It is not everyday that a television news crew comes to Bright Eyes, so when we were given the opportunity we were very excited. We got to the office extra early and made sure everything was ready. The subject was children’s vision and the importance of annual eye exams for kids. Children can have a variety of vision problems that interfere with learning, including difficulty seeing clearly, problems focusing and moving their eyes, and difficulty making sense of what they see. For some children, glasses are sufficient to solve their visual problem. For others, Vision Therapy,  a series of therapeutic activities, is necessary to ensure the eyes are working properly.

The video also goes into detail about the excellent program called the Eye Pledge that for every Eye Pledge taken, VSP Vision Care will donate an eye exam and a new pair of glasses to a child served by the Boys and Girls Club – up to 50,ooo children. The Eye Pledge is easy to take and doesn’t cost you a thing! Take the Eye Pledge now and help a child. One of the great things about it is that you can specify if you want the donation to go to a child from a Boys and Girls Club in your area or to an area with the greatest need.

To read more and take the Eye Pledge visit: http://www.seemuchmore.com/take-the-pledge

Has your child had an eye exam? They should be a standard part of the Back to School Checklist! If you have questions about children’s vision or children’s eye care, do not hesitate to call us at 813-792-0637.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Although this article by the American Optometric Association was released in 2009, its message is still pertinent and important, especially during this time of the year. While parents are getting their kids prepared for a new school year by purchasing supplies and meeting new teachers, it might be easy to overlook their child’s vision. In fact, a shocking 86% of children start school without ever having an eye examination. This is an alarmingly high figure given the strong correlation between vision and learning.

At Bright Eyes, we advise the eye exam schedule that is recommended by the AOA: first eye exam at 6 months,  3 years, and right before school.  This allows your eye doctor to identify and treat any vision related problems before they start to adversely affect your child’s learning and development.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the screenings used at school are not designed to replace a full, comprehensive eye exam. These screenings offer very little beyond determining clarity of vision. A full eye examination will further test how well the eyes work together in unison at tasks such as reading and computer work, as well as assess the health of the entire eye, inside and out.

The article also suggests signs for parents to look for in their child’s vision between eye exams. The AOA recommends that parents contact their eye doctor if their child frequently:

1. Loses place while reading
2. Avoids close work
3. Tends to rub eyes
4. Has headaches
5. Turns or tilts head
6. Makes frequent reversals when reading or writing
7. Uses finger to maintain place when reading
8. Omits or confuses small words when reading
9. Consistently performs below potential
10. Struggles to complete homework
11. Squints while reading or watching television
12. Has behavioral problems
13. Holds reading material closer than normal

So as the school year begins, if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s vision, do not hesitate to call our office and schedule an appointment.

All the best,

Justin Schoonover

Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Have you ever flown on an airplane? While watching the luggage come and go, you’ve probably noticed that all of the workers have large earmuffs on. Why earmuffs in Florida? They wear them because the planes are loud! Workers at airports need to protect their ears so the noise won’t hurt them and cause hearing problems.

Workers in offices also have to be careful, not usually from loud noise but from computer use.  Just like repeated exposure to loud noise can cause hearing problems, long hours focusing on the computer or digital device can cause eyestrain and vision problems.  This is called Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) and it can lead to problems like watery, irritated eyes, headache, neck pain, and reduced efficiency at work.

Every day, I talk to patients who deal with computer vision syndrome, and I recommend ways that they can protect their eyes and vision. The right computer set up and lighting is important. Taking breaks is important. For some people, I prescribe computer vision glasses to help relieve eyestrain. You can read more about this in an article I wrote for Mashable called 5 Important Tips for Better Eye Heath in a Digital World.

But protecting our eyes and ears is not just for adults or just for work. In fact, children may be even more susceptible to certain problems than adults because they are still growing and developing.  And increasingly, much of their work AND play takes place on digital devices, so parents need to be aware of how computers can affect their children and their eyes.

