The danger of amblyopia to children
Amblyopia is a condition in which no organic lesions are seen inside or outside the eye after examination, and the vision cannot be corrected to normal. The visual acuity of amblyopic eyes is below 0.8-0.9.
● Damage to the quality of life Yu Guimei, Ophthalmology Department, Siping Central Hospital
The eyes are the windows to the human mind, and usually 90% of an individual’s access to information about the outside world depends on vision. Poor vision in children does not only affect their current life and study, but affects their whole life and adds to the burden of the country.
● Damage to permanent vision
The greatest danger of amblyopia is that the affected child not only has low vision in both or one eye, but also does not have perfect binocular vision and fine stereo vision. Usually, experts believe that amblyopia is more harmful than myopia, because children with simple myopia can see faintly in the distance and clearly in the near, and their visual cells and nerves can be stimulated by external objects without declining, unlike amblyopia, whose visual cells and nerves cannot be accurately stimulated by external objects for a long time and decline, and whose distance vision is lower than 0.8. If not prevented in time, their vision will be permanently low.
Early prevention, early detection
Regular vision check
Parents can purchase a standard vision chart and hang it on a well-lit wall at a distance of 5m for their children to identify. If the vision of one eye is below 0.8 after several times, then the child is diagnosed with eye disease and needs to be promptly checked for amblyopia.
Pay attention to observation
In addition to low vision, children with amblyopia often have other manifestations, such as squinting, head tilting, squinting or looking at objects very close to the eyes. Once you find these phenomena in your child, you should go to the hospital eye examination as soon as possible to confirm the diagnosis, because about 1/2 of the strabismus combined with amblyopia.
Masking test
For infants and children who cannot cooperate with the vision test, we can cover one eye intentionally and let the child see with one eye. If the child cries or tears the cover, it indicates that the vision of the uncovered eye is very poor and should be checked at the hospital as soon as possible.
Best treatment period – preschool
Many parents believe that amblyopia should be treated after school, when the child understands and can easily cooperate with the treatment. Medically, amblyopia treatment is closely related to age, and the younger the child, the better the results. The relevant research shows that 0-7 years old is the best treatment period, of which 3-7 years old is better due to the child’s cooperation, the treatment effect is also better, 80%-90% can be cured, 7-10 years old can still be treated, 10-12 years old is not easy to treat, after 12 years old the treatment effect is minimal, after the adult treatment has been ineffective.
Parental cooperation is the key to successful treatment of pediatric amblyopia
The role of parents in the treatment of amblyopia in children is crucial and is the key to success. Because the treatment process for amblyopia is long, parents need to have confidence and patience, as well as be careful and attentive.
After the glasses are prepared, the child must be urged to insist on wearing them, cover up the treatment according to the situation and do regular dilated eye examinations as prescribed by the doctor.
2. While wearing glasses and covering treatment, make sure to strengthen the training of fine work. The more you use your amblyopic eye, the faster your vision will improve. Parents can often change new forms, homemade or purchase some auxiliary treatment apparatus to improve the interest of the child’s training.
3. If optical drug suppression therapy is used, in addition to insisting on wearing glasses, the pupil should be dilated with the prescribed concentration of atropine eye solution punctually as prescribed by the doctor.
Parents should bring their children to the hospital for regular follow-ups as prescribed by the doctor, so that the doctor can determine the efficacy and adjust the treatment plan at any time. Usually, the child should be seen once a month. Within six months after normalization of visual acuity, monthly follow-up is still required to prevent recurrence of amblyopia, and then gradually changed to 3-monthly or semi-annual follow-up until the visual acuity remains normal for 3 years, then amblyopia is completely cured.