Amblyopia Treatment

Diagnosis of Amblyopia

It is not easy to recognize amblyopia. A child may not be aware of having one strong eye and one weak eye. Unless the child has a misaligned eye or other obvious abnormality, there is no way for parents to tell that something is wrong. Amblyopia is detected by finding a difference in vision between the two eyes. Since it is difficult to measure vision in young children, your ophthalmologist often estimates visual acuity by watching how well a baby follows objects with one eye when the other eye is covered.

Using a variety of tests, the ophthalmologist observes the reactions of the baby when one eye is covered. If one eye is amblyopic and the good eye is covered, the baby may attempt to look around the patch, try to pull it off or cry.

Poor vision in one eye does not always mean that a child has amblyopia. Vision can often be improved by prescribing glasses for a child. Your ophthalmologist will also examine the interior of the eye to see if other eye diseases may be causing decreased vision. These diseases include cataracts, inflammations, tumors, and other disorders of the inner eye.

Treatment of Amblyopia

To correct amblyopia, a child must be made to use the weak eye. First, glasses are prescribed to correct any errors in focusing. If glasses alone do not improve vision, then patching is necessary. This is usually done by patching or covering the strong eye, often for weeks or months. Even after vision has been restored in the weak eye, part-time patching may be required over a period of years to maintain the improvement. If amblyopia is not treated, several problems may occur:

	The amblyopic eye may develop a serious and permanent visual defect;
	depth perception (seeing in three dimensions) may be lost;
	if good eye becomes diseased or injured, a lifetime of poor vision may be the result.

Amblyopia Surgery San Francisco

Definition of Amblyopia

Amblyopia is poor vision in an eye that did not develop normal sight during early childhood. It is sometimes called “lazy eye.” When one eye develops good vision while the other does not, the eye with poorer vision is called amblyopic. Usually, only one eye is affected by amblyopia, but it is possible for both eyes to be “lazy.”

Incidence of Amblyopia

Amblyopia is common, affecting approximately 2-3 out of every 100 people. The best time to correct amblyopia is during infancy or early childhood. People with amblyopia in one eye are more than twice as likely to lose vision in the healthy eye from trauma.

Development of Normal Vision

Newborn infants are able to see, but as they use their eyes during the first months of life, vision improves. During early childhood years, the visual system changes quickly and vision continues to develop. If a child cannot use his or her eyes normally, vision does not develop properly and may even decrease. After the first nine years of life, the visual system is usually fully developed and usually cannot be changed. The development of equal vision in both eyes is necessary for normal vision.

Causes of Amblyopia

A newborn cannot properly focus on an object at birth. Babies must learn to focus both eyes in the same way that they learn to control their motor skills. If a child is incapable of focusing both eyes, they will experience double vision. This is frustrating; consequently, they will learn to rely on only one eye for vision. Prolonged use of only one eye deteriorates the nerves to the unused eye, resulting in a condition called amblyopia, which is often called lazy eye. Amblyopia has three major causes.

Strabismus (Misaligned Eyes): Amblyopia occurs most commonly with misaligned or crossed eyes. The crossed eye “turns off” to avoid double vision and the child uses only the better eye. The misaligned eye then fails to develop good vision.

Unequal Focus (Refractive Error): Amblyopia occurs when one eye is more near-sighted, far-sighted, or astigmatic compared to the other. This condition is called anisometropia. The unfocused (blurred) eye “turns off” and becomes amblyopic. The eyes can look normal but one eye has poor vision. This is most difficult type of amblyopia to detect since the child appears to have normal vision when both eyes are open.

Cloudiness in Lens / Droopy Eyelid: An eye disease such as cataract (a clouding of the naturally clear lens of the eye) may lead to amblyopia. Any factor that prevents a clear image from being focused inside the eye can lead to the development of amblyopia in a child. A droopy eyelid covering the pupil in a child may lead to amblyopia.

Refractive Surgery San Francisco

Recent advances in Refractive surgery are designed to permanently reduce or eliminate the need for corrective eyewear to see objects clearly. Today, more than 3 million corneal refractive procedures are performed worldwide each year. Presently, more than 100 million patients wear contact lenses for correction of their refractive errors.

To better understand refractive surgeries, one should understand how a perfectly normal eye (20/20) focuses light and what are different types of refractive errors? Let us first understand the main components of eye.

Anatomy of the Eye

Cornea: It is the transparent front wall of the eye. Cornea is one of the most critical components of the eye and is the “window” of your eye, just like the anterior window of your camera. Cornea works to refract light rays from the object viewed so that they focus on the retina at the back of your eye. Refractive errors occur when the cornea fails to focus light rays precisely on the retina. Cornea is the tissue which is reshaped during laser surgery.
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Iris: The iris is the colored portion of the eye. It is similar to the aperture of a camera. The iris regulates the amount of light entering the eye.

Pupil: The adjustable opening at the center of the iris that allows varying amounts of light to enter the eye. Dilation drops used by your eye doctor increase the size of the pupil so that the internal health of your eye can be evaluated.

Lens: The lens focuses the light entering through the pupil, directing it to the retina. The curvature of the lens adjusts to focus at different distances.

