Lazy Eyes Treatment for Adults

How familiar are you with amblyopia? This term refers to a lazy eye, a condition that impedes eyesight development in one of the visual system organs.

The treatment of this condition involves different methods, such as glasses, atropine drops, patches, vision exercises, computer programs, and applications, etc. Even though children are claimed to be the only ones reaping the benefits of such therapy, adults can experience improvement as well. For instance, apps and computer programs are considered the ideal form of therapy for adults.

If interested in learning about the lazy eyes treatment for adults, the information below will introduce you to the various forms of therapy.

Causes and symptoms

Lazy eye is a medical condition referring to the inability of the eyesight to develop well in both eyes. The brain doesn’t provide sufficient stimulus to the affected eye, hence preventing the nerve cells in charge of vision to mature properly. It may be caused by strabismus, anisometropic amblyopia, or stimulus deprivation amblyopia.

Strabismus stands for the imbalance of the muscles responsible for positioning the eye in the correct manner. Consequently, this type of imbalance poses difficulties when it comes to tracking objects. Individuals might inherit strabismus or develop it because of farsightedness or nearsightedness. People who are nearsighted or farsighted are at greater risk of suffering from anisometric amblyopia, resulting in the inability of light to focus correctly.

Moreover, stimulus deprivation amblyopia is a rare cause of this condition preventing one eye from seeing. It’s usually triggered by glaucoma, a scar, a congenital cataract, a corneal ulcer, ptosis, or some sort of disease affecting this organ.

The symptoms of amblyopia are generally expressed with a lack of focus in one of the eyes while the other suffers as well in an attempt to provide proper vision. The organ with impaired vision receives unclear images sent to the brain for processing. Unless the brain receives clear data, it’ll start ignoring the received images. As a result, adults with amblyopia usually experience double vision, blurred vision, poor perception, and an eye that turns outward, inward, upward, or downward.

Treatment

There’s a variety of treatment options for amblyopia, which focus either on the treatment of an eye problem or stimulating vision in the affected organ. In the former case, the condition is generally treated with glasses, correction of droopy eyelids, or cataract surgery. Click here to learn about some treatment strategies for fixing a lazy eye.

Furthermore, nearsighted and farsighted individuals might be prescribed glasses to wear constantly while a specialist monitors the improvement of vision problems. In some cases, glasses are capable of solving the problem and requiring no further treatment. In contrast, a correction of droopy eyelids is necessary when an eyelid is to blame for vision blockage. Such corrections are best performed surgically for the eyelid to be lifted properly.

Apart from the correction of these medical issues, there are other forms of treatment for vision improvement, such as using atropine eye drops, a patch, or practicing vision exercises. Regarding the use of atropine drops, these are used to blur vision in the eye that’s unaffected by the condition so as to stimulate the other one to work harder. Atropine is believed to dilate the pupil, which eventually results in blurring.

Another effective treatment is the use of an eye patch sticker, which is once again placed on the unaffected eye. The ultimate goal is to prevent the brain from ignoring the organ and start receiving information from it. The duration of this treatment is determined by various factors, such as age and the gravity of the condition. Regardless of the length, the patch is supposed to be worn for a couple of hours on a daily basis.

Regarding vision exercises, these are mainly paired with other treatment forms to improve the development of the visually impaired organ. Nevertheless, such exercises are more common in children than adults, given they include activities like word games, coloring, drawing, etc.

Additionally, strabismus surgery is often chosen as a method for treating eye misalignment, followed by wearing a patch. The patch has to be worn for a few hours daily in a period of a couple of days or weeks. Sometimes, it takes more than one surgery to provide the necessary alignment.

Despite the general opinion that amblyopia can only be treated effectively in the early stages of life, adults also have a chance of experiencing improvement. Although children up to the age of eight are believed to have the best chances for an effective treatment, there are certain computer applications and programs that claim the opposite.

Moreover, adults can genuinely benefit from undergoing treatment using computer apps and programs specially designed to provide neural change stimulation. The goal of these programs is to trigger improvement of contrast sensitivity through as many as forty sessions. Adults undergoing such therapy are believed to become better at reading street signs, subtitles on TV, recognizing faces, seeing better at nighttime, etc.

Most importantly, these programs can be easily customized to the needs of individuals and completed from the comfort of their homes. Normally, the training sessions and progress are monitored by a specialist. It’s no wonder many adults find these programs convenient and effective only after a period of three months.

The bottom line

Nowadays, amblyopia can be treated in adults, not only in kids. Choosing the right programs is a must!