Category Archives: amblyopia (lazy eye)

Vision therapy update: Stella’s first progress evaluation

Last night and this morning, there was a nerve-wracking build-up to Stella’s check-up, wherein her developmental optometrist would gauge how patching and vision therapy have helped Stella, or not. I’ve worked very hard (okay, harder on some days than others) during Stella’s first three months of vision therapy, sometimes pulling my hair out, often swallowingContinue reading “Vision therapy update: Stella’s first progress evaluation”

Reader question: kids with very low power presciption glasses

This question just came in from Jen.  Anyone out there in a similar situation?  -Ann Z My daughter was diagnosed at 20 months old and we have been patching since. She was also prescribed glasses a month ago, her prescription is +1.5 ONLY but our doctor says we should give it a shot to seeContinue reading “Reader question: kids with very low power presciption glasses”

The eyes are looking good

The chunky funky frames are a slightly higher prescription that we are trying to see if filling her whole script will help reduce the squinting.  Her left eye is looking straighter without having the muscles moved and her right eye is still healing!  The new muscle position is also helping with her academics.  The progressContinue reading “The eyes are looking good”

Another look at full occlusion, and why we patch with tape instead.

They’re not easy to spot, but if you look closely, you’ll find little ovals of Magic Tape jutting out from just about every surface in our home. Like an infestation of ghostly flat beetles, they peek out from door jams, edges of dressers and bookcases, and the side of our bathroom mirror. You’ll even discoverContinue reading “Another look at full occlusion, and why we patch with tape instead.”

Vision therapy progress: Maybe little efforts are a big deal after all

So, my 26-month-old Stella has been patching for three months, and doing vision therapy for almost two months now. We do 20 minutes (30 or even more if we’re really, really lucky, 10 to 15 if we’re not) of vision therapy exercises at home five days a week, and we go into the office forContinue reading “Vision therapy progress: Maybe little efforts are a big deal after all”

Vision therapy for toddlers… an exercise in patience.

Hello! I’m Amber. Ann recently posted about Stella, my little “fashion visionary.” She honestly does love wearing that “pirate girl” onesie! Stella very recently turned two and, in addition to wearing glasses and patching three hours a day, is two weeks into vision therapy. I’d love to share our vision therapy stories and hear aboutContinue reading “Vision therapy for toddlers… an exercise in patience.”

Round up of recent studies on the treatment of amblyopia

Dr. Nate at Bright Eyes News just posted a wonderful round up of some relatively recent studies looking at the effectiveness of different treatments of amblyopia.  He includes short summaries of each study, written in plain English, along with links to the article in PubMed.  There’s some great news in there: improvement can be seenContinue reading “Round up of recent studies on the treatment of amblyopia”

Free Eye Patch Tutorial

For all you parents who lovingly patch your little ones.  Make these, give them away, but just don’t sell them!  These are inexpensive, light weight, covering, re-usable, and have a smooth texture.  They can be personalized to fit your child’s personality and the shape of their glasses. The idea came to me late one night from trying allContinue reading “Free Eye Patch Tutorial”

Reader question: patching 24/7

Nicole just posted this question on the facebook group, and I thought I would post  it here in hopes that someone else may have experience or thoughts for her. I am about to embark on full time eye patching of my 2 year old son, to see if we can gain some improvement of visionContinue reading “Reader question: patching 24/7”

New patches – Make your own, Elly style

There are benefits to being awake nursing a baby at 3:00 in the morning, one of which that I have time to think by myself (well, without a chatty 3 year old)  This is the patch that I came up the other night / morning.  It is light weight, covers 98% of all light, easyContinue reading “New patches – Make your own, Elly style”

How to get eye drops in a 3 year olds eyes

It has been a while since we have had to atropine drop.  Last week, the ophthalmologist had us use the drops in both eyes for 3 days to get the most accurate measurement that they could.  These days were a reminder of why we ended up switching back to patching. So, you may ask, howContinue reading “How to get eye drops in a 3 year olds eyes”

Fresnel Prism on my 3 year old’s glasses

Glasses – Check Occlusion – Check Surgery – Check Prism Adaptation – Check Hmmm… is there something related to little ones in glasses that we haven’t tried yet????   Not that I know of!  We went to the ophthalmologist on Friday due to Elliana’s eyes becoming more over corrected. (major bummer) It appears that she is reactingContinue reading “Fresnel Prism on my 3 year old’s glasses”

Amblyopia Patching

To Our Patching Families, Sometimes it is hard to remember why we are patching.  After placing the patch over our child’s stronger eye vision or pealing a sticky patch away from their reddend skin, it is easy to say, “We’ll skip patching today.” The most important thing to remember though, is that if your child’sContinue reading “Amblyopia Patching”