Eye problems in children?

Question

My four year old sister sometimes appears to look cross-eyed. It usually happens when she looks at sometihng close or if she's very tired, her right eye is sort of cross-eyed. Is this lazy eye or something else? If so, how can it be cured and how long would it take?

Answer 1

Your sister has what is called an eye turn (strabismic). This can lead to amblyopia (lazy eye) but is not in itself amblyopia. I
Your sister should be taken to either an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Her symptoms should be described. She may just need correction (glasses) or she might benefit from vision therapy. Ask the doctor if vision therapy would be beneficial, if they do vision therapy and if not, who they could recommend you to.
Good lcuk

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

I was like that when I was little turns out I needed glasses get her to an eye doctor soon as possible

Answer 4

Is he in basic terms doing it while he sleeps? possibly he's having a repeated dream that has something to do with it. I truly have 2 boys and havent had this difficulty yet..i in my view cant think of of the different reason that what I truly have suggested. that's in all probability suitable to pass forward and shop his appointment. solid success!

Answer 5

Restore Your Eyesight Without Surgery - http://Eye.ClearVisionExercise.com

Answer 6

The last answer was extremely informative. I think your sister should be seen by an Ophthamologist. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 7

Amblyopia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Amblyopia ICD-10 H53.0
ICD-9 368.0
Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is a disorder of the eye. It is characterized by poor or blurry vision in an eye that is otherwise physically healthy and normal. The problem is caused by either no transmission or poor transmission of the visual image to the brain for a sustained period of dysfunction or disuse during early childhood. The condition will only arise at this young age because most of the visual system's development in humans is complete and "locked in" by a few years of age. Amblyopia normally only affects one eye, but it is possible to be amblyopic in both eyes if both are similarly deprived of a good, clear visual image.

Amblyopia has been estimated to affect 1 to 5% of the population[1]. Amblyopia is a developmental problem in the brain, not an organic problem in the eye. The part of the brain corresponding to the visual system from the affected eye is not stimulated properly and develops abnormally. This has been confirmed in brain specimens.

Many children who have amblyopia, especially those who are only mildly amblyopic, are not even aware they have the condition until tested at older ages, since the vision in their stronger eye is normal. However, people who have severe amblyopia may experience associated vision disorder, most notably poor depth perception.

Contents [hide]
1 Symptoms
2 Types
2.1 Strabismic amblyopia
2.2 Refractive amblyopia
2.3 Form deprivation and occlusion amblyopia
3 Treatment and prognosis
4 References
5 See also
6 Wikibook
7 External links



[edit]
Symptoms
Amblyopes suffer from poor spatial acuity, low sensitivity to contrast and reduced sensitivity to global motion (Hess, et al, 2006). These deficits are usually specific to the amblyopic eye, not the unaffected "fellow" eye.

[edit]
Types
Amblyopia can be caused by deprivation of vision early in life, or by strabismus (misaligned eyes), vision obstructing disorders and anisometropia (different degrees of myopia or hyperopia in each eye).

[edit]
Strabismic amblyopia
Strabismus, sometimes known as lazy eye, will result in normal vision in the fixating eye, but abnormal vision in the strabismic eye due to the brain discarding certain information. Strabismus usually develops into double vision (diplopia) in adulthood, since the two eyes are not fixated on the same object. Children's brains, however, are more plastic, and therefore can more easily adapt by ignoring images from one of the eyes, getting rid of the double vision. This plastic response of the brain, however, interrupts the brain's normal development, resulting in the amblyopia.

Strabismic amblyopia is best treated by treating the strabismus through the use of prescription glasses, vision therapy, surgery or patching.

[edit]
Refractive amblyopia
If anisometropia is present, refractive amblyopia may result. Anisometropia exists when there is a difference in the refraction between the two eyes. The eye with less refractive error provides the brain with a clearer image, and is favoured by the brain. Those with this condition are more susceptible to the development of amblyopia, which may be as severe as strabismic amblyopia. Despite its severity, refractive amblyopia is commonly missed by primary care physicians because of its less dramatic appearance and lack of obvious physical manifestation, such as with strabismus [2].

Refractive amblyopia is diagnosed when there is a wide disparity in visual acuity between the two eyes. Refractive amblyopia is treated by correcting the refractive error early with prescription lenses. Vision therapy and/or eye patching can also be used to develop and/or improve visual abilities, binocular vision, depth perception, etc.

