Many children with amblyopia are treated with long-term glasses and coverings. But getting a child to wear glasses can be a hassle, not to mention covering up one eye. During treatment, many mothers encounter a variety of questions, such as when to wear glasses? What if my child doesn’t want to wear glasses? How many hours a day do I have to cover up? What are the effects of not covering the eye properly? Here are some answers to various questions during amblyopia treatment.
Question 1: How soon can I wear glasses after my pupils are dilated?
The question of when to wear glasses after pupil dilatation is one that mothers struggle with, and it depends on the situation. For farsightedness and astigmatism, you should wear your glasses the day after your pupil dilatation test. When the pupil is in a normal state, it is uncomfortable to wear farsighted glasses, so your child will not want to wear them after the pupil recovers, so it is recommended that you let your child wear them while the pupil is still dilated. If the glasses are nearsighted, you can wait until the pupil recovers before wearing them.
Question 2: What should I pay attention to while my child is wearing glasses?
It takes 2 to 3 weeks for a child to get used to a new pair of glasses. During this period, the child may feel uncomfortable but will gradually adapt. For example, it is normal to feel uneven when wearing astigmatism glasses, parents should pay attention to protect their children during the period of wearing glasses to prevent them from falling down and getting injured. At the same time, we should strictly follow the doctor’s prescription for review, especially for children who still can’t adapt after wearing glasses for one month.
Question 3: Will my child eventually be able to take off his glasses?
If the child has amblyopia caused by farsightedness, the farsightedness will recover slowly as the child grows older, and when the normal vision is restored or the farsightedness is reduced to a certain level, the child will be able to take off the glasses. If the child is nearsighted or has astigmatism, there is little hope of removing the glasses in the future because myopia and astigmatism do not get better on their own.
Question 4: What should I pay attention to while my child is covered up? What are the consequences of poor coverage?
When the eyes with good vision are covered, the child’s movement will be inconvenient, so parents should pay attention to protection to avoid danger. It is also important to monitor the effectiveness of the covering and to make sure that it is tight. The purpose of the masking is to force the child to see with the amblyopic eye, and if the masking is not tightened, it can seriously affect the outcome of the treatment and influence the doctor’s next treatment plan. If you do not cover the eye tightly, parents must inform the doctor during the review what the effective coverage time is, so that the doctor can adjust the treatment plan. Some children feel that covering up one eye will be laughed at, parents should guide them well and not cause psychological burden to the child.
Question 5: How many hours a day do you cover? How to do fine vision training during the masking period?
One important thing to keep in mind when covering is to prevent amblyopia from occurring in the good eye as much as possible and to allow the amblyopic eye to be exercised as much as possible, so the duration of covering should not be too long or too short. Generally, children within 1 year of age should be covered continuously for no more than 4 hours a day, and children over 1 year of age should be covered for 4-6 hours a day. 3 year old children can be covered continuously for 3 days and opened for one day, 1 year old children should be reviewed once a week, 2 year old children should be reviewed once every 2 weeks, 3 year old children should be reviewed once every 3-4 weeks, and during the period of covering, children can do training such as stringing beads and tracing diagrams for about 15 minutes each time, once a day. Once a day, for children with severe amblyopia, twice a day. However, for myopic children, they must be trained under the guidance of a doctor, and generally do not do bead-stringing or other intensive vision training to avoid deepening myopia.
Question 6: Can my child watch TV during amblyopia treatment?
Children with myopic amblyopia should watch as little TV as possible. Children with farsightedness and astigmatism can watch TV normally without being affected, but they should also pay attention to protecting their eyes. Because watching too much TV is not good for the eyes, and children with amblyopia have to do fine vision training, their eyes are already tired, so it is not good to watch TV or computer for too long.
Question 7: How long does it take for amblyopia treatment to heal? Will it come back?
Generally, treatment for mild amblyopia is more effective, some children are cured in 3 months or 6 months, but for some children with severe amblyopia, the treatment time should be longer, 2 years or even 5 years are possible. Amblyopia may recur, so after the amblyopia is cured, a consolidation period is needed. The recurrence rate generally decreases after consolidation, but there are a few children who have recurrences. However, even if there is a recurrence, it can be recovered after a period of treatment.
Question 8: How often should I be reviewed during amblyopia treatment?
Amblyopia treatment should be reviewed at least once a month so that the vision of the good eye is not damaged by prolonged masking. At the beginning of treatment, children are usually required to be reviewed once every two weeks and gradually once a month. Some children with stable disease may also be reviewed once every 2 to 3 months, and the doctor will inform the next review at the time of the current review.
Notes for online consultation and patient check-in.
If a patient after the consultation wants to consult with the doctor on the website, he or she needs to upload a photo of the medical history page from the last visit so that the doctor can know the patient’s condition and current treatment plan and facilitate giving guiding advice. Of course, other examination information, if needed, can be uploaded when the doctor asks for it.
If it is the first time to consult online, it is recommended to upload photos of the test results done at the local hospital, which is more objective and accurate than describing the condition yourself, so that the doctor can judge the condition. Of course, depending on the condition adult patients can also take a partial photo of the eye and upload it to facilitate the doctor’s understanding of the condition, but it is not necessary.
In addition, patients are reminded that they can scan the doctor’s QR code after the visit to complete the patient check-in and consult with the doctor online if they have questions. However, it is important to note that before asking the doctor a question, you should take a photo of your most recent outpatient review history and upload it, so that the doctor can know your child’s specific condition and treatment plan and facilitate more appropriate advice.