DS needs glasses - long sighted and lazy eye, please can you chat to me about it?

[ForestFloor]

DS is nearly 5 and this was picked up by the school optician person, who has referred him to the eye hospital for further investigation. The letter we got just said he had a lazy eye and was long sighted - much more in one eye than the other. It said he will need glasses and possibly patches.

Will he need glasses forever or can they help sort the long sightedness? I think the figures the optician said were +2 is that bad or not too bad?

Any experiences really welcomed!

Also, how much will it cost - I can see DS going through pairs of glasses at an alarming rate

Thanks!

[MadBadandCoveredinTinsel]

We have been through something similar.

DD had to wear patches for about a year - a couple of hours a day so it was (thankfully) easy to manage and she didn't need to wear them to school. Together with the glasses they have achieved a big improvement in the vision in her weak, squinting eye. We've been told she'll probably need glasses for a while yet, but short/long-sightedness can change a lot as the eyes grow and mature.

The best news is that glasses for children are free from the NHS - we can get them either from the hospital or take the NHS voucher to any high street optician.

It's a bit nerve-wracking at first but I'm sure you'll find the optometrists at the hospital will answer all your questions and make it all as relaxed as possible for you and your DS.

Best wishes.

[GleeE4]

I dunno about how long for..
my ds3 has glases.
i was not pleased really - couldnt get to his pudgy face so easily.

BUT we spent on "cool " ones ( imagine Gokwan) and he realy suits them. and doesnt mind them much.... would prefer NOT to have them

are on style 3, pair 5 in 2 years, lost one pair to rugby one to an overexcited puppy..

he can see a LOT better with them that is for sure

[MadBadandCoveredinTinsel]

Glee's post has made me wonder whether there's a limit on what the NHS will pay for. I can't remember as it's a while since DD had new glasses. She's has had about six pairs now - four ordinary pairs and two sunglasses. We had to pay for one of the pairs of sunglasses because we didn't have a voucher from the hospital for them but haven't had to pay for any of the others. She's always found styles she likes at Specsavers (one pair in particular were very Gok) but I'm guessing it might be easier for girls.

[BrigitBigKnickers]

2+ isn't that bad. When my DD2 started wearing glasses aged 2.5 her prescription was +6.5 in one eye and +6 in the other!

With long sightedness it's vital to catch them early. Beyond 9 or ten and the muscles are pretty much set so the more he wears them now and the more you persevere with the patching the better the outcome.

DD1 started wearing glasses when she was 16 months. She's now 13 and from the age of 12 she only needed them for reading (although refuses to wear them now!)

DD2 is now 11 and wears hers most of the time but her eayes are so much stronger she can go without for a few hours at a time. Her presecription is now +2 so they have improved a huge amount since she was little.

Wearing glasses does not have the same stigma it used to in the good old days of plastic NHS glasses. Kids frames are lovely now.

[LedodgyChristmasjumper]

My son is also long sighted and he has a squint so needs patching daily and wears glasses. He is 4 and we get his free from specsavers. We do get the rectangular shaped ones though and because of this pay £30 to thin out the lenses. it's strange how quickly you and they become used to them. Ds2 broke ds1's the a ouple of weeks ago and he was without them for a few days whilst we waited for the shop to get them in and he just didn't look like ds at all! You will notie the difference in him when he stats wearing them too I found ds1's confidence improved because he could probably see properly for the first time since he was born! They told us that he will probably need glases until he's 8 and then after that they would judge at that time if he still needed them.

[TennisFan]

I think this is what my DD has too. It got picked up by school last June. She has had one set of free glasses which were really nice and one set of Barbie ones which cost £15.00
She has had 2 check ups since June and they have said she has improved already.
They also said that its important to deal with this early on before age 8 or 9 as after that it is harder to correct and she might need glasses for ever.

[SolidGoldBloodyJanuaryUrgh]

My DS has this too. It's not a big deal but you have to get it seen to or (eventually) there is a chance of losing the sight in the weaker eye: the brain switches it off. THe idea is that usually the glasses/patching will cure the squint in a couple of years, sometimes it doesn't work and they then suggest a minor op on the eye muscles (we haven't got that far yet).

[lucykate]

+2 isn't bad, dd is a +5 in her right eye, and a +6 in her left. it's her left eye that is lazy, and has astigmatism. glasses should all be free, and these days there are lots of really nice styles, dd has spongebob ones atm. we've done patching too, 2 hours a day after school for 9 months, it's worth doing if they recommend it, made a noticeable difference in the vision for dd's weaker eye.

[nickschick]

Ds2 wears glasses and whilst the supermarkets offer really good deals on 'free' glasses they soon stopped with us ds2 so hated his glasses he would lose them,hide them and even swap them!!!.

Eventually asda didnt want our 'custom' .

We found an independent optician who are fab they told ds2 they had a shopfull of glasses and everytime he lost or damaged them they would just keep on giving him more and that there were children in India who didnt have glasses and would really appreciate them ...ds2 did continue to lose them occasionally but much less and now hes a teenager hes able to choose from the funky nhs adult range and some of them are really v trendy.

[GleeE4]

yes soem girls i teach have FAB glasses.

ds3s are oblong and brown
very stylish

[pinkiepunksmummy]

DD1 (9) and DS (6) both wear glasses...have done since they were 4 and 3.

