Amblyopia is a common eye disease in children, which refers to normal eye examination but abnormal vision in one or both eyes, and the vision cannot reach 0.9 or above even with glasses. The mechanism of its occurrence is very complex, and most of them are formed due to the obstruction of the normal development of visual function. The prevalence of amblyopia in preschool and school-age children is about 3%, and there are about 10 million amblyopic children in China.
1. What are the dangers of amblyopia?
Children with amblyopia not only have low vision in both eyes or one eye, but also often do not have perfect binocular vision, no fine stereo vision, no sense of depth when going down stairs, no sense of stereo when looking at a microscope, etc. This will directly affect the child’s college entrance examination and career choice. In addition, amblyopia often causes strabismus, which affects the aesthetics and physical and mental development of children. Experts believe that amblyopia is more harmful than myopia, because myopia can be corrected by wearing glasses to achieve normal vision and does not require other treatments. If left untreated (glasses and training), the vision of the affected eye will be permanently low.
2. Amblyopia classification and typing
Amblyopia can be divided into three degrees according to corrected visual acuity.
Mild: corrected visual acuity of 0.6-0.8.
Moderate: corrected visual acuity of 0.2-0.5.
Severe: corrected visual acuity is less than or equal to 0.1.
Amblyopia can be divided into: strabismic amblyopia, refractive error amblyopia, deprivation amblyopia and congenital amblyopia according to the pathogenesis.
Strabismic amblyopia
This is amblyopia caused by eye malposition (strabismus). Due to strabismus, double vision occurs in both eyes, which is medically known as diplopia. To eliminate diplopia, the visual center in the brain inhibits the strabismic eye from seeing, so that seeing is not double vision. Over time, the strabismic eye’s ability to see is reduced and it becomes amblyopic. This amblyopia is generally reversible, and if detected and treated early, vision can be restored.
Refractive Amblyopia
The difference in refractive error between the two eyes is large, with a difference of 150 degrees or more in myopia or hyperopia and 100 degrees or more in astigmatism. The visual center of the brain actively inhibits the refractive power of the larger eye, and the visual acuity of this eye decreases to form monocular amblyopia. This type of amblyopia is reversible and can be restored through treatment.
Refractive Amblyopia
Refractive amblyopia is a condition in which both eyes have a high degree of refractive error and the child does not wear corrective glasses in time. It is characterized by equal or similar visual acuity and similar refractive error in both eyes. It occurs in children with high hyperopia or high myopia, and is more common in hyperopic eyes, accounting for about 70% of cases. This is caused by a high degree of refractive error that prevents objects from being imaged on the retina and therefore does not provide enough physiological stimulation of the optic cells or visual pathways.
Deprivation amblyopia
Deprivation amblyopia is a condition in which the eye is deprived of the opportunity to receive light stimulation due to congenital cataracts, corneal leukoplakia, ptosis, and other eye diseases that prevent light stimulation from entering the eye normally, causing the retina in the developing eye to be stunted or stagnant due to insufficient physiological stimulation. This kind of amblyopia children’s visual acuity is very poor, monocular, and the treatment effect is not good.
3. How to detect pediatric amblyopia early
The key to improving the effectiveness of amblyopia treatment is early detection and early treatment. The best way to detect amblyopia early is to have your child’s vision checked, and basically all children over the age of 3 can cooperate with a vision chart to check their vision. Parents can teach their child to recognize a vision chart before his or her first vision check. Children should have their vision checked every six months or once a year. If you find that the vision is lower than 0.8-0.9, or if there is a difference of more than two lines of vision between the two eyes, you should go to the hospital in time for further examination. The doctor must examine the child’s pupils before making a correct diagnosis. Children with strabismus should be treated as early as possible. This is because strabismus patients can only achieve orthotropia through surgery as adults, while amblyopia leaves a permanent regret because of missed treatment.
In addition, parents should closely observe their children, and if they find any strabismus, head tilting or eye twitching, they should go to the ophthalmology department in time for early detection of pediatric amblyopia.
4.How to do when your child has amblyopia
Amblyopia is not self-healing, and the earlier the treatment of amblyopia, the better. The more you treat amblyopia after the age of 12, the less chance you have of recovering your vision. To date, there is no proven drug treatment for amblyopia. Once a child is diagnosed with amblyopia, parents should immediately get glasses for the child and insist that the child wears them every day and never take them off from time to time; they should have an annual dilated eye exam and replace the glasses immediately if they do not fit. In addition, various kinds of amblyopia training should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor. Normally, you can let your child do more fine movements, such as wearing beads, tracing, etc.
Amblyopia is a complex and not easy to cure eye disease. The treatment process is tedious, lengthy, and easily recurring, often resulting in lifelong regrets due to the child’s inability to adhere to treatment. Therefore, parents must urge their children to cooperate with the treatment as requested by the doctor and not to be afraid of trouble, so as not to affect the training effect.