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Treatment & Exercises To Fix Lazy Eye or Ambylopia

“My eyes are my favorite parts of me- not for how they look, but for how they see!” This beautiful saying from Chris Sebastian reflects the real beauty of eye. Eyes are no doubt the most beautiful part of us which help in visioning all the beautiful things of the world. However, there are people who lack with their vision, maybe because of blindness or maybe because of some other eye conditions. One such eye condition which is known by a reduced vision that is not correctable by contact lenses or glasses is known commonly as Lazy eye. The scientific term for lazy eye is Ambylopia and this is not actually an eye disease, but a condition where the brain fails to completely acknowledge the images seen by the affected eye. Lazy eye usually affects only one eye, but may lead to a reduction of vision in both the eyes.

Lazy Eye or Ambylopia

This article will reflect on Lazy eye and some of the most crucial eye exercises to treat lazy eye.

Some Facts On Lazy Eye:

Before we proceed further, let us know about some of the facts on lazy eye and list them down for a better understanding.

  • Lazy eye is also known as Ambylopia and is not an eye disease rather an eye condition where there is a blurry or a reduced vision in the amblyopic eye that cannot be corrected by the glasses or contact lenses.
  • There may be a loss of vision or loss of two-eyed 3D vision.
  • Usually 3% of the children have some kind of lazy eye symptoms under their age of six years. An early detection and necessary treatment can help in having a better chance for a cure.

Symptoms Of Lazy Eye Or Ambylopia:

Most common signs and symptoms of Lazy eye or Ambylopia include the following.

  • Blurred vision in the affected eye
  • Reduced vision in the affected eye which may also manifest to the other eye.
  • Double vision is also included in the symptoms of lazy eye or Ambylopia.
  • Squint either upwards, downwards, outwards or inwards.
  • Both the eyes do not work together in case of a lazy eye condition or Ambylopia.

Types Of Lazy Eye or Ambylopia:

Lazy eyes can be studied under four categories based on the types of symptoms seen or experienced. Let us study them in brief below.

  1. Strabismus: In this type of Amblyopia, both the eyes do not aim at the same place. There is a visible eye misalignment here. The brain suppresses one eye so as to avoid confusion or ignore double vision. The eye turn is visible to the one observing the eye of the affected person.
  2. Anismetropic Amblyopia: In this type of Lazy eye condition both the eyes have different eyesight, there are differences in visual perception of both the eye etc. Here the brain perceives two mismatching images and suppresses one image so as to avoid the double vision.
  3. Refractive Amblyopia: In this type of Lazy eye condition, one eye is able to see properly with clear vision, while the other eye sees a blurred vision because the brain suppresses the eye with the blur. There are no noted visible symptoms in such a type of eye condition and which is why it mostly goes undetected and remains untreated.
  4. Convergence Insufficiency Eye Condition: This is another such eye condition which is caused in rare cases from a near vision disorder. This can cause one eye suppression.

Diagnosis And Treatment For Lazy Eye Or Ambylopia:

“Diagnosis is not the end, but the beginning of practice.” This real quote from Martin Fischer tells about how diagnosis can help in working upon the treatment procedures in any health condition. An early diagnosis can help treat lazy eye more effective. Lazy eye condition is not curable with glasses or contact lenses. The best way to treat lazy eye is perform the eye exercise as prescribed by the expert professional and at the right time.

Detection And Diagnosis Of Lazy Eye Or Ambylopia:

Let us now look upon the list of some noted ways to detect or diagnose Lazy eye or Ambylopia.

  • A comprehensive vision evaluation of kids in their infant stage is highly recommended so that the lazy eye condition doesn’t go undiagnosed at a later stage.
  • An eye examination done by paediatric eye specialist or the 20/20 eye chart screening will not help detect the Lazy eye condition in case of young children or adults. There are special visual activity tests to be done so as to find out the Lazy eye condition in a child.
  • There is another way to identifying the eye condition and the examination involves cycloplegic drops for detecting the Lazy eye condition in young children.

Treatments For Lazy Eye Or Ambylopia:

Now why not look for some of the most effective treatment methods available to fix lazy eye or treat ambylopia? So here below we will be discussing on some of the most common and effective treatment ways to fix a lazy eye.

  1. The Eye Patch Method: This is one of the most common mode of treatments in Lazy eye condition. Here an eye patch is used to cover the stronger or the normal eye and the eye exercises are performed on the other eye or the amblyopic eye. This is done in order to train your brain to utilize both of your eyes simultaneously. In this method of eye patch for lazy eye treatment, an eye patch is used for at least 3 hours a day when the eye exercises are performed. There are various eye exercises which can be done with the eye patch method which we will be discussing in the later part of the article.
  2. Surgical Method To Fix Lazy Eye: Though this is not effective in correcting the neural pathways between eye and the brain to work together in case of Lazy eye condition, some surgeons and doctors perform this surgical method so as to fix the eye by cutting and stretching the eye muscles in the fixing procedure

Exercises For Lazy Eye Or Ambylopia:

Among all the treatment methods available for Lazy eye, one of the most crucial ones include the eye exercises prescribed for lazy eye condition. There are various exercises which can be done to correct various symptoms of Lazy eye or Amblyopia. These eye exercises can be done with the eye patch method, where the stringer or the correct eye is covered with an eye patch and the other eye is worked upon for increasing the vision, focusing, and clearing blurred vision etc.