I can highly reccomend Specsavers, who go out of their way to find a suitable frame, which will hide some of the thickness of the lenses. They both need prescription swimming goggles too, which was no problem to Specsavers. (Previous high-street optician had been snotty and tried to charge, even though we had a hospital prescription and had been told it was free on NHS voucher)

The styles are lovely, a good range and DD gets the choice of the adult range too, up to £75 range are free, I have to pay anything over that price....she is big for her age, and previous optician tried to make her have a child's size pair that looked ridiculous, I refused and had to pay a lot for an adult pair.

Both children are very short-sighted, DD1 seen at opticians every six months and gets a new pair each time, keeping old ones as a spare.

But DS's eyes are so bad he is seen every three months at the hospital, and gets a new prescription nearly every time. He is entitled to two pairs at a time, as he can only see about six inches in front of his face without glasses. And (for both children) I am told to come back for adjustments/repairs/replacements all free of charge.

Pinkie

[GleeE4]

no i reccy the kind of swanky optician you could never afford to go to

they have the COOLEST glasses
we only pay £40 a pop on top of the NHS ones and they are coated too

[WingsTHEangel]

Ds1 has squints in both eyes at separate times.From being 3 He had patches but it didn't correct so he had surgery on both eyes, now he doesn't wear glasses aged 10

We went to spec saver and the NHS range was very good. We also went to Dolland and Hitcherson to get him sunglasses when we went
abroad.

Eye tests are free until 16ish I think and you get the NHS voucher. The only extra we paid for was the sun glasses at around £35

If they have to wear glasses for the rest of their life don't forget that a later on they can have contacts. Later on in life like I did was to have laser treatment.

[ForestFloor]

Wow, loads of replies - thanks!

So, the long sightedness might get better with age, and the lazy eye might improve with patching?

That is good news . I suppose I have to wait till we get the hospital appt for more details, but that is really useful.

Have I got this bit right - we will get one pair of free glasses on the NHS, and these will be repaired free of charge? Would it not make sense to give children two free pairs so they have a spare when the first ones are in for mending?! can I ask for two pairs, or will I have to pay for a second pair? I assume because DS is long sighted, he won't have to wear them for sport/playtime, so hopefully fewer opportunities for breakage?

[GleeE4]

re spare pair - depends on the optician
we dont get them at swanky place

[GleeE4]

tbh its all a mystery
i got in adn say" teh dog ate them"

they write it down very seriously

and get us a new pair ordered

[lucykate]

ime, they get 1 free pair of glasses a year (or every time they have an eye test/are issued with a new prescription), and most breakages will be fixed for free (within reason ). we used to get 2 pairs but were told a few years ago the nhs had stopped allowing that, second pair/sunglasses have to be paid for. we found some frames in the small, local opticians were £10-£15 extra, so we went to specsavers instead, same frames for free from there.

[lucykate]

meant to add, i wouldn't worry about getting a spare pair, over the years dd has accumulated so many pairs of glasses, due to ever so slight changes in her prescription, we have a choice now if her current pair break, which oddly enough, they did earlier today, thankfully we found the tiny screw that had popped out the frame.

it's worth investing in a set of tiny screwdrivers!

[WingsTHEangel]

Our spec saver used to say they would try and repair them but if they broke they would charge. If it was nearly a year since last pair they did replace them.

[SixtyFootDoll]

DS2 is 6 and has been wearing his glasses for a year, he is longsighted in both eyes, worse in his left.
He has Star Wars glasses, which are so cool, all his friends want a pair.
I paid a bit extra for those frames ( about £10 I think)
He has had them about 6 months, we went in for a check up, and they noticed the frames were scratched so aare replacing free of chaarge.
It is surprising how sturddy the glasses are, DS has to wear his all day every day and they get a real battering!

[Maryam7]

My daughter is longsighted(R +4.25 & L 4.75)
I went to a hospital to check her eyes because of noticing her left eye being lazy.
When I asked if she can ever go without glasses they were not very clear.
Here I read that she proberly can inprove.
Why are they so bad with there information.And does she need them to wear all day or just during reading/learning time?
Anyone else some good advise.
Thank you so much I`m already more releaved reading all these stories.

[lucykate]

i posted further down this thread in jan about my dd and her glasses. my guess is, it's up to your dd as to if/when she feels like going without. my dd wears her's all the time other than when she's asleep as without, she really can't see much at all.

[Seona1973]

my dd(6) wears hers all the time even during p.e., gymnastics, etc as she is +6.5 and +5.5 and cant see as well without them. She will probably always need glasses as there is only so much they can do to improve the eyesight. She has a squint in her left eye and that eye was lazy too (poorer sight). Her sight improved with patching and now they are pretty much equal. She did still squint even with her glasses on so had an eye operation when she was 4 that did improve it but may need another one later on if the squint worsens again.

[Arabica]

Maryam, we were told that some types of squints and longsightedness will get better, but others will not...DD will probably always need her glasses (she has a similar prescription).

[DBennett]

Maryam,
Hyperopia (Long Sightedness) of that level is unlikely to correct itself as she gets older.
Babies are born long sighted (around +3.00DS) and get less and less until teh age of 10.

If you're more long sighted than this it's still possible but much less likely.

This is made even less likely if there is strabismus (a turn in the eye) or amblyopia (a lazy eye).

As to whether the glasses have to be worn full time, it's very likely.
If she is under the age of 10 it'd be sure of it.
But you didn't say how old she was.