The main aim of treatment is:
- To alleviate symptoms
- To have 2 eyes seeing well and equally this is achieved by occlusion (patching) if there is an amblyopic (lazy) eye
- To develop optimum neurological vision and improve the alignment of your eyes
Types of Treatment
- Treatment may be a combination of glasses, occlusion therapy, orthoptic exercises, prisms, and possibly squint surgery to realign the eyes.
- Botulinum toxin is also used in squints and Fran would refer you to the appropriate consultant for this treatment.
- Glasses are ordered by the ophthalmologist or optometrist.
- Occlusion (patching) is to improve a lazy eye and on average is approximately 2 hours daily but can be more or less depending on the vision.
- Exercises are used to treat convergence and accommodation problems and are normally very successful. This is normally done in 4 visits at monthly intervals. Parents sit in on the consultation so they can visually see the improvement in their child’s reading skills. A test called the Wilkins rate of reading test is used to assess how many words a child can read in one minute and how many mistakes they make. This is repeated each visit and the improvement is recorded (children love the challenge of improving their score).
- Rainbow readers are used to help with tracking and improve accuracy and speed of reading.
- Fran also tests for Irlens syndrome using the Intuitive Colour filter test. She carries a full set of coloured overlays.