Concerned my son may be functionally blind

[medgen]

When I was 6 it was discovered that I was functionally blind in one eye (<20/200 vision).  By that time it was apparently too late to fix. It was not discovered sooner because my other eye is pretty much fine.  The best way to describe what I see out of the bad eye is that it resembles the peripheral vision I have in the good eye.

When my son my wife and I agreed we would get him tested early, although he seemed to function perfectly normally.  Yesterday, shortly after his third birthday, my wife took him for an exam.  It would appear that both of his eyes are worse than my bad eye (I think his diopters are +4.5 and +5.75, whereas mine is +3.75 in the bad eye).  This came as a shock to me at fist, although when I cover my good eye I recognize that I can do all the things he can do as a 3-year old (i.e. navigate around the world, vaguely make out people, etc.).  My big fear is that even with corrective lenses there no way that I can read, drive a car or play sports seeing out of just my bad eye.

My question here is really twofold:

1. Can such bad diopters as my son's be corrected?  I understand that part of the reason my bad eye never got better is that my right eye pretty much 'took over' (i.e. I only use that one).  Is is possible that with corrective lenses and having to actually use both his eyes, my son might see somewhat normally, and read text, etc.?

2.  Are there any exercises, adjustments, or even operations that might fix such poor sight?  Since we seem to have caught this somewhat early I am hopeful that perhaps we can improve it.

Thankyou

[Forum-OD-MP]

this is really common.  "refractive amblyopia" is what it sounds like you have, and based on what you wrote, your son is also at risk.  

you son is only 3?  thats great news: you have plenty of time to get both eyes up to speed.  was a diagnosed as having one eye that is blurry or "worse" right now?  what i really mean to ask is: is his acuity reduced in the +5.75 eye?  if not then great!  having him wear glasses all the time will fix the problem.

if he does alrady have reduced acuity in the left eye, then in addition to full time glasses wear, he may need to do PATCHING or be put on ATROPINE eyedrops.  the idea is to force him to use the blurrier eye so that his brain doesnt "ignore" it like yours did.  so he'd be wearing the patch over the +4.50 eye (or using the atropine drops in the +4.50 eye).

the "critical period" is generally accepted to be about age 8.  after that most people's vision cannot be improved with glasses/patching/etc if they have reduced acuity.  BEFORE age 8, however, if you can make sure he has a clear image in both eyes (hence the glasses) and make sure his brain is not ignoring one eye (hence the patching/atropine), then both eyes can develop normall.y

sounds like in your case, you must have been lder than about 8 years old before someone figured it out...either that or they knew before you were 8 and they didnt do enough for you...

your son needs full time glasses wear, an exam every 6 mo or so, and if he has recuced acuity right now...then he also needs patching or atropine.  but the prognosis is good!  he's only 3!  you have plenty of time...

[medgen]

Wow, thankyou for your insight.  I almost cried when I thought I had unwittingly passed on this problem to my son in both of his eyes, but I am so glad there is hope.  They did patch my good eye for a couple of years when they first found out, but it also coincided with immigrating from another country (not to mention a young kid who would take the patch off at every opportunity!).

Your advice is very reassuring -- it will really help me if I need to advocate for any treatment for my son.

Thanks again,
Jon

[Ag-i-doc]

thats why in *some* cases atropine works better.  he cant "take the atropine off".