Orthoptics for your visual comfort

 

The profession of orthoptist is a paramedical profession specialized in the assessment, rehabilitation and treatment of vision disorders. The orthoptist works closely with ophthalmologists and intervenes mainly in the following areas:

 

Screening and diagnosis of visual disorders:

• Strabismus (poor alignment of the eyes)

• Amblyopia (lazy eye)

• Retraction disorders (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, presbyopia)

• Convergence and ocular motility disorders

• Visual fatigue related to reading efforts or binocular vision problems (eye coordination).

• Nystagmus ( eye disorder characterized by involuntary, rapid and repeated movements of the eyes, often in horizontal directions, but sometimes also vertical or circular.

• Diplopia ( double vision)

• Oculomotor paralysis or paralysis of the oculomotor muscles ( refers to a condition in which one or more of the muscles responsible for eye movement are paralyzed or weakened. This paralysis causes disturbances in eye movements, affecting the person's ability to direct their eyes in certain directions, which can cause double vision (diplopia), strabismus (misalignment of the eyes) or limitation in eye movements) .

 

 

Visual rehabilitation:

The orthoptist performs rehabilitation exercises to improve the coordination of the eye muscles and relearn the brain to correctly interpret visual information. It helps correct problems such as:

• Compensation for certain neurological disorders affecting vision

• Compensation for certain vestibular disorders affecting vision

• Convergence disorders (difficulty getting both eyes to work together), often responsible for visual fatigue, headaches or reading difficulties,

• Amblyopia in children, by stimulating the lazy eye.

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Prevention and advice:

The orthoptist can recommend exercises to prevent visual fatigue (especially for people working on screens) and provide information on good practices to protect eye health.

 

Intervention in different audiences:

• Infants / children: screening for vision disorders from a very young age, management and monitoring of disorders related to learning to read, amblyopia (by stimulating the lazy eye), prescription of glasses, management of strabismus, pediatric orthoptic assessment, etc.

• Adults: management and monitoring of visual disorders related to fatigue, aging or systemic diseases, management of double vision, prescription of prismatic lenses and glasses, adult orthoptic assessment, etc.

• Elderly people: assistance in compensating for loss of visual acuity or the consequences of ocular or systemic pathologies, prescription of prismatic lenses, prescription of glasses, etc.