How Is Amblyopia Treated?

As the child keeps using only the eye with amblyopia, his or her vision will continue to improve. After the doctor determines that vision is back to normal, your child will not have to wear the patch. Some children may again lose some vision and need to undergo another round of patching. In cases of mild amblyopia, the doctor might recommend using an eye drop called atropine in the "good" eye instead of a patch. Atropine dilates the pupil and blurs the vision in the "good eye," forcing the "bad" eye to do most of the work while the child is playing with toys, eating, drawing, or reading.

Most children with amblyopia will also need glasses to help focus. If there is something blocking light from getting into the eye, the doctor might recommend surgery to remove the blockage. If strabismus is preventing the eyes from moving together correctly, your doctor might recommend surgery on the muscles of the eye. Your doctor will discuss with you what treatment is most appropriate for your child.

What Is the Outlook for Children With Amblyopia?

If existing underlying problems are treated and the amblyopia is detected and treated early, most children will gain vision. Because amblyopia becomes much more difficult to treat after about 7-9 years of age, early childhood exams are very important. It is important that you follow your doctor's advice about treatment. This can be very difficult, because many children do not want to wear an eye patch every day. With the use of atropine as an alternative method of treatment, success is now possible in a larger proportion of children with amblyopia.

Reference information: www.webmd.com/eye-health/  www.eye.123.com.hk

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Ophthalmologist for diagnosis and treatment.

Amblyopia Diagnosed and Treated

Reference information: www.webmd.com/eye-health/  www.eye.123.com.hk

How Is amblyopia Diagnosed?

All children should be screened before they are school age. Your child's doctor or the vision program at school will check three aspects of your child's eye health:

1. That your child's eyes let light all the way through.
2. That both eyes see equally well.
3. That the eyes are moving normally.

If there's a problem in any of those three areas, the doctor or school nurse may recommend a visit to an eye specialist. If you feel that something could be wrong with your child's vision, call your doctor even if he or she has been screened at school.

Family history of amblyopia is a risk factor for the disorder. Parents cannot tell just by looking at their child if they have amblyopia. Early diagnosis and treatment are the keys to the best visual outcome.

How Is amblyopia Treated?

The most common treatment for amblyopia is to force the brain to start using the "bad" eye. This is done by first correcting any underlying problems in that eye and then by putting a patch over the "good" eye. At first, the child will have a hard time seeing with just the weaker eye. However, it is very important that your child wear the patch diligently because this will eventually improve vision. It can take weeks or months for an eye patch to improve vision. It's important to follow your doctor's instructions carefully and that your child is monitored closely during treatment.

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Ophthalmologist for diagnosis and treatment.

Amblyopia and Your Child's Eyes

Amblyopia -- or lazy eye -- is a condition that occurs in children when some underlying cause prevents vision from developing properly in one eye. If Amblyopia is left untreated, a child's vision will never  fully develop correctly in that eye. Vision impairment becomes permanent because as the child’s brain matures, it will "ignore" the image coming from the poorly seeing eye. Because Amblyopia can result in permanent vision loss in one eye, it is important to have a child with Amblyopia regularly tested by an eye doctor.

What Causes Amblyopia?

Amblyopia usually starts when one eye has much better focus than the other eye. For example, one eye might be very nearsighted or have a lot of astigmatism, while the other does not. When the child's brain is confronted with both a blurry image and a clear image, it will begin to ignore the blurry image. If this goes on for months or years, the vision in the eye that sees the blurry image will deteriorate.

Another cause of Amblyopia is strabismus. Strabismus is an ocular misalignment, meaning that one eye turns inward or outward. This prevents the eyes from focusing together on an image and can cause double vision. In order to combat this, the child's brain generally chooses to ignore the image from the deviated eye, causing the vision in that eye to deteriorate. Because one of the eyes is misaligned, some people refer to this as a "lazy eye."

Other children cannot see well in one eye because something blocks light from getting through. This could be due, among other causes, to a cataract or a small amount of blood or other material in the back of the eye.

Reference information: www.webmd.com/eye-health/  www.eye.123.com.hk

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Ophthalmologist for diagnosis and treatment.

視力問題

參考資料:  www.eye.123.com.hk

眼晴是一個重要的器官，而視力的情況會直接影響患者的生活適應。大多數長者將視力退化或眼疾歸因於衰退過程，認為年紀大了，便不得不接受現實。

更嚴重的是 : 在視力出現問題的時候，只視作是老化過程的必然結果，並不察覺及明白到控制病情的大原則：「及時就醫、盡早診治」，並將病情的影響減至最少，間接令患者的生活質素因而下降, 並承受不必要的困擾，包括日常生活、情緒、社交等等。

因此，若發現家中長者或自己的視力出現問題， 切勿忽略或自行處理，例如：自行購買眼藥水、滴用別人的眼藥水等等，患者應及早廷醫診治，讓病情得到恰當的處理。若有興趣認識更多有關眼疾的資料，可向專科醫護人員查詢。

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向自己的眼科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

激光矯視

手術只需局部麻醉，方法是滴麻醉眼藥水，不用打針。手術時，病人躺在激光矯視儀器下，眼皮用手術儀器牽引著，不怕眨眼。

傳統式和Epi-Lasik整項手術 (兩隻眼睛計) 需時僅十五分鐘；而Intralase雙眼需時三十分鐘，原因是激去切割角膜瓣比較緩慢。

當角膜瓣切割完成，打開角膜瓣後，醫生會對準眼球，將激光射向下層角膜。這昤病人必須合作，專注地凝望著激光鏡頭一分鐘，好比拍照時望著相機鏡頭一樣。

眼球的輕微移動無可避免，追蹤眼球儀器這時便發揮作用，像飛彈跟蹤飛機一樣，引導激光集中於下層角膜瓣瞳孔中心的位置。完成手術後，眼科醫生便把角膜瓣合上。

參考資料: 《21世紀近視療法話您知》

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向自己的眼科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