When Is It Necessary To Perform The Eye Exercises To Correct Lazy Eye?

It must be remembered, eye exercises may only be helpful when done in the early childhood after the early detection of the lazy eye condition. Certain vision exercises along with the eye patching and some eye drops can help in aiding the brain to see through the amblyopic eye and thus assist in restoring the vision.

How Long Should The Exercises For Lazy Eye or Amblyopia Be Performed?

It is important to do the eye exercises over an extended time period in a day for better results in the treatment procedure. In case you are doing the palming exercise, it is good to do at least 20-30 minutes of the exercise in a day. Any other exercise prescribed for lazy eye treatment can be done any number of times unless it starts paining. Apart from the eye exercises what is more important is the eye patch which is to be used. It is recommended to wear the eye patch for at least 30 days to 45 days in the treatment procedure while exercising.

Fixing Lazy Eye With Simple Exercises Listed Below:

All types of eye exercises are destined in strengthening the eye muscles, enhancing the eye movements, improving focusing and in stimulating the vision center of the brain to treat various eye conditions. There are different eye exercises designed for different eye problems. Among the most known eye exercises, are the eye exercises prescribed with the Natural Vision therapy, eye exercises involving eye patch, eye exercises for improving the focus, eye exercises following a pattern for building the vision muscles in the eye etc.

We will study about these Exercises To Fix Lazy Eye in the following section of the article:

  1. Eye Exercise included in the Natural Vision Therapy:Natural vision therapy and the exercises involved with it aim at growing the vision in lazy eye condition. This works in a way that the eye exercises prescribed for growing vision aims at improving the brain and eye co-ordination that helps in enhancing vision. Let us know about one crucial eye exercise categorized under the
    • Natural vision therapy and can be done for improving the condition in Lazy eye or Ambylopia.
    • The Lazy Eye Exercise typically involves three main tasks including rolling, focusing and tracking.
    • In the very first step cover the stronger eye with an eye patch and then start the eye exercise with the other eye.
    • To begin with, roll the eyeballs clockwise for at least 30 times and then do it anticlockwise for more than 30 times. This can be done as many numbers of times as you feel comfortable. Make sure you stop with the rolling of eyeballs ones you feel pain or uncomfortable.
    • The next step involves focusing. Here you are to focus on a particular object, for example a table, chair or the door etc. Start with the objects nearer to you and then go for the distant object focusing.
    • The final step here involves tracking. It is similar to focusing, but all you need here is to focus on a particular item, like a pen, pencil or even your finger. You need to place the item in front of your amblyopic eye and try to focus on it.
    • Doing the eye exercise can help you treat lazy eye to some extent, in case the condition is detected earlier.
  2. Lazy Eye Exercise For Growing Focus: This can either be done by wearing an eye patch or can be done without it. The sole intention here is to enhance the focusing in the amblyopic eye. Playing high paced video games that requires rapid movements of eye can be one of the most entertaining and effective eye exercise for improving focus. Reading books, newspaper, etc can also help in growing focus.
  3. Palming- Eye Exercises For Treating Lazy Eye: There are some other eye exercises that can be done in order to improve the Lazy eye condition or the Amblyopic eye. Palming is one of the important eye exercise which can be done for lazy eye conditions. This is a simple eye exercise where you need to place your both the palms on both the eyes respectively, i.e. left palm on the left eye and right palm on the right eye. Maintain this position for at least five minutes and take deep breathes.

Conclusion:

Lazy eye exercises can help you recover from the symptoms of Lazy eye. However as mentioned earlier, it works at its best when done in the early childhood. All the prescribed eye exercises when added to the therapy program for lazy eye or the Amblyopia assist greatly in strengthening the vision muscles on the eye and add a better effective touch to the treatment.

In case you are diagnosed with Lazy eye condition or Amblyopia, make sure you consult with your doctor about the absolute eye exercises based on your type and symptoms of lazy eye and start working on the same.

References:

  1. American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. (2021). Amblyopia (Lazy Eye). https://www.aapos.org/glossary/amblyopia
  2. American Academy of Ophthalmology. (2021). What Is Amblyopia? https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-amblyopia
  3. American Optometric Association. (2021). Amblyopia. https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/amblyopia

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:August 22, 2023

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