Parents of children with amblyopia need to know these things!

Many parents of children diagnosed with "amblyopia" in the outpatient clinic actually have many questions: "What is amblyopia?" "Is amblyopia the same as myopia?" "Can my child stop wearing glasses?" and so on.

1. What is amblyopia?

Amblyopia is a condition in which the best corrected visual acuity of one or both eyes is lower than the visual acuity of the corresponding age due to monocular strabismus, uncorrected anisometropia, high refractive error and form deprivation during the visual development period; or when the visual acuity of both eyes differs by 2 lines or more, the eye with lower visual acuity is amblyopia.

2. Are amblyopia and myopia the same?

Myopia is characterized by poor vision without glasses, but normal vision with glasses. Amblyopia is characterized by vision that is still below the lower limit of normal level for the same age after wearing glasses, and usually both near and far vision are poor (usually myopia is normal for near vision).

Diagnostic criteria for amblyopia (taking age factors into account): The lower reference limit of normal children's vision is: 0.5 for 3 years old; 0.6 for 4-5 years old; 0.7 for 6-7 years old; and 0.8 for those over 7 years old.

Therefore, if a child is found to have vision abnormalities during a physical examination or at home, it is recommended that parents take their children to a professional medical institution for a detailed examination to ensure the correct treatment plan.

3. Why do children need to wear glasses?

Cai Chunyan, a doctoral student, deputy chief physician, deputy leader of the strabismus and pediatric ophthalmology group of Aier Eye Hospital Group in Hubei Province, and deputy director of strabismus and amblyopia and pediatric ophthalmology at Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei General Hospital), said: As long as there is refractive error (hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism) in amblyopic eyes, after excluding organic lesions, glasses are needed. The purpose of wearing glasses is to correct refractive errors and ensure that the fovea can form a clear image. Wearing glasses is the basis of amblyopia treatment, so if children do not cooperate with wearing glasses, parents need to supervise and ensure that children wear glasses correctly.

Many parents are concerned about whether their children can take off their glasses after wearing them. When to take off the glasses is mainly related to the patient's own refractive power. After the amblyopia is cured, the glasses should be worn continuously and the doctor will judge when to take off the glasses after regular outpatient check-ups. Never take off the glasses by yourself to avoid amblyopia rebound.

4. How to treat amblyopia?

Amblyopia is actually a visual dysfunction. In the early stages of amblyopia development, it is a good time to treat it (4-6 years old). The difficulty of treatment increases exponentially after the age of 12, and it is even more difficult to treat adults.

Dai Hongbin, chief physician, member of the standing committee of the Ophthalmology Branch of Hubei Provincial Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and director of strabismus, amblyopia and pediatric ophthalmology at Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei General Hospital), reminds: