What Causes Amblyopia?

It’s not always clear what causes a person to develop a lazy eye. In many cases, one eye is more efficient and can focus on images better than the other eye. This causes the brain to receive both a clear image and a blurry image. Other potential causes of amblyopia include cataracts and, strabismus. With time, the brain will simply begin to ignore the blurry image which causes that eye’s vision to deteriorate.

Strabismus or Turned eye is a condition in which the eyes do not line up properly. This leads to a “crossed” or “wall eyed” appearance in which the eyes do not look in the same direction.

One or both of the eyes may turn in, out, up, or down. An eye turn may be constant or intermittent. Children that have strabismus will notice that it does not go away on its own.

Up to 5% of all children have some type of strabismus. This is why it is so important for parents to understand the symptoms and know that there are treatment options available.

Treatment Options for Amblyopia and Strabismus?

In many cases, a person with either amblyopia or strabismus may use glasses however glasses along may not be sufficient to compensate for the condition. There are several non-surgical options available to treat this condition in addition to compensatory lenses.

At Optimeyes we are dedicated to providing state-of-the-art vision therapy to promote the development of the amblyopic eye, leading to an improved quality of living for all our patients. We utilise a variety of treatments and therapy modalities in our clinical practice with the aim of significantly improving your or your loved one’s eye health.

Vision therapy is a personally structured treatment program designed to help strengthen the eye-brain connection. To do this, our vision therapists may use several treatment techniques, including:

  • Eye-hand/body coordination drills, to strengthen the eye-brain connection
  • Visual-motor and visual focusing drills, to improve the function and coordination of both the “bossy” eye and the “wimpy eye”
  • Various techniques that encourage the brain to use and develop the focusing and movement skills of the “wimpy” eye while still teaming with the non-amblyopic eye.
  • Dichoptic training using Vivid Vision Virtual reality training.
    We rarely use eye drops and patching for penalisation, as current research has proven that this is not the most effective treatment for the condition.

We OptimEyes are most reliable & trusted Northern Beaches optometrist for more than 30 years for exceptional eye care.

Are you, your child, or another loved one having difficulty with vision? Call us today on 02 9982 1039 and see what we can do to help!