[edit]
Form deprivation and occlusion amblyopia
Form deprivation amblyopia (Amblyopia ex anopsia) results when the ocular media is opaque, such as is the case with cataracts or corneal scarring from forceps injuries during childbirth. [3]

These opacities prevent adequate sensory input from reaching the eye, and therefore disrupt visual development. If not treated in a timely fashion, amblyopia may persist even after the cause of the opacity is removed. Sometimes, drooping of the eyelid (ptosis) or some other problem causes the upper eyelid to physically occlude a child's vision, which may cause amblyopia quickly.

One should also be wary of creating this type of amblyopia in a 'good' eye when treating for amblyopia in the other eye – so-called reverse amblyopia.

This type of amblyopia is treated by removing the opacity as soon as possible.

[edit]
Treatment and prognosis
Treatment consists of forcing use of the amblyopic eye either by patching or instilling topical atropine in the eye with better vision [4].

Although the best outcome is achieved if treatment is started before age 5, research has shown that children older than age 10 and some adults can show improvement in the affected eye. Children from 7 to 12 who wore an eye patch and performed near point activities (vision therapy) were four times as likely to show a two line improvement on a standard 11 line eye chart than amblyopic children who did not receive treatment. Children 13 to 17 showed improvement as well, albeit in smaller amounts than younger children. (NEI-funded Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group, 2005)

People with amblyopia have difficulty seeing the three-dimensional images in autostereograms such as Magic Eye.

Some claim that the Bates Method can reverse amblyopia [5




Lazy Eye Treatments Don't Traumatize Children

Eye Patches, Glasses for Lazy Eye Don't Harm Kids' Emotional Well-Being By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Tuesday, August 03, 2004






Aug. 4, 2004 -- The eye patches and glasses used to treat young children with lazy eye may cause some distress among parents, but new research suggests they aren't likely to harm the children's emotional well-being.


In the largest study to date on the emotional impact of lazy eye treatments in children, British researchers found that parents often experience difficulty in getting their children to wear patches or glasses designed to help correct lazy eye. But most children cope well with the treatment.


Lazy eye, known in medical terms as amblyopia, occurs when one eye is not used enough for the visual system in the brain to develop properly. The brain ignores the images from the weak eye and uses only those from the stronger eye, leading to poor vision. Early treatment of lazy eye in young children can partially or completely reverse the condition, but it becomes much more difficult to treat successfully after children's vision is fully developed by about age 9 or 10.


The Emotional Effect of Lazy Eye Treatments
In the study, published in the August issue of the journal Ophthalmology, researchers surveyed parents of 151 children who were referred for treatment of lazy eye from a preschool vision screening. The children were randomly assigned to treatment with glasses with or without eye patches, glasses alone, or to have their treatment deferred for one year.


The children's reaction to treatment at ages 4 and 5 were similar. At both ages, about half of the parents reported at least some difficulty in getting their child to wear his or her glasses, but less than a third of children were ever upset by this treatment.


But the parents of children treated with eye patches had a harder time. Three-quarters of parents said they had difficulty getting children to wear their patch for the prescribed three hours per day at both ages, and more than half of the children were at least occasionally upset by this treatment.


Parents of 4-year-olds assigned to wear patches were also significantly more likely to be upset by their child's patching treatment than those who had been prescribed glasses.


"It's clear that many parents have some difficulty with [lazy eye] treatment, and our results demonstrate how patching, in particular, was significantly more difficult to carry out than glasses wear alone," write researcher S. Hrisos, of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in England, and colleagues.


However, the study showed that most parents in both treatment groups thought their child was coping well with the treatment and only a minority of parents said they had any arguments about lazy eye treatment at any age.


Moreover, no adverse effects of lazy eye treatments were found on the children's well-being during or after treatment.


"Most children were described as being happy, cooperative, and good tempered and having no problems at school or nursery at all ages, with no differences between treatment groups," write the researchers. "By 5.5 years, a small, but significant proportion was occasionally experiencing teasing at school, and all these were children who still wore glasses."


Researchers say the results show that compliance with prescribed lazy eye treatments can be difficult and cause distress for parents and children. They say this may be improved by giving parents detailed information about their child's condition and treatment and taking a flexible approach to treating lazy eye in young children.



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SOURCES: Hrisos, S. Ophthalmology, 2004; vol 111: pp 1550-1556. WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise: "Amblyopia."