I’m happy to share that VSP Vision Care has a new EyeFiles video out specifically about computer vision syndrome and children:

For more specific information, check out this handy Question and Answer handout that I helped VSP Vision Care create to accompany the video.  It discusses:

• What digital eyestain is
• How it can affect kids
• What the symptoms are
• Steps parents can take to reduce symptoms

If you have any questions or concerns about how the computer or handheld device is affecting your children’s eyes, please stop by or call us. You can also read previous CVS blog posts here.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

This new video from VSP is great! Not only is it pretty fun and entertaining, but it also makes a great point about the importance of vision and activities like sports. I’ll be honest I don’t know who  Tyreke Evans is, because I don’t follow basketball, but I do know that vision is very important for sports! Not only do you need to see clearly, you and have to have  good peripheral vision and good visual reaction time; all of these things are necessary to win. The great thing is that if there are problems with any of these things, they can be fixed with corrective lenses or vision therapy!

This video shows that protecting your eyes on the court or on the field is very important. Regular glasses are not designed for sports and are actually less safe than sports glasses. And don ‘t worry,  the modern sports glasses are way cooler than the ones I had when I was a kid! Stop by Bright Eyes to check out some of the new models.

The VSP video also does a great job of highlighting the American Optometric Association’s recommendation that the  first eye exam should occur at six months, then three years, then before kindergarten, assuming nothing is wrong.

If you have any questions about your little one’s vision,  have concerns that vision may be interfering with sports, or whether or not they are protecting their eyes sufficiently during sports, ask us!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

The American Optometric Association recently held a School Readiness Summit: Focus on Vision in which doctors, nurses, educators and advocates for children’s health gathered to examine learning-related vision issues that are keeping children from achieving in the classroom. This summit was created to address the concerns that our current system is flawed and a policy shift is needed. The problem is that currently, the U.S. educational system and some health care providers rely heavily on vision screenings to discover the kids that need comprehensive exams. These screenings do catch some types of vision problems but they can miss about 75% of those children that have learning-related vision problems. Detecting these vision problems is very important as “studies show that much of what children learn comes though vision, and undetected and untreated eye and vision disorders in children, such as amblyopia and strabismus, can result in vision loss, additional costly treatments, delayed reading and poorer outcomes in school.”

The take-home statement that the summit produced is that comprehensive eye exams must serve as the foundation to determine school readiness in school-aged children. Another important point established at this meeting is the establishment of the link between healthy vision and classroom learning.

This historic summit is an important step in ensuring that children receive the proper detection and treatment of vision problems before they become detrimental to their learning. Here at Bright Eyes Family Vision Care, we are excited to see these changes being made, since it has been our goal from the beginning to not only catch vision problems at an early stage, evidenced by the InfantSEE program that we offer that provides free eye exams to infants between the age of 6 months and 1 year of age, but to also treat certain types of problems through our extensive one-on-one vision therapy program.

If you have any questions regarding the InfantSEE program, vision therapy program, or would like to schedule a comprehensive eye exam for your child before they start school, give our office a call or come in to schedule.

All the best,

Justin Schoonover, CPO

Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

For months, I’ve been reading, writing, and speaking about the Nintendo 3DS, all without actually seeing or using it. I was finally able to change that yesterday. After helping put the kids to bed, I slipped off to Best Buy and purchased a shiny black 3DS. I brought it home and Cristina and I spent a few hours setting it up and using it. We’ve had a Nintendo DS at Bright Eyes for years that we use as a reward activity during vision therapy, so it was immediately very familiar.

3D Effects

One of the biggest selling points of the 3DS is that the user does not need to wear special glasses to see the 3D effects. This is called autostereoscopic 3D and is definitely where 3D technology is going. It works surprisingly well, considering the small screen. You do have hold the screen flat relative to your head. If you angle the screen, you will either see double or lose the 3D effect.  The 3D does work from positions other than dead-center. This means that, while not ideal, it is possible for more than one person to see the 3D effect at one time.

I was particularly interested to see how well the “3D volume” slider worked. This allows users to adjust the amount of 3D shown to suit their tastes and the particular game. It works amazingly, seamlessly well. I was able to adjust the 3D anywhere from none, to just-noticeable, to full with just a flick of my thumb.

Augmented reality

One of the most intriguing aspects of the 3DS is its use of AR (augmented reality) as part of the game. This allows the viewer to play the game within the room or area that they are really in. (See picture to the right).  Not only is this extremely fun, there are some potential visual benefits to this. If the game is getting further away, it is more likely that the user will hold the game further away and look further away, potentially reducing some strain on the eyes. (I should note that I don’t have any research on this, but it occurred to me while playing.)

