History of Lazy Eye

For as long as people have existed they have been dealing with lazy eye. Different people and cultures have tried different interventions to fix it, going back more than a thousand years. Amblyopia is the medical term for lazy-eye.

Link to secretstrips

Lazy Eye Treatment with Eye Patches - 900 A.D. to Present

Documented treatment methods on how to fix amblyopia, the medical term for lazy-eye, date back to about 900 A.D. At that time, Thabit Ibn Qurrah of Mesopotamia wrote that lazy eye (amblyopia) due to strabismus (misaligned eyes) should be treated by eye patching (occluding or occlusion of) the "normal eye". From the beginning, it was believed that the blocking or occlusion of the "normal" or "good eye" would force the use of the so-called "lazy eye", and therefore improve its vision. George Louis Leclerc, Count de Buffon () was later given credit for the use of eye patching to treat amblyopia (the medical term for lazy eye). In the 20th century, eye doctors throughout the world depended heavily on the use of eye patches for lazy eye treatment and the amblyopia eye patch was prescribed for many hours per day. In the 21st century -- to the great relief of many parents and their children -- scientific research proved that two hours of eye patching per day with one hour of near visual activities as eye exercises is just as effective as six hours of patching per day.

Lazy Eye Treatment with Eye Muscle Exercises or Orthoptics - 19th Century to Present

In the nineteenth century, eye muscle exercises called orthoptics were employed with or without eye patching to fix a lazy eye, but this treatment was little known and seldom made available to the general public. Today, there are still a small number of orthoptists practicing eye muscle exercises (convergence, etc.) internationally. The practice of orthoptics, however, has remained extremely limited in its scope by (1) focusing on eye exercises for the eye muscles only (convergence) and (2) mostly treating only one type of patient...children after strabismus surgery (post-op). In addition, the field of orthoptics has fallen behind the changing times by focusing almost exclusively on eye muscle exercises and excluding 21st-century discoveries on lazy eye treatment and the human brain (neuroplasticity). Lazy Eye or amblyopia is a neurological condition, so a treatment that addresses the eye muscles only is not effective.

Eye Treatments with Drugs (Eye Drops) - from Cleopatra to the Present

In the 20th century, drugs became an alternative to eye patches for lazy eye treatment when the use of atropine eye drops was adopted as a new way of blocking the vision of the "good eye". The atropine eye drops blur the vision in the "good eye" instead of covering it with an eye patch. The blurring of the "good eye" stimulates the brain to make greater use of the image coming from the lazy eye.

Atropine was first synthesized in a laboratory by German chemist Richard Willstètter in , however, plant extracts of atropine (eye drops made from deadly nightshade and other plants) were used by Cleopatra for cosmetic eye dilation in the last century B.C.

21st-century scientific research has compared the use of eye drops to eye patches and has determined that these lazy eye treatment alternatives are equal in effectiveness. The choice between these comparable lazy eye treatments is up to the parent or the patient. Note, however, that doing at least one hour per day of near visual activities with either eye patches or eye drops is more effective than doing either of these lazy eye treatments on their own. In addition, remember that both of these treatment methods are directed only toward stimulating the use of the lazy eye. Therefore, these lazy eye treatments are incomplete because they do not stimulate normal coordinated two-eyed vision (binocular vision).

How to Fix a Lazy Eye - Not Much Changed until the 20th Century!

Lazy eye treatment and correction methods really did not change much until the twentieth century. Most likely, the reason that treatment changed so little is because lazy eye is a neurological condition - the vision problem occurs in the brain - and very little was known about the brain or how to help it change or recover until the late twentieth century.

Lazy Eye Treatment with Drugs (Eye Drops) Instead of or with Eye Patches -- from Cleopatra to Present

In the last half of the twentieth century, pioneering doctors of optometry (e.g., Frederick Brock, AM Skeffington, Larry MacDonald, William M. Ludlam, Harry Wachs, Martin Birnbaum, Donald Getz, Robert Sanet, etc.) knowing full well that lazy eye happens in the brain, not the eye, went far beyond the basic eye muscle exercises of orthoptics to develop Optometry Vision Therapy. Incorporating new knowledge related to the human brain, Optometric vision therapy offers therapeutic visual activities with or without lenses or occlusion to treat all aspects of vision impacted by lazy eye or amblyopia. With Vision Therapy, for example, the patient engages in visual activities that require the simultaneous use of both the lazy eye and unaffected eye at all distances (near, middle and far range). Optometric Vision Therapy is now available to the public in some optometric clinics and private practices in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Canada, India, and other countries as well.

