Why lazy eye get back blurry after eye patching

Answer 1

Lazy eye, or amblyopia, is a condition where one eye has reduced vision not correctable by glasses or contact lenses, often due to the brain favoring one eye over the other. Treatment commonly involves patching the stronger eye to force the weaker eye to engage more actively, which can help improve the vision of the lazy eye over time.

However, it’s not uncommon for the vision in the lazy eye to revert to blurry after completing a patching regimen. This can happen for several reasons:

1. Insufficient Training: If the weak eye hasn't been sufficiently trained or exercised during the patching treatment, the improvement may not be stable. Continuous practice and visual activities using the weaker eye are essential for long-term vision improvement.

2. Brain Adaptation: The brain can sometimes revert to the previous preference for the stronger eye if reinforcement activities aren't maintained. Amblyopia is partly a neurological condition, and the brain needs consistent stimulation to maintain the changes made during treatment.

3. Reappearance of Suppression: In cases where there is a history of suppression (the brain ignoring input from the weaker eye), this might return once the patching is stopped. Without continued effort to engage the weaker eye, the brain may fall back into the habit of ignoring it.

4. Structural Issues: If there was an underlying structural issue (like strabismus or significant refractive error) that hasn't been fully addressed, the lazy eye's performance might not improve substantially even with patching.

5. Age Factors: Older children and adults tend to have less plasticity (the ability of the brain to adapt and change) than younger children, making it harder to sustain improvements in vision.

If blurry vision persists after treatment, it's important to follow up with an eye care professional for a comprehensive examination and reassessment of the treatment plan. Continuous support and practice, including vision therapy or specific exercises, may be necessary to maintain and further improve visual function in the lazy eye.