Amblyopia Treatments May Include Drugs And Patching

Amblyopia treatments for children involve making the child use the eye with the reduced vision (weaker eye). Although it's unfortunate that children suffer such eye problems, there are two main treatments: drugs and patching.

A drop of a drug called atropine is placed in the stronger eye once a day to temporarily blur the vision so that the child will prefer to use the eye with amblyopia.

Treatment with atropine stimulates vision in the weaker eye and helps the part of the brain that manages vision develop more completely. However, being a drug, there may be side effects.

Atropine may cause sensitivity to light because the eye is dilated for a long time. It could also cause the ciliary muscles to paralyze with long-term use.

Patching (Occlusion)

An eye patch is worn over the stronger eye for weeks to months. This therapy forces the child to use the eye with amblyopia. Patching stimulates vision in the weaker eye and helps the part of the brain that manages vision develop more completely.

Previously, eye care professionals often thought that amblyopia treatment in older children would be of little benefit. However, surprising results from a nationwide clinical trial show that many children age seven through 17 with amblyopia may benefit from treatments that are more commonly used on younger children.

This study shows that age alone should not be used as a factor to decide whether or not to treat a child for amblyopia. In fact, there have been some other trials on young adults, twenty years of age, whose results appear encouraging.

This means that it may be possible to use an eye patch on older children with similar results experienced by young children. These positive results give hope to older children all over the world.

Other Options

Special glasses may also be prescribed where one lens is cloudy and the other is normal. Vision therapy may also help. This form of therapy includes procedures to help the brain to control focusing, alignment and visual processing.

Vision therapy can also be used for strabismus, another eye condition that children get. Strabismus is not the same as amblyopia but it can certainly develop into it.

Using an eye patch may appear to be the best treatment. After all, it is very affordable and eye patches come in all kinds of colors and designs to help a child adapt to the patching process, making patching a "cool" thing.

There are games you can play with your child to help in the training of the affected eye while he or she has the patch on. Plan a pirate party! Turn an eye patch into a fun and healing time for your child!

Doctor Says To Wear A Patch?

We have a pleasant surprise for you if your treatment program includes an eyepatch. Did you know that children and adults alike find it a joy to wear DrPatch's delightful patches?

Order an eyepatch kit from DrPatch, and you'll be thrilled with all it includes: a resealable storage bag, six reusable patches, adhesive cutout film, handy storage card and easy-to-use instructions.

You can conveniently make your purchase online from the Ordering page. We use PayPal to securely process all credit card transactions, because it's a name you can trust for online purchases. You'll be able to start with a peace-of-mind purchase and finish with an enjoyable eye patch treatment from DrPatch!

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