Lazy eye, or Amblyopia, is a condition where one eye doesn’t develop as well as the other.

It is often treated in childhood; many adults still live with this condition.

According to National Eye Institute, up to 3 out of 100 children have Amblyopia (Lazy eye).

The good news is there are eye exercises and techniques that can greatly help you improve your vision.

Whether you are an adult or a child’s parent, these exercises can help you take steps toward a better quality of life.

In this article, we will learn about various Lazy eye exercises and how to do them.

Fact:
A Lazy eye occurs when one eye experiences lesser visual signals from the brain as compared to the other eye.

Coloring within the lines

Children love to color. Encouraging them to color in a coloring book is the best way to let them do an eye exercise.

The motive here is to color within the lines, not just on an open page.

To do this exercise, you can follow the given guidelines:

  • Pick a coloring book from the market with simple pictures having sharp and clear boundaries
  • Cover the stronger eye of your child with an eye patch
  • Tell them to color the objects on the page, staying within the lines
  • Supervise your child, and don’t let them remove the eye patch

Home-Based Pencil Pushup Treatment (HBPPT)

You can use a pencil or a pencil-shaped object for this exercise.

A study published in the National Library of Medicine reports that this exercise helped patients with Amblyopia.

It will be most effective if the object has a visual element, such as an alphabet.

If your child hasn’t started reading, find an object with a cartoon character.

This eye exercise can work for a child and adults to improve the Lazy eye.

To try HBPPT, you can follow the given steps:

  • Hold the pencil or the object in front of you or your child at an arm’s length
  • Move the pencil slowly as close to the nose as possible without getting the object blurred
  • When the pencil becomes blurry, slowly move it away from the nose
  • Focus on the visual element; if the object has it
  • Repeat this exercise 5 times once and an HBPPT session thrice a day
Warning:
Always supervise your children while doing these exercises. The procedures used during exercising may be sharp or small in size.

Video games

Playing video games
Playing video game

Several video games are designed for Lazy eyes and are played while wearing goggles.

These games are played dichoptically, which means each eye’s view is different through the goggles.

Goggles show different images to each eye by changing the contrast and color of the pictures.

Playing video games by covering the stronger eye with an eye patch can also help.

As per a 2011 study, action and non-action games can benefit adults with a Lazy eye.

Brock string exercise

Brock string exercise is a vision therapy used to help in improving eye coordination and focus.

It involves a long string with a few colored beads tied in between at certain gaps.

The patient holds the string and focuses on the beads while moving them along it.

To do the Brock string exercise, you can follow these steps:

  • Make knots on both sides of the Brock string
  • Attach one of the loops to a doorknob or a fixed object
  • Position the beads on the string such that all of them have an equal gap between them
  • First, stand in front of the string and hold one end of it under your nose. Make sure the string is tight and not loose.
  • Now, look at the closest bead to you. You should see the string going up to your left eye, down to your right eye, and another string going up to your right eye and down to your left eye. This makes an “X” shape.
  • As you move the bead closer to your nose, the two strings will meet and make a “V” shape. Keep doing this with each bead, one at a time.
  • If you practice this, your eyes will become stronger, and you’ll be able to move the bead closer to your eyes until it’s only one inch away.

Dot cards

This exercise aims to maintain a consistent picture of the subject without losing focus or causing eyestrain.

To use a dot card:

  • Draw dots on rectangular cardboard or any other stiff paper
  • Take the card and position it horizontally in front of your face. Then touch your nose to ensure that the line of dots is directly centered with your eyes
  • Slightly tilt the card downwards
  • Focus on the farthest point from your position. If your eyes align properly, the dot pattern appears to be an “A” shape. The specific point you focus on should be clear and sharply defined without blurring or distortion
  • Shift your focus to the next dot in the line, and repeat this process for each consecutive dot. Holding your gaze on each dot for a count of five. If your eyes maintain the correct convergence, you will eventually notice the dots forming an “X” shape
  • When you reach the dot closest to you, the back dots will double and form a “V” shape

Barrel convergence card

This exercise is used centrally to treat exotropia. It is a type of strabismus. 

You can buy Barrel convergence cards or make them yourself or get these cards online.

For making barrel convergence cards, you must draw three red barrels lengthwise on one side of the card.

The size of these barrels should increase toward the bottom.

Draw green barrels corresponding to the red ones on the other side of the card.

To use barrel convergence cards:

  • Take the card and hold it horizontally. 
  • Then position it in front of your face such that the three barrels on the card appear vertically aligned and pointing away from you. Ensure that the biggest barrel is the farthest one from your nose.
  • Stare at the largest barrel until you see one image of both colors. Then the other two barrels would appear doubled.
  • Hold your sight till the count of five. Then move on to each smaller barrel, repeating the exercise.

Puzzles

Engaging in the activity of solving jigsaw puzzles with an eye patch is beneficial. 

It improves the visual strength of the weaker eye. There’s a vast range of types of jigsaw puzzles. 

Select the puzzle best suited according to your child’s age, as they can frustrate your child.

Reading

Reading
Reading

If your child is at a reading stage, make them read for 30 minutes every day. 

Select the genre according to their age and the one which interests them.

Conclusion

Lazy eye exercises can be an effective add-on to your treatment plans.

Many eye exercises can be done easily at home by adults as well as children.

Your doctor can also prescribe these exercises as a home treatment.

In some exercises, the stronger eye remains patched, and the weaker eye does all the work.

The best exercise for children is the one he enjoys and is interested in.

Such games include coloring books, jigsaw puzzles, and specialized video games.

Frequently Asked Questions

Citations:
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