Just Ask Pat, a 66-year-old grandmother!
Besides using glasses, in the past most eye doctors have followed two “rules” for treating lazy eyes: 1) patch the good eye all day to force the lazy eye to work and 2) don’t treat a lazy eye if the patient is over six years old because by then it’s too late--WRONG!
Recent
research shows that the first rule has been wrong all along. A large
study published in 2003 showed that vision
would improve in lazy eyes with as little as
two hours daily
patching. This study radically changed the way eye doctors approached
treatment.
Optometrists
board certified in vision therapy know the second "rule" is also
untrue. Vision
therapy is such a powerful tool to neurologically reprogram the visual system
that a lazy eye can be treated at any age. Patricia, a 66-year-old
grandmother, is a perfect example. Here is her story:
Patricia
always had a lazy eye. The
condition was not found as a child and by the time it was diagnosed, doctors
felt there was little that could be done to improve her vision. So Patricia was
forced to make adaptations and find ways to live with her “bad” eye.
However,
as she became older, Patricia started to have trouble driving because she had
little peripheral vision on her right side.
So she decided to see if we could help.
After
three months of vision therapy, Patricia had clear vision out of her lazy eye.
Her eyes worked together perfectly, and for the first time in her life Pat had
good depth perception and side vision. Driving
was much easier for Pat, and she was thrilled at the amazing differences
"normal" vision meant in her life. Patricia
is living proof that a
lazy eye can be treated
at any age!