Amblyopia In Children

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• Amblyopia (am-ble-O-pe-ah), also called lazy eye, is a condition where your child cannot see details very well. Normally, as your child uses both eyes to see, the visual system of his brain is stimulated and develops quickly. Amblyopia happens when there is a lack of stimulation coming from both eyes resulting in a poorly developed visual system. The brain may favor one eye instead of both eyes, and this may cause problems in changing the signals into images. Conditions like anisometropia, cataracts, refractive errors, and strabismus may delay the development of the visual system, and cause amblyopia. Ask your caregiver for more information about these conditions.
  
  
• You may see your child tilting his head to one side, and one eye drifting away from where he is supposed to be looking. To diagnose amblyopia, your caregiver may get a complete medical history and do a physical examination. Your child may have tests for visual acuity (ability to see clearly), fixation, and corneal light reflex. Treatment aims to correct your child's vision by letting the poorly developed visual system develop normally. Your caregiver will first correct visual acuity problems by having your child wear eyeglasses, or undergo surgery. He will then block the vision of the good eye by putting an eyepatch over the normal eye. He may also use contact lenses, or eyeglasses or medicine to blur vision in the good eye. This lets the affected eye see everything by itself and its visual system develop along with the good eye. Diagnosing and treating your child's amblyopia as soon as possible may help him see better and prevent blindness.

AFTER YOU LEAVE:

Medicines:

• Cycloplegic medicine: These medicines blur vision in your child's good eye. This lets the affected eye see by itself and develop its visual system.
  
  

Ask your child's caregiver when to return for a follow-up visit. Keep all appointments. Write down any questions you and your child may have. This way you will remember to ask these questions during your child's next visit.

Activities: To help your child's visual system develop, let your child draw or write as much as he likes. You may buy him books with lots of pictures, activities, and puzzles. You may also buy home movies with cartoons and educational material.

Wellness hints:

• Give your child a healthy diet. Give your child healthy food from all of the 5 food groups: fruits, vegetables, breads, dairy products, meats and fish. Eating healthy foods may help your child feel better and have more energy. It may also help him get better faster.
  
  
• Encourage drinking healthy liquids. Follow your child's caregiver's advice if your child is on a fluid restriction. For most children, good liquids to drink are water, juices, and milk. Limit the amount of caffeine your child drinks. Caffeine may be found in tea, some soda pop and some sports drinks and foods.

For more information: Contact the following for more information:

• American Academy of Ophthalmology
  7424
  San Francisco, CA 941207424
  Phone: 1-415-5618500
  Web Address: http://www.aao.org/
  

• National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health
  202 Vision Pl.
  Bethesda, MD 20892-3655
  Phone: 1-301-496-5248
  Web Address: www.nei.nih.gov
  

• Prevent Blindness America
  211 W. Wacker Dr, Ste 1700
  Chicago, IL 60606
  Phone: 1-800-331-2020
  Web Address: www.preventblindness.org
  

CONTACT A CAREGIVER IF:

• Your child has a fever (increased body temperature).
  
  
• Your child cannot make it to his next appointment.
  
  
• You have any questions or concerns about your child's medicine or care.

SEEK CARE IMMEDIATELY IF:

• Your child suddenly has trouble seeing, or cannot see at all.
  
  
• Your child's skin is itchy, swollen, or has a rash.

Copyright © 2008 Thomson Healthcare Inc. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.

The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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