3DS vs. DS

One of the biggest visual concerns with 2D game systems such as the original Nintendo DS is that children tend to hold the screens incredibly close – as close as 3 or 4 inches. A person of any age should not hold a book or game closer than their Harmon Distance (or the distance from the knuckle to the elbow). With the 3DS, the 3D effect is better when the game is held a foot or so away from the eyes, so this will naturally encourage users to stay within their Harmon distance.

Safety

Much has been made, appropriately, of the potential adverse effects of using 3D technology, due to the differences of 3DS and real-life 3D.  Nintendo’s official warning of “vision damage” occurring for those six and under has gotten a lot of attention. While I haven’t seen any proof of this, I think it is reasonable because a person has to pretty visual sophisticated to use the 3DS. So I do recommend keeping it away from the young kids. They should be building with blocks and playing outside anyway,

For the older kids and adults (like Justin, on the left) who use the 3DS, eyestrain is possible. Already, I’ve talked to patients who have experienced headaches, nausea, and blurred vision from the 3DS. I’m happy to report that after an hour neither Cristina nor I experienced any of these symptoms. However, we routinely do activities during vision therapy that require visual skill and flexibility. For that reason we are much more accustomed to the visual demands required by the 3DS.

The #1 thing to remember: moderation. Take frequent breaks, even if you feel OK. Use the 20/20/20 Rule – Every 20 minutes, look away from the screen at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Even Nintendo recommends that players take a 10 minute break every hour.

If you or your children do experience symptoms, or don’t see the 3D even with the 3D on “full” be sure to get a through eye exam to look for vision or eye coordination problems. And remember that eye exams are recommended at age six months, three years, and before kindergarten.

For more on potential health effects of the Nintendo 3DS, see my interview with PCWorld. See also the American Optometric Association’s press release on the subject

Overall

In summary, the Nintendo 3DS easy to use and fun. The 3D effects are effective and being glasses-free is very nice. The augmented reality really works well. When used in moderation for the appropriate ages, I do not see any harm. If you do have concerns, schedule an appointment at Bright Eyes either on our webpage or calling 813-792-0637.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

If 2010 has taught me anything, it is that our lives are becoming increasingly digital. Not only is more of our work performed on computers and online, but much of our leisure time, too. This is illustrated by the fact that Amazon has recently announced that it has sold more Kindles than any other book or product. But all of this time in front of screens can take its toll on our eyes. They may become irritated and red. Your vision may become blurry or double. And all this may make you less productive at work or reduce your gaming performance. All of these symptoms are elements of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Fortunately, there are things that you can do limit the effects of CVS.

Every new year I provide the Bright Eyes Family Vision Care Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions. In past years, I’ve covered eye health, children’s vision, and saving money. So for 2011, to help you keep your eyes in optimum condition at the computer or digital device, this year’s resolutions list will help you combat Computer Vision Syndrome.

1. Take Breaks – Your eyes work hard when using  the computer, e-readers, and phones.  Give them some time to relax. Use the “20-20-20 rule.” Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break, and look at something 20 feet away. Every hour or so, talk a longer break. I use and recommend a free application called Workrave that is fully customizable to help you remember to give your eyes (and hands) a rest.

2. Monitor Settings – Today most people have LCD screens. Generally, the larger the screen the better. Increase the font size if it helps.

3. Monitor Position – Position your monitor at least 22 inches away and at an angle that you don’t have to look up most of the time. Making it a natural, comfortable position can help limit eyestrain and neck problems.

4. Blink! – Research studies show that people blink less when using the computer, up to 1/3 less. Blinking washes your eyes in naturally therapeutic tears, so be sure to blink on a regular basis.

5. Glasses - Make sure you have proper lenses for the computer. Specially prescribed computer glasses may help significantly reduce the symptoms of CVS. Often these are different from glasses for driving and general activities like shopping.  Ask your optometrist if you would benefit from computer lenses.

6. Lighting – Keep bright lighting overhead to a minimum.  Keep your desk lamp or window light shining on your desk, not on your monitor. Try to keep window light off to the side, rather than in front or behind you.

7. Position your chair -  Your body position effects your eye position – and vice versa. Make sure you are sitting in a chair with adequate lower-back support. Position your chair so that you are comfortable. Each person has a preference for his or her chair, so take some time to find what’s best for you.

