There are many cases of children with Lazy Eye/Amblyopia in Dubai. In a child with Lazy Eye, one eye has blurred vision, and the other eye has a clear vision. The brain starts neglecting the blurry eye and uses only the eye with clear vision. Eventually, the brain learns to rely on the stronger eye, allowing the weaker eye to worsen.
In some cases, you may notice that one eye looks different from the other. However, this is usually a sign of another condition that could lead to a lazy eye, such as:
- – A squint
- – short-sightedness
- – childhood cataracts
When to get medical advice
Never take a risk when there’s something very serious about your child. There are many competent Pediatric eye specialists practicing in Dubai. See the trusted eye specialist in Dubai whenever you notice your child’s eye wandering after the first few weeks of life. A vision check with the trusted eye specialist is important if there’s a family history of crossed eyes, childhood cataracts or other eye conditions. For all children, a complete eye exam is recommended between ages 3 and 5.
Treatment
The younger the child is when a lazy eye is diagnosed, the more successful treatment is likely to be. Treatment is less successful if it’s started after the age of 6, and it’s unlikely to be successful if it’s started after the age of 8.
Here are a few options:
- 1. Eye patches
- 2. Corrective Eyewear
- 3. Eye Drops
- 4. Bangerter filter
- 5. Surgery
Eye patches: Applying an eye patch over the dominant eye can help stimulate and strengthen the weaker eye with poor vision. During this treatment, your child will have to wear an eye patch over the stronger eye with a better vision for 2 to 6 hours daily. This will force the brain to use the weaker eye and help develop the brain area that controls vision.
Corrective eyewear: In this method of treatment, contact lenses or glasses are prescribed to treat corrective errors such as farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism that cause lazy eye.
Eye drops: In this treatment alternative, an eye drop medication called Atropine is prescribed once or twice a day to blur or cloud the vision of the stronger eye so that the brain is encouraged to stimulate the weaker eye and use it more than the dominant eye. Eye drops can be an effective alternative to wearing a patch.
Bangerter filter: In this mode of treatment, a special filter called a Bangerter filter is placed over the eyeglass lens of the dominant eye to cloud the vision so that the brain is prompted to stimulate the weaker eye and use it more. This also acts as an alternative to eye patches and eye drops.
Surgery: Surgical intervention is required if your child has conditions that can lead to a lazy eye such as a cataract that is blocking light from the eye, crossed eyes, or droopy eyelids that droop low enough to cover the whole pupil and block normal vision.
Dr. Walid Abdalla at Orbit Eye Center specializes in treating strabismus in adults and strabismus in children. Call us to book an appointment on +971 4 874 3399 or reach us on WhatsApp at +971 55 407 2911.
