Too late to help lazy eye?

Question

Well, I'm 17 years old. My right eye has always been considerably stronger than my left. When I'm not paying attention or focusing, my left eyelid begins to droop, and it looks much narrower than my right eye. It's not that bad, but it bothers me. I'm not looking to strengthen its vision, I'd just like my eye to appear more symmetrical. Will patching help strengthen the muscles, or is it too late? I'm wearing a patch as I type, and I have been looking at a secret eye strengthening Tibeten monk chart. :P

P.s. How long should I wear the patch for each day?

Answer 1

The droopiness of the lid is not a lazy eye, and has nothing to do with it if the eye actually is lazy, unless it actually covered the pupil of that eye when you were young.

Patching that eye would do absolutely nothing to the lid.

If there is amblyopia in the left eye it may not be too late to treat it.  It would need a careful assessment, probably spectacles, patching and dedicated eye exercises to produce any significant improvement.  And that would be to the acuity of the eye, not its appearance.

The question of lid droop, (ptosis ) would have to be considered seperately.  If significant, it is treated surgically.

Answer 2

I have a lazy eye, and recently did some research about it. Apparently it is much easier to treat  at a young age, and a patch may not be able to help you. I'm actually going in for surgery on Friday to fix it, lol.

From your post I'm assuming you just want to fix it for the sake of how you look, which was the same case for me. I'd go for surgery if i was you, insurance will cover it- Just say it makes you dizzy.

Answer 3

alright. I have a similar problem to yours. I have had been crosseyed since i was two. I wore glasses ever since. In the year of second grade i wore an eyepatch because my eyesight was not improving. It is NOT to late. Just wear an eye patch. Wear it as much as you can! Deffinetly visit your eye doctor as well.

Answer 4

I have a lazy eye exactly the same as you. My right eye is alot stronger than my left eye. It is only fixable up until 7 years of age. After then it is not impossible to fix but it is certainly VERY hard.

I used to wear a patch. The doctor told me to wear it for 3-6 hours per day.

"Children who actually patched 3 to 6 hours each day did just as well as those who patched 6 to 12 hours each day," Moseley said. However, "those who patched under 3 hours a day did significantly less well than the rest," he added"

I wear glasses now.