8. Eye exams – Be sure to discuss CVS with your optometrist at your annual eye exam. He or she will discuss your computer use and can perform specific tests to determine if you would benefit from computer glasses,  eye drops or medical treatment.

9. Gadgets – iPads, Kindles, Blackberries and other mobile devices are hugely useful, but have tiny screens and can cause even more symptoms than a desktop computer. Be aware of issues like glare and be sure and take frequent breaks.

10. Don’t forget the kids! – Keep in mind that children can experience CVS, too. And they are less self-aware and are less likely to tell parents if they are having problems. So set limits ahead of time and watch them for any signs of visual problems. This applies to hand-held games, too – especially soon to be released Nintendo 3DS.

If you didn’t have a thorough eye exam in 2010, don’t put it off any longer. Give us a call at 813-792-0637 to schedule your appointment. We’ll make sure your eyes are working their best at the computer! You can also read more about Computer Vision Syndrome on our blog.

More and more regularly there are stories in the local and national media about vision therapy. This is great because not everyone is aware that vision problems can be responsible for a child having trouble learning to read. Or parents may not know that difficulties with vision can keep a good reader from completing assignments. The more research that is done, books are that published, and news stories are produced, the more likely it is that these patients can get the help they needed.

Just this week there is an article in the AOL Health section called, Could Your Child Have a Learning-Related Vision Problem? It is a story about the problems that Andrew had with reading that were related to vision problems even though he could see 20/20.  He was on the verge as being classified as having a “learning disability.” That could be a devastating label for a bright young child to have.

Fortunately, Andrew’s eye coordination problem was discovered and treated by Optometrist Kimberly Walker. He had a “learning-related vision problem,” a problem with eyes and vision that make school harder than it should be.  The process for treating these kinds of problems often involves glasses and a series of therapeutic activities called “vision therapy.” Essentially, the goal is to help the patient learn to use their eyes as effectively as they can. This allows them to develop needed life-skills like reading and writing.

If you’d like more information about learning-related vision problems, or to find a doctor who can evaluate for  learning-related vision problems, visit COVD. Or feel free to call our office at 813-792-0637.

When a book comes out that helps people understand vision and vision therapy I write about it so my patients can find out about it. When an amazing book comes out, I try to interview the authors to not only spread the word, but because I am genuinely interested in their background and the process of writing. Like Fixing My Gaze, Jillian’s Story is one of those books that does a better job of explaining vision therapy than I can. So I am thrilled to be able to present an interview with its authors Robin Benoit and Jillian Benoit. -Dr. Nate

Dr. Nate: Robin,  what made you decide that you wanted to take the time and effort to write the “Jillian’s Story”? Was there one moment, or a gradual realization?

I don’t think a week went by after Jillian started vision therapy that I didn’t say, “Somebody needs to do something to raise awareness about vision therapy.”  My husband would always reply, “You should write a book.”  But, I didn’t really consider it and sort of laughed at the idea.  Then, one day after school as we were driving home in the car, Jillian told me that she suspected a girl in her class needed vision therapy because she had noticed her friend covering one eye with her hand as she read a book.  I mentioned it the next day to Jillian’s teacher.  She said, “You know, Robin, you and Jillian really need to write a book.  I think Jillian’s story could help so many people.”  That night, I started writing “Jillian’s Story.”  I had searched for books to read about vision therapy and couldn’t find very much.  I really wanted to read personal accounts from other parents about how vision therapy had worked for their child.  When faced with the fact that our pediatrician didn’t refer us to vision therapy, our ophthalmologist discredited it and insurance wouldn’t cover it, we went on faith and hope that vision therapy would prove to be helpful to Jillian.  We are so grateful that vision therapy exceeded all of our hopes and expectations.  We hope “Jillian’s Story” will inspire, encourage and lend confidence to others considering vision therapy for themselves or their child.

(Laughing)  Am I famous?  I haven’t noticed!  At first I was kind of nervous, but then I realized how many people, especially kids, I could help just because I have vision problems like they do.  Vision Therapy has made such a huge difference for me.  I love 3D movies now because I can see stuff come out of the screen instead of a bunch of blurry junk.  3D movies used to make me feel sick.  Now they are really fun!  I used to get so frustrated at school.  Now I love it.  It’s so much easier to learn when you can see.  I don’t get frustrated with homework anymore.  Homework that would have taken me an hour to do before vision therapy now takes me just 5 or 10 minutes.  I even love math now and I never thought I’d say that.  I can read any book I want, even a thick one like “Harry Potter.”    Vision therapy really changed my world and I’m so happy to share my story.   I hope our book will help anyone with vision problems to have a happier life.