Optic Nerve: The optic nerve is similar to the cable that connects your video camera to the VCR. The image seen in the eye is transported to brain where the image is processed. The optic nerve head is the portion of the optic nerve that is seen by an experienced eye care professional to evaluate for eye diseases such as glaucoma, papilledema (increase pressure in the brain), and optic neuritis.

Retina: It is a nerve layer at the back of your eye that senses light and sends images to your brain. The retina is similar to the film in a camera. This is where the picture seen by the eye is converted to electrical signals and then transported to the brain via the optic nerve. The retina is made of cells called rods and cones. Rods are primarily used to aid with night and peripheral vision, while cones are designed to aid with color vision and crisp 20/20 vision.

Macula: The macula is a small area located at the posterior portion of the retina. It is comprised of cones and functions in crisp 20/20 vision. Diseases that affect this area can cause a decrease in vision. Disease processes such as macular degeneration, retinal detachments, diabetes, and hypertension can potentially cause blindness.

Sclera: The sclera is the white portion of the eye. It is comprised of tough connective tissue that gives the eye its shape.

Conjunctiva: It is a very thin layer covering the sclera. This layer carries blood vessels and very importantly it contributes to the innermost layer of a healthy tear film. Conditions affecting this layer such as surgery, infection etc. can affect your tear film.

Muscles: Ocular muscle alignment is critical in developing sharp three-dimensional vision. During a routine eye exam, an eye care professional evaluates the integrity of the muscles and the nerves which supply them. Muscle imbalance can cause lazy eye if it is not corrected during childhood.

LASIK San Francisco

NeoVision Eye Center is a member of Better Business Bureau and has two locations in San Francisco Bay Area to serve you. NeoVision recently opened its second location in NEOCENTER PROFESSIONAL BUILDING which is conveniently located at the crossing of Decoto Road and Union Square, in close proximity to the Union City BART station. Union City office is a brand new, gorgeous facility (5,000+ sq. ft.) and is one of the most equipped eye centers in the Bay Area. NeoVision opened its first office in Mountain View in 1997.

NeoVision keeps in front of the technological advancements by investing in the latest, state-of-the-art ophthalmic and optical equipments to diagnose and treat your medical, surgical, and optical needs. Union City location consists of an Eye Clinic, Optical Store, and Laser Facility. The eight examination rooms of the clinic are fully equipped with top-of-the-line medical technologies. The fully automated vision testing system provides you with the most accurate eyewear prescription. Advanced digital cameras are able to take pictures of your retina, often without dilation. These digital photographs of your eyes are used to document and monitor the progression of serious eye diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. NeoVision's HRT system displays a 3-D image of the eye to monitor the development of eye conditions like glaucoma. The surgery room hosts a radio-surgery unit to perform many cosmetic procedures such as the removal of eyelid skin tags, moles, warts, etc.

NeoVision Eye Center

At NeoVision, we first determine the presence of a cataract and evaluate its effect on your vision. Dr. Tandon performs a comprehensive eye exam including a series of sophisticated tests. A visual acuity test is performed to assess your central vision. Refraction determines how beneficial are your current eye glasses and whether a change in your glasses will be helpful. Additional tests include:

• Tonometry: It measures the pressure of the aqueous humor within the eye. This test is helpful in detecting glaucoma and monitoring its treatment.
• Keratometry: It measures the radius of curvature of the cornea.
• A-Scan Test: It measures the length of your eye. It helps in determining the refractive power of the intraocular lens implant that is used to replace your eye's cloudy lens in cataract surgery.

Cataract Surgery

Myths & Facts about Cataract
There are many misconceptions about cataract.

* Cataract is not a curtain or film that grows over the eye.
* It is not caused by over using your eyes.
* It does not spread from one eye to other eye.
* It does not cause irreversible blindness.
* Cataract does not develop by use of computer.
* There are no medications, no eye drops, no exercises, or no glasses that will cause a cataract to disappear.
* Cataracts do not need to be “ripe” before they can be removed.
* Surgery is the only remedy to remove a cataract.
* At present, laser is not used to remove a cataract.
* In some people who have had a cataract surgery, the natural capsule that supports the intraocular lens becomes cloudy. Laser surgery is then used to open this cloudy capsule, restoring the clear vision.

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A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye. A cataract decreases the amount of light that is focused on the retina, resulting in an overall blurriness of images. Having a cataract disturbs vision much like looking through a fogged windshield.

The lens is the part of the eye that helps focus light on the retina. The retina is the eye's light-sensitive layer that sends visual signals to the brain. In a normal eye, light passes through the lens and gets focused on the retina. To help produce a sharp image, the lens must remain clear.
The lens is made up of mostly water and protein. The protein is arranged to let light pass through and focus on the retina. Sometimes some of the protein clumps together. This can start to cloud small areas of the lens, blocking some light from reaching the retina and interfering with vision.
A cataract can occur in any part of the lens: In the front, center, or the back part. The front cataract causes problem in vision as well as causes glare from the light. Central cataract causes problem in far vision and may not affect reading. Posterior cataract causes problem in reading. A combination of all the 3 forms may also occur.