Depending on the cause, the child may be required to wear glasses or commence patching therapy where one eye is patched for a few hours a day. In some cases, surgery might also be indicated (e.g. if there is a visually significant cataract or significant droopy eyelid).
Case example:
Terry, a five-year-old child, was noted to have a vision of 6/6 in the right eye but 6/15 in the left eye during an eye screening in school. The parents and teachers did not express any concern about his vision. After a complete eye examination, he was found to have astigmatism of -2D in the left eye, but his vision only improved to 6/12 with glasses. There was no significant degree in the right eye.
Terry was advised to wear glasses full-time to encourage the amblyopic left eye ('lazy eye') to see better. After wearing glasses for three months, his vision in the left eye had improved to 6/9. In order to stimulate vision development in the amblyopic left eye further, patching of the stronger right eye for two hours each day was started. After four months, Terry had equal and good vision in both the eyes with glasses.
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