Robin,  how long it it take to write and get printed?

I wrote the first draft about Jillian’s younger years very quickly, probably in just a few days.  I started the chapters on her vision therapy experience about half way through her 15-month program and wrapped it up a little at a time as she completed vision therapy.  Jillian read what I wrote throughout the writing process and added her suggestions and quotes for each chapter.  It all came together quickly and easily.  I had no idea how to get a book published.  I did a little research on the Internet and bought a very thick book called the Writer’s Market. I went through it page by page and highlighted publishers I thought might be interested in her story.  But, I just didn’t think that mailing in manuscripts and waiting months for a reply (not to mention rejection letters) was the right way to go.  So, before I mailed a single manuscript, I decided to call an old friend for advice.  He had written a book several years ago and I hoped he could give me some tips to follow.  He did more than that!  He suggested I contact a friend of his who owns a publishing company in Dallas and gave me her phone number.  That was in July of 2010.  I signed with Brown Books Publishing Group on August 11th and the book was released on November 12th.  It was a whirlwind and I loved the entire experience!

Jillian: Vision therapy involves a lot different activities. I asked Dr. Barry which was her favorite and she said “Brock String.” Which was your favorite VT activity?

There is more than one.  When I worked with Lindsey in her office, I loved the balance beam and wearing the “googly glasses.”  I looked so silly in those glasses, like a mad scientist from one of those movies.  It made me laugh.  I also liked the big rotator and putting the golf tees in the holes.  At home I liked the ball on the string and, like Dr. Barry, the “Brock String.”

(Robin):  We are really pleased with it.  The cover had to be redesigned rather late in the process.  Our publisher ran across a book published in 1985 that looked too similar in font and coloring.  We actually like the second design and colors even better, so it was a blessing in disguise.  The eye chart is so iconic and the response has been that the second you see the book, you know it is about vision.  We wanted our book to be like sitting down with a friend to talk about a problem.  It’s wonderful to know that anyone looking for an answer or solution to their concerns can read our book in one evening, go to bed and wake up the next morning feeling much better about their situation.  And, that is the response we’re getting.  We’ve received emails from all across the country from people who feel we’ve been living the same life.

(Jillian):  I love the book!  One of the things I like best about it is that it’s quick and easy to read.  Lindsey told us about a family that read it — grandmother, mom and daughter — and they raved about how it answered questions and helped all of them understand vision problems better.  Friends at school have read it and come up to hug me!  That’s awesome!

Have you had any interesting people contact you because of “Jillian’s Story”?

(Jillian):  I had the chance to write a note to a girl in Iowa that just started vision therapy.  I really hope vision therapy helps her like it did me.

(Robin):  Dr. Horning suggested that I contact an optometrist that he admires named Dr. Paul Harris.  Dr. Harris so graciously agreed to read the manuscript early in the process.  He not only endorsed “Jillian’s Story”, but introduced me to many wonderful people including Dr. Sue Barry, who so kindly mentioned “Jillian’s Story” while speaking at the COVD Annual Meeting.  We are finding so many great people willing to lend their support to Jillian’s goal of spreading the word that vision therapy really works.

(Jillian):  Thank you, Dr. Nate, for sharing my story!

(Robin):  Yes, thank you so much.  We hope “Jillian’s Story” will be a strong advocate for vision therapy.  Orders can be made at www.JilliansStory.com.  Please email us your thoughts and comments at robin@jilliansstory.com or jillian@jilliansstory.com.  Anyone wishing to receive a volume discount can have information sent to them on the 50 pack (20% discount) and 100 pack (30% discount) specials by emailing us for the special website ordering link.  You will receive an email response with the link to a PayPal discount pack ordering page.

You may have a friend or family member who has had or is currently undergoing treatment for amblyopia. Even if you don’t know anyone with amblyopia, you likely have some idea that sometimes kids have to wear an eyepatch to improve the vision in their other eye. That treatment is indeed the time-honored, effective treatment of “lazy eye.”

But have we learned anything since the first patch was used? How many hours are you supposed to patch? Are there other options? Do they work? How do we know?