In the 21st century, we are seeing a remarkable increase in mainstream scientific studies that investigate the methods and results of existing treatments for lazy eye. These studies examine (1) the necessary frequency and length of time for effective occlusion (eye patching or atropine drops), (2) the importance of visual activities with or without occlusion and (3) the maximum age at which treatment can still be effective. Despite many new and unexpected scientific discoveries regarding the plasticity of the human brain and/or updated treatment protocols for lazy eye, the "old school" treatment methods persist and are slow to change. Eye patches or atropine drops alone are still the most common treatments for lazy eye. And, notably, older children and adults are still being told that it is too late to be successfully treated. For more articles on this topic, see:

Source: lazyeye.org http://www.lazyeye.org/lazy-eye-treatment-patching-atropine-drops.html

Find a Vivid Vision Provider

Over 482 Vivid Vision Providers prescribe virtual reality alongside patching and vision therapy to treat your lazy eye. Sign up through our doctor locator to see if Vivid Vision is right for you.

Small patch that is worn in front of an eye

"Eyepad" redirects here. For the product by Apple Inc. (tablet computers), see iPad

Medical intervention

A child wearing an adhesive eyepatch to correct amblyopia

An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn by people to cover a lost, infected, or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the treatment of amblyopia. Eyepatches used to block light while sleeping are referred to as a sleep mask.

An eyepad or eye pad is a soft medical dressing that can be applied over an eye to protect it. It is not necessarily the same as an eyepatch.[1]

History

In the years before advanced medicine and surgery, eyepatches were common for people who had a lost or injured eye. They were particularly prevalent among members of dangerous occupations, such as soldiers and sailors who could lose an eye in battle. While stereotypically associated with pirates, there is no evidence to suggest the historical accuracy of eye patch wearing pirates before several popular novels of the 19th century (see Association with pirates below).

Medical uses

Amblyopia

Eye patching is used in the orthoptic management[2] of children at risk of lazy eye (amblyopia), especially strabismic or anisometropic[3] amblyopia. These conditions can cause visual suppression of areas of the dissimilar images[4] by the brain such as to avoid diplopia, resulting in a loss of visual acuity in the suppressed eye and in extreme cases in blindness in an otherwise functional eye. Patching the good eye forces the amblyopic eye to function, thereby causing vision in that eye to be retained.[2][3] It is important to perform "near activities" (such as reading or handiwork) when patched, thereby exercising active, attentive vision.[5]

A study provided evidence that children treated for amblyopia with eye patching had lower self-perception of social acceptance.[6] To prevent a child from being socially marginalized by their peers due to wearing an eye patch, atropine eye drops may be used instead. This induces temporary blurring in the treated eye.

It has been pointed out that the penalization of one eye by means of patching or atropine drops does not provide the necessary conditions to develop or improve binocular vision. Recently, efforts have been made to propose alternative treatments of amblyopia that do allow for the improvement of binocular sight, for example, using binasal occlusion or partially frosted spectacles[4] in place of any eye patch, using alternating occlusion goggles or using methods of perceptual learning based on video games or virtual reality games for enhancing binocular vision.

A Cochrane Review sought to determine the effectiveness of occlusion treatment on patients with sensory deprivation amblyopia, however no trials were found eligible to be included in the review.[7] However, it is suggested that good outcomes from occlusion treatment for sensory deprivation amblyopia rely on compliance with the treatment.

For more eye patch manufacturersinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

Extraocular muscle palsy

To initially relieve double vision (diplopia) caused by an extra-ocular muscle palsy, an eye care professional may recommend using an eyepatch. This can help to relieve the dizziness, vertigo and nausea that are associated with this form of double vision.[8][9][10]

Use by aircraft pilots

Aircraft pilots used an eye patch, or close one eye to preserve night vision when there was disparity in the light intensity within or outside their aircraft, such as when flying at night over brightly lit cities, so that one eye could look out, and the other would be adjusted for the dim lighting of the cockpit to read unlit instruments and maps.[11] Some military pilots have worn a lead-lined or gold-lined eyepatch, to protect against blindness in both eyes, in the event of a nuclear blast or laser weapon attack.[12][13][14]

Eyepatches are not currently used by military personnel; modern technology has provided an array of other means to preserve and enhance night vision, including red-light and low-level white lights, and night vision devices.[15][16][17]

Association with pirates

Ex-sailors ashore sometimes wore an eye patch to cover the loss of an eye, but pirates rarely wore eye patches while aboard ships. There were some exceptions, including Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah, a well-known pirate of the Persian Gulf, who wore an eye patch after losing an eye in battle.[18][19]

Medical texts have referred to the eye patch as a "pirate's patch" and, writing in the Minnesota Academy of Sciences Journal in , Charles Sheard of the Mayo foundation pointed out that by "wearing a patch (The pirate's patch) over one eye, it will keep the covered eye in a state of readiness and adaptation for night vision".[20] This technique was explored during WWII by institutes such as the United States Navy.[21] It has been suggested that pirates before electric lighting wore eyepatches to keep one eye adjusted to darkness ahead of a boarding operation, so that they would be ready to fight below deck where the lighting was poor. This idea was tested in an episode of MythBusters in and found to be plausible, but this application has never been documented in any historical naval manual.[22]

Notable wearers

In fiction

An eyepatch can be used in fiction to lend an additional dimension to a character, an air of mystery or general je ne sais quoi.[74]

See also

References

Want more information on the best anti-wrinkle mask? Feel free to contact us.