To ask if your toddler ever points or pointed to 'bubbles' when there aren't or weren't any

[Autumn2019]

Posting here for traffic. When i was playing with DD ( just over 2) in the living room a few days ago all of a sudden she said " hey what are those bubbles" (or words to those effect) and started pointing to the air when clearly there were no bubbles there. After awhile i asked her to show me where these bubbles were and she went back to where she pointed and said " here" and then then said they are gone. That same day i asked her if there were bubbles in the sky and she said there were - even though i don't know if she was just messing about with me then. Today, again she said " there's bubbles" and pointed to her white wardrobe and then said they were gone. I am really worried now. Does anyone have any experience of their toddlers doing this. I am feeling very anxious about this as part of me is hoping this is just her imagination but i am also worried if she is maybe seeing floaters and referring to them as bubbles. Just for info i wear glasses and have been seeing floaters since my teens. I have already booked my DD for an appointment with an optician.

I’m on my third toddler and none of them have said anything like that before.

But I would agree they are probably floaters she can see. I wear glasses and contact lenses and get them now and again.

I can see bubbles that aren’t there too, always have done! They just sort of appear and then go. What actually are they?

This was me when I was about 5 years old. I still remember it clearly!

Turned out to be eye floaters, especially when I looked at a white background.

Oh I meant to add, despite having a fair few eye floaters I never needed glasses.

I've only just started wearing reading glasses now and I'm 50, so I'm not sure it means he'll need them.

@fairynick They usually are floaters.

Floaters 😂🤦‍♀️

OP ask your HV and GP/Opticians just in case.

@WorraLiberty It's very promising to hear that you didn't need to wear glasses until your 50's. I've been wearing glasses and contacts since my teens and i absolutely hated it and still do. I hope DD wouldnt have to wear them as well.

@ItchyScratch Thanks for replying. I am guessing then this is not normal toddler behaviour and is probably not her imagination :(

@TheNoiseHurts Sorry, i don't know what those two vertical envelope like symbols you've put in your post mean or why you have a laughing emoji. Have i inadvertently said something funny or something that has a double meaning? Sorry if i have. I can promise you i am being very serious and am very worried. I've already booked an appointment to see an optician and am worrying in the meantime. Appointment not until later in the week.

Definitely worth a trip to the Opticians but I'm sure he'll be fine.

Since clicking on this thread, I've now noticed every single tiny floater in my eyes and it's annoying now

It could be the same for him. Now he's noticed them, he's probably curious and looking for them.

Yes floaters have two meanings.

I'm sorry I was being infantile. But on a serious note, HV, GP or optician.

TheNoiseHurts posted a couple of emojis

The word 'floaters' is funny - cos you know, toilet related

X posted.

I had this loads as a child. I’m in my thirties now and don’t need glasses or have any eye problems.

My toddler, just over 2, does this too. She was calling steam that she saw rising from pans, food etc "bubbles", and she points out of the window and says "bubbles", I thought she was pointing at some outdoor lightbulbs hanging outside.

I guess it could be floaters in her eyes. If it is, I'm not worried about it. I don't think floaters are related to long or short sightedness are they? I have tonnes of them, most people seem to have them. I thought they were harmless?

Thanks all for your replies.

@BrandoraPaithwaite
I just got really worried about this as when i looked this up on Google it said that it was rare for children under the age of 16 to notice eye floaters without eye disease. So i just feared the worst as i usually tend to do. But then it seems from PP's that people certainly do notice eye floaters when young without any eyesight problems which is comforting to know.

@WorraLiberty @TheNoiseHurts ahhh...i see what you mean now with "floaters" being funny. It really didn't occur to me

You're doing the right thing taking dc to optician, and I am sure you will get reassurance there.

What did the optician say, OP?

Sorry - this may also worry you - but I see silver sparks when I am breathless (I'm asthmatic). Has she got a chest cough at the moment?

OP - my daughter is having very similar symptoms, can I ask if you have any update since you posted?