Lazy Eye Can Be Treated With Drops
Eye Drops Found To Be As Effective As Patch
POSTED: 11:31 a.m. EST March 13, 2002
Children with a lazy eye often wear a patch to correct the problem; the patch covers the healthy eye and makes the "lazy" one work harder.
But along with the treatment comes teasing from other kids.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore may offer another solution. They found that another treatment method, painless eye drops of atropine, administered daily, are just as effective as an eye patch in treating a mild form of children's amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye.
Parents generally prefer the eye drops, which blur the unaffected eye. Like the eye patch, this treatment challenges the "lazy" eye to work harder, according to the study, published in the March issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.
"Amblyopia is the most common cause of visual loss in children and young adults," said Dr. Michael Repka, Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Wilmer Eye Institute ophthalmologist who led the project. "If there is a good treatment with which the patients will comply, more cases of permanent visual loss can be prevented."
Researchers from Mexico, the United States and Canada studied 419 children 6 and under who were diagnosed with a "moderate" lazy eye. Half were then treated with an eye patch and half with eye drops.
Researchers found visual improvement in children in both groups, with 79 percent improvement in the group wearing patches and 74 percent improvement in the group receiving eye drops.
Most parents reported that their children tolerated treatment well, but parents of children who had atrophine drops were generally more satisfied with treatment than parents of children who wore eye patches.
"The drops are certainly easier to administer than trying to keep a patch on young patients who may attend day care or who may be allergic to the patch adhesive," said Dr. Scott Lambert, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Emory Eye Center and an investigator in the study. "Additionally, the drops are a good alternative for older children who may have a sense of stigma with a patch."
Amblyopia is a condition of poor vision in an otherwise healthy eye because the brain has learned to favor the other eye. It usually develops early in a child's life, and most ophthalmologists recommend treatment before a child turns 8. According to the National Eye Institute, the condition affects approximately 3 percent of Americans.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore may offer another solution. They found that another treatment method, painless eye drops of atropine, administered daily, are just as effective as an eye patch in treating a mild form of children's amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye.
Parents generally prefer the eye drops, which blur the unaffected eye. Like the eye patch, this treatment challenges the "lazy" eye to work harder, according to the study, published in the March issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.
"Amblyopia is the most common cause of visual loss in children and young adults," said Dr. Michael Repka, Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Wilmer Eye Institute ophthalmologist who led the project. "If there is a good treatment with which the patients will comply, more cases of permanent visual loss can be prevented."
Researchers from Mexico, the United States and Canada studied 419 children 6 and under who were diagnosed with a "moderate" lazy eye. Half were then treated with an eye patch and half with eye drops.
Researchers found visual improvement in children in both groups, with 79 percent improvement in the group wearing patches and 74 percent improvement in the group receiving eye drops.
Most parents reported that their children tolerated treatment well, but parents of children who had atrophine drops were generally more satisfied with treatment than parents of children who wore eye patches.
"The drops are certainly easier to administer than trying to keep a patch on young patients who may attend day care or who may be allergic to the patch adhesive," said Dr. Scott Lambert, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Emory Eye Center and an investigator in the study. "Additionally, the drops are a good alternative for older children who may have a sense of stigma with a patch."
Amblyopia is a condition of poor vision in an otherwise healthy eye because the brain has learned to favor the other eye. It usually develops early in a child's life, and most ophthalmologists recommend treatment before a child turns 8. According to the National Eye Institute, the condition affects approximately 3 percent of Americans.
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