A lazy eye, or amblyopia, is a condition in which one eye is weaker and tends to wander inward or outwards rather than staying in focus with the stronger eye. Amblyopia generally begins in early childhood, and early intervention tends to be more successful. While there are a few things your eye doctor can recommend to improve amblyopia, there are things you can do at home that may improve the results of treatment.
Enforcing Lazy Eye Use
Amblyopia generally develops because one eye doesn’t see as well as the other. As a result, the brain eventually begins to ignore the visual input from the weaker eye. One of the most effective earlier means of intervention is to use an eye patch, or other means of blocking vision, on the stronger eye. This forces the brain to utilize the visual input from the weaker eye, thus improving the connections and muscles that control the eyeball. Try utilizing one for about 2 - 6 hours a day every day.
Lazy Eye Exercises
There are exercises intended to strengthen the intraocular muscles. To work on the muscles themselves, try performing eye rolls while wearing your eye patch, moving your eyeballs in a full circle all the way around the socket. To improve both the muscles and the connection between the eyes and the brain, choose a small object, such as a pencil. While wearing your eye patch, move it slowly back and forth in front of you, not losing focus.
Tracking exercises can also help. Rather than just going back and forth and keeping your focus on the object, move it up, down, diagonally, etc. Follow it with your unpatched eye, working on moving your muscles and vision.
Lazy Eye Activities
Activities are generally most effective when used with the eye patch; otherwise, your dominate eye will simply do the work instead. Reading fine print is a good option if you have limited resources available to you. Many websites and organizations offer these activities. Dr. Patch The Feel Good Patch suggests that even activities like doing puzzles or playing video games while wearing your eye patch can be beneficial. They also provide a link to coloring pages geared towards improving amblyopia.