Fortunately, visual scientists have been hard at work the last few years, giving us valuable information that can help doctors guide their patients and parents towards the best, most effective, best tolerated treatment. I have selected a few research studies to cover here. If you want more detail, follow the links provided to obtain your own copy of the studies.

Of course, (and this goes without saying, but I must say it)  TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR before acting on anything written here or changing any part of your prescribed treatment. If you have questions about how this research affects your treatment, print out the study and take it with you to the next evaluation.

Now, on to the studies………

A randomized trial of atropine vs patching for treatment of moderate amblyopia: follow-up at age 10 years.
Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group, Repka MX, Kraker RT, Beck RW, Holmes JM, Cotter SA, Birch EE, Astle WF, Chandler DL, Felius J, Arnold RW, Tien DR, Glaser SR.
Arch Ophthalmol. 2008 Aug;126(8):1039-44.

Finding: Both eye drops and patching treat amblyopia, but they may not treat it completely.

Randomized trial of treatment of amblyopia in children aged 7 to 17 years.
Scheiman MM, Hertle RW, Beck RW, Edwards AR, Birch E, Cotter SA, Crouch ER Jr, Cruz OA, Davitt BV, Donahue S, Holmes JM, Lyon DW, Repka MX, Sala NA, Silbert DI, Suh DW, Tamkins SM; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group.
Arch Ophthalmol. 2005 Apr;123(4):437-47.

Finding: Improvement can been seen in kids with amblyopia older than 6.

Stability of visual acuity improvement following discontinuation of amblyopia treatment in children aged 7 to 12 years.
Hertle RW, Scheiman MM, Beck RW, Chandler DL, Bacal DA, Birch E, Chu RH, Holmes JM, Klimek DL, Lee KA, Repka MX, Weakley DR Jr; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group.
Arch Ophthalmol. 2007 May;125(5):655-9.

Finding: For most kids 7 to 12 years old, the benefits of patching become permanent.

A comparison of atropine and patching treatments for moderate amblyopia by patient age, cause of amblyopia, depth of amblyopia, and other factors.
Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group.
Ophthalmology. 2003 Aug;110(8):1632-7; discussion 1637-8.

Finding: More patching may not really be better. Patients with significant amblyopia  improve faster with more patching at first, but after 6 months of patching the effect is the same as with less patching.

A randomized pilot study of near activities versus non-near activities during patching therapy for amblyopia.
Holmes JM, Edwards AR, Beck RW, Arnold RW, Johnson DA, Klimek DL, Kraker RT, Lee KA, Lyon DW, Nosel ER, Repka MX, Sala NA, Silbert DI, Tamkins S; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group.
J AAPOS. 2005 Apr;9(2):129-36.

Finding: Patients with amblyopia who are  engaged in near activities while patching improve faster than those who do not do activities.

A randomized trial of near versus distance activities while patching for amblyopia in children aged 3 to less than 7 years.
Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group.
Ophthalmology. 2008 Nov;115(11):2071-8. Epub 2008 Sep 11.

Finding: Patients benefit from both distance and near activities while patching.

Risk of amblyopia recurrence after cessation of treatment.
Holmes JM, Beck RW, Kraker RT, Astle WF, Birch EE, Cole SR, Cotter SA, Donahue S, Everett DF, Hertle RW, Keech RV, Paysse E, Quinn GF, Repka MX, Scheiman MM; Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group.
J AAPOS. 2004 Oct;8(5):420-8.

Finding: To decrease the chance to the amblyopia getting worse after patching is stopped, tapering off the amount of patching is helpful.

The antidepressant fluoxetine restores plasticity in the adult visual cortex. Maya Vetencourt JF, Sale A, Viegi A, Baroncelli L, De Pasquale R, O’Leary OF, Castrén E, Maffei L. 2007 Jun;10(6):679-81. Epub 2007 Apr 29.

Finding: Prozac improved vision in adult amblyopic rats. This is yet more evidence that, under the right conditions, adults with amblyopia can have improved vision. As we learn more about this, eye doctors  can provide more effective amblyopia treatments to adults.

So there you have it. It wasn’t so bad, right? Maybe even a little bit interesting.  In addition to reading these studies, I encourage you to check out the online groups Amblyopia Kids, Amblyopia Support, and  Little Four Eyes. If you find any other good ones, let me know!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.