激光矯視

參考資料: www.eye.123.com.hk

手術期間

眼科醫生首先會切割角膜瓣。現時有三種方法把角膜的面層像蓋一般打開，Classic(傳統式)、Intralase及Epi-Lasik。

Classic (傳統式) 已沿用十年，它是利用自動化角膜切割器的金屬刀片，為角膜切割出角膜瓣，以我所用的B&L Hansatome 品牌角膜切割器為例，切出來的角膜瓣厚度為一百二十微米 (120um)。

AMO Intralase 技術三年前面世，利用激光來切割角膜瓣，厚度為一百微米 (100um)。上層角膜瓣切得越薄，下層角膜組織越多，而矯正的近視度數亦越大。深近視而角膜較薄的病人，適宜使用 Intralase。

至於Epi-Lasik，則在二零零六年才推出，所用的儀器是 AMO Amadeus，方法是利用高振頻的塑膠片來割出一塊超薄的角膜瓣，厚度只有五十微米 (50um)，所以剩下來的下層角膜瓣比較多，這種新技術最適合用於角膜非常薄的病人。

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向自己的眼科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

眼疾

現今社會科學發達，醫學昌明，相較以往，人類的壽命延長了。無可否認，長者在老化的過程中，面對無數慢性疾病的困擾，因而直接影響了日常生活的起居及社交關係。

眼疾是其中一種影響患者深遠的慢性病，如果處理不當，會大大影響患者的精神健康，並使生活質素下降，有違健康生活的原則。撰寫本小冊子的目的，是介紹一般長者容易患上的慢性眼疾，希望長者對這類常見眼科疾病有更清晰的了解，達至及早診治和預防勝於治療的目的。

眼疾的種類繁多，但由於篇幅所限，本小冊子會集中介紹其中六種長者常見眼疾的病徵、成因；治療及護理方法，包括白內障、青光眼、糖尿病視網膜病變、年齡相關性黃斑點退化、視網膜裂孔及視網膜脫落。

最後編者並會介紹正確使用眼藥水或眼藥膏的要訣，從而加強社區人士對眼疾的認識及重視，達至預防勝於治療的目的。

參考資料: 《長者護眼常識100分》 www.eye.123.com.hk

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向自己的眼科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

保護眼睛

眼晴是一個重要的器官，而視力的情況會直接影響患者的生活適應。大多數長者將視力退化或眼疾歸因於衰退過程，認為年紀大了，便不得不接受現實。

更嚴重的是 : 在視力出現問題的時候，只視作是老化過程的必然結果，並不察覺及明白到控制病情的大原則：「及時就醫、盡早診治」，並將病情的影響減至最少，間接令患者的生活質素因而下降, 並承受不必要的困擾，包括日常生活、情緒、社交等等。

因此，若發現家中長者或自己的視力出現問題， 切勿忽略或自行處理，例如：自行購買眼藥水、滴用別人的眼藥水等等，患者應及早廷醫診治，讓病情得到恰當的處理。若有興趣認識更多有關眼疾的資料，可向專科醫護人員查詢。

參考資料: www.eye.123.com.hk

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向自己的眼科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

黃斑點退化診斷和治療

診斷方法

患者必須放大瞳孔，進行眼底檢查。由於個別患者的病情有差異, 故部份患者可能需要接受眼底熒光及靛青綠血管造影的檢查，以確定(1)退化之類別及(2)血管增生之位置及滲漏之情況。

香港普及的治療方法

滲出型的黄斑点退化是此病令人致盲的主要原因，最佳的治療方法也因患者病況而異。

i) 激光光凝 (Laser Photocoagulation)

如新增血管的位置不是在黄斑点的正中央，這是最有效的方法，可直接使用激光光凝封閉新生血管，以免病情不斷惡化。

不過，直接激光光凝亦會同時傷害視網膜的神經及細胞，所以只適合小部份的病人。當新增血管的邊界不清晰，或巳影響到黃斑中央時，這方法的效果就不大理想。

ii) 光動力療法 (Photodynamic Therapy)

這是經過兩年多臨床經驗測試並證明能有效地減低視力下降的新方法。根據美國的情況，此方法在2000年4月通過當地食物及藥物管理局的認可，光動力療法必須配合感光藥物的注射及使用低能量激光照射方為有效。

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向自己的眼科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

黄斑点退化的病徵

l   視力模糊或擾亂

l   中央視力有彎曲及變形；如天線、建築物的周邊等，出現波浪形狀

l   影像中央出現黑或白影

黃斑點退化對患者的影響

黃斑點退化是可引致永久視力喪失的眼疾，雖然它甚少引致完全失明，但因中央視力受損，患者的日常生活將會受到很大的影響，如發現長者的眼睛(無論是一只或一對眼睛)出現以上的病徵，就應盡早作進一步的檢查。

老年性黃斑點的類別

根據臨床表現，可以分為早期及中後期兩大類，早期可以見到粒狀沉積物存留於視網膜上，雙眼視力大多數仍是正常。而中後期則可以分為萎縮型及滲出型兩種。

萎縮型/乾性(Atropic or Dry AMD) 是最常見的類型，視力會隨黃斑點功能逐步萎縮而緩緩下降。而滲出型/濕性(Exudative or Wet AMD)是最嚴重及令患者致盲的主要原因。由於血管滲漏及出血，中心視力可迅速下降。這些新增的血管，最後會演變成疤痕，而黃斑點的細胞也將受到永久性的創傷。

參考資料: www.eye.123.com.hk

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向自己的眼科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。