or wake up the “sleeping” optic cells. The “sleeping” vision cells can be cured. The latest modern scientific research can be used to combine the traditional amblyopia treatment instrument with modern multimedia intelligent software, through indirect vision enhancement (such as light brush, after image, red light flash, etc.) and direct vision enhancement (such as fine work, visual stimulation, etc.) with the treatment, can use amblyopia patients can effectively improve vision.
4.Covering the healthy eye
When the difference in visual acuity between the two eyes is more than 2 rows, cover eye treatment must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor to avoid the loss of visual acuity in the healthy eye.
5.Consolidation treatment
If you interrupt the treatment, your child’s visual acuity may be reduced in the future. The visual training of children with amblyopia is a long-term process.
Our children’s amblyopia, strabismus prevention and treatment group believes that: where there is no organic eye lesions, functional factors are the main, corrected distance visual acuity is less than 0.9 are classified as amblyopia. Amblyopia is a state of diminished visual function that occurs in infancy and early childhood due to the failure of the eye’s photoreceptor system (mainly the macula) to give full play to its photoreceptor function, so that visual development is affected. The main manifestation is low visual acuity and monocular visual dysfunction in both eyes.
Amblyopia occurs only in early childhood when vision is not yet mature. Children over the age of 8 have nearly mature visual development and can resist the factors that trigger amblyopia and will not develop amblyopia. The main defect in amblyopic patients is a central blind spot in the amblyopic eye and normal function of the peripheral part of the retina.
Grading of amblyopia
1. Mild amblyopia – corrected visual acuity of 0.6 to 0.8.
2.Moderate amblyopia – corrected visual acuity is 0.2-0.5.
3.Severe amblyopia – the corrected visual acuity is ≤0.1.
The best time to treat amblyopia
1.1-3 years old: the critical period for treating children with amblyopia.
2.4-8 years old: the sensitive period for treating children’s amblyopia.
3.9-14 years old: still curable, but the course of treatment is slightly longer.
4.Above 14 years old: almost no hope of cure.
Treatment methods.
Fine vision training
It is a kind of special application training for amblyopic eyes, which is beneficial to visual development and improve visual acuity. There are many methods of fine visual acuity training, which should be chosen according to the age, intelligence and visual acuity of the amblyopic child, and the training methods can be changed frequently.
Amblyopia Therapy Instrument
Includes the following treatment functions.
1.Light brush therapy (Hedinger light brush)
2.Red flash therapy (red filter therapy)
3, grating therapy (visual physiological stimulation therapy).
4, posterior image augmentation therapy: if amblyopia is seen as paracentral gaze, posterior image therapy can be performed.
Treatment using amblyopia therapy instrument, generally 1-2 times a day; each function for 5 minutes each time; according to the amblyopia can be taken to do with or without glasses.
Combination therapy
Since the mechanisms of various treatments are not the same, comprehensive therapy is superior to single therapy. Children with amblyopia in one eye are first routinely covered in the healthy eye and given more gaze exercises in the amblyopic eye, together with fine visual training and stimulation by amblyopia therapy devices. Amblyopes with eccentric gaze can choose the posterior image method, etc. If the vision of the amblyopic eye improves after several months of treatment, the child can go to the hospital for further treatment.