2023-12-31 05:00:00
During the first years of life, Children can develop a vision pathology called amblyopia or better known as lazy eye or lazy eye. It is the lack of consolidation in visual acuity in one or both eyes.
The Neuquén Provincial Hospital Dr. Eduardo Castro Rendón promotes access to early diagnosis and treatment of lazy eye in children, and the results of the latest detection campaign were announced.
What does it mean to have a “lazy eye”?
“It is a type of poor vision that occurs in one or both eyes. It develops when there is a failure in the brain and eye working together, and the brain cannot recognize vision from one eye. It produces poor vision in the affected eye that translates into low vision,” explained Natalia Rosalia Racigh, an ophthalmologist in pediatric ophthalmology and neonatology care at the Castro Rendón hospital.
Why it is important to treat lazy eye
If treatment is started between the ages of 4 and 14, very good results are achieved, but if it is done following childhood, the chances of reversing the condition are almost zero. That’s why early detection is essential, Racigh said.
“Early detection is important because the period of neuronal plasticity is limited to childhood. This means that the visual decline detected in children is potentially reversible,” she added.
In the campaign that was recently carried out at the Neuquén hospital, possible amblyopia was detected in almost half of the children examined.
How lazy eye disorder is diagnosed
Lazy eye is diagnosed with visual acuity tests “according to the patient’s age in conjunction with a complete eyeball examination which is performed by a professional ophthalmologist.”
Se detected in the routine ophthalmological examination, but there are signs and symptoms that can alert parents or teachers. Isthe symptoms include squinting, getting too close to objects, excessive rubbing of the eyes, headaches, red eyes, For example. Given these symptoms, he stressed that it is important to accompany children to the consultation with the ophthalmology professional.
The expert also recommended that all teachers should warn parents regarding the symptoms they may observe in children in the school environment.
What it looks like with the lazy eye
The person with lazy eye has difficulty perceiving the depth of objects and the environment and measuring distances. There may be double vision.
“In younger children it is important to evaluate their visual behavior; you have to pay attention and see if they get too close to objects, if they close their eyes to be able to see something from a distance or if they rub them regularly, those They might be signs that you are seeing poorly,” said ophthalmologist Racigh.
How to get rid of lazy eye
Regarding the treatment, the specialist explained that it consists of offering the lazy eye all the necessary tools so that it can perform a visual rehabilitation exercise in order to recover the lost function.
The most common is the use of glasses and a patch on the dominant eye, while rehabilitation is carried out. “The number of hours of this task will depend on the severity of the case and the age of the patient. Over time, as the eye recovers its vision, this task becomes less cumbersome,” he added.
Racigh highlighted: “It is important to keep in mind that if children are not diagnosed in a timely manner, the therapeutic possibility may be lost, leaving that child with low vision in one or both eyes for the rest of his or her life. The annual consultation is a good time to detect these problems.”
In accordance with the Argentine Society of Ophthalmology (SAO), it is estimated that the prevalence of eye problem vague varies between 2% to 6% of the population, according to different publications. “Diagnosis and treatment have a high impact on people’s quality of life, so early detection is essential,” he said in a statement.
In this regard, the medical entity emphasized that Have ophthalmological check-ups with the following schedule: newborn, 6 months, one year, three years, five years and then once a year until adolescence.
What was found in children from Neuquén
During the 2023 amblyopia campaign at the Castro Rendón hospital, 126 eyes of 63 patients between 4 and 14 years old were evaluated, observing a higher percentage of influx of pediatric patients aged 6 years. We worked from the Ophthalmology service, which depends on the ophthalmologist Juan José Aringoli. In addition to Racigh, Flavia Cabrera, Mirlay Rodríguez, and Emilia Cide Vandersande were part of it.
When examining visual function, each eye was discriminated separately. “In our amblyopia detection campaign, we have captured 49.2% of potentially amblyopic children whose ages are compatible with correct and timely rehabilitation treatment,” said the specialist.
“As for the results of the right eye, 46% of patients recorded an optimal visual acuity of 10/10. While only 1.6% were at the other end of the 1/10 test card. The rest of the patients, for the most part, had visual acuity fluctuating between 4 and 8 tenths,” she said.
Regarding the results of the left eye, “39.7% recorded a visual acuity of 10/10, while only 1.6% a visual acuity of 1/10. Of the rest, 26% showed acceptable visual acuity of between 8 and 9 tenths.”
“It was observed that the right eye suffers from visual loss, potentially amblyopia in a
80.8% of the children examined, while the left eye only 73.1%. We consider the cut level on the scale of 6/10.
It was evident that the vast majority of children (66.7%) do not present differences of more than 2 rows, whether their vision is good or bad,” he indicated.
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