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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To get a second opinion, does my 3 yo need glasses for this?

59 replies

Jennytailia · 06/07/2011 21:15

took all DC's for an eye test recently. Optician told us DD1(3 yo) was short sighted and they needed to put drops in her eyes and have a look to conclude once and for all.

So we went today for second appointment and optician said she does indeed need glasses as she is slightly short sighted.

After talking to a few people about it I am starting to wonder whether as she is so young and her eyes are still developing whether the slight problem might correct itself.

AIBU to take her to another opticians for another opinion.

OP posts:

VegetablePatch · 07/07/2011 10:12

I am an optician and I work in both hospital eye clincs and independent high street practice. It sounds like the optician you went to did a thorough job and was confident testing a small child. If you get a referral to the hospital clinic they will perform exactly the same tests there and find the same result.

Those who said children grow out of long-sightedness are correct, and it is normal for children to be slightly longsighted to allow for growth of the eyeball. If your DD is already slightly short-sighted her eyeballs are already 'long' for her age and they will not get shorter therefore the problem won't correct itself!

Please encourage her to wear her glasses according to the optician's advice. As she gets older and becomes more interested in the world around her, starts school, etc, you want her to have the best possible vision and that's what the glasses will give her.

mumeeee · 07/07/2011 10:18

Yes your 3 year old DC does need glasses. The earlier the better.

icouldbeahypochondriac · 07/07/2011 10:26

An optician will do a child under 8. My son was 7 when an optician noticed raised ICP after I took him for an app't when I noticed he had developed a cross in his eye. This turned out to be a highly malignant brain tumour which sadly he died from after 4 years. He as under the care of an opthalmologist (as well as many other disciplines) once this had been diagnosed. However, when DS2 developed a cross I again went back to optician and he could see that DS2 didn't have this problem, although he did say it's much more difficult to test children at this age (about 18 mths at the time). As a result my son was seen by the opthalmologist who gave DS2 the all clear with regards to serious conditions and he is now followed up every 3 months by optometrist at hospital.

I know this is a totally different conditon to OP but I am trying to back up what chicle says that it is really important that you follow the advice of professionals on this. From what I was told through many appointments with neurologists and opthamologists etc their brain development at this age cannot be corrected if it deteriorates further due to lack of appropriate intervention. And I think the Dr's speciality is not critical, as I expect all Doctors would be aware of the 'basics' of opthalmology.

minipie · 07/07/2011 10:34

What everyone else has said. I am very shortsighted (-8) and it didn't get picked up till I was 7. Before that I couldn't see the board at school and used to get into trouble for getting up to get closer! I suspect I probably missed out on or was slow at all sorts of things as a result.

Very glad that you have got your little girl glasses as the optician recommended.

VegetablePatch · 07/07/2011 10:41

icouldbeahypochondriac So sorry to hear about your son, it must have been a harrowing experience for all the family. I'm glad your DS2 is fine and that he has regular check-ups.

bagpusss · 07/07/2011 10:46

Cold feet on this one. DC1 has glasses, also has a patch to correct crosseyedness / lazy eye. No problems with cuteness or with acceptance of glasses, but it feels odd putting glasses on a small child (3.5yrs)
I put it down to ignorance (my own) and bow to the specialists' knowledge, but I'm uneasy about it all the time. Science changes and the wisdom of today is often the outdated discredited folly of tomorrow. It doesn't feel right, but whatever the course of action, it feels like a gamble and putting your child's wellbeing in someone else's hands.
My advice: get a second opinion, and have that expert explain the situation to you as fully as possible. It will bethe nearest you get to putting your mind at ease.

maighdlin · 07/07/2011 11:03

DD has been started wearing glasses at 19 months. she is very long sighted +3.5 in right eye and +6.5 in left eye.

minipie · 07/07/2011 11:11

bagpuss would you feel the same if your DC needed some other sort of medical treatment? if not then why apply that to glasses?

bagpusss · 07/07/2011 11:50

Yes, it often feels odd getting medication recommended by a GP who's obviously not updated his knowledge in 20 years. Doctors contradict each other if you get second opinions. As for eyes, I understood the reasoning behind the eye patch - that was clear when explained. I still don't understand how an opthalmologist can prescribe glasses for a child who cannot reliably answer questions and who may or may not see better with or without glasses of this or that strength. Who knows? As to the swanky new machines they use for detecting eye defects these days, I had my first go on one of those a year ago, unsuspectingly, without warning. It was over in a couple of seconds. No changing of test lenses, no reading letters of different sizes. The glasses came back badly incorrect. It gave me headaches using them and I went back to the old glasses after a couple of days, cue dispute with optician. Nightmare. It has never happened before and I've had glasses for 30 years...

HowToLookGoodGlaikit · 07/07/2011 12:12

My son has been wearing glasses since he was 17 months old, I'd prefer his eyesight to be corrected as soon as possible!

icouldbeahypochondriac · 07/07/2011 13:21

Thanks Vegetable, it certainly was a terrible experience but I will always be glad of having my DS1 and grateful to be blessed with 2 other healthy children. x x x

Insomnia11 · 07/07/2011 13:25

Do they get tested at school at all now?

I can remember being tested in Y1 but my daughter hasn't been tested this year, just coming up to the end of Y1.

mumblebum · 07/07/2011 13:39

My DD has had glasses since she was 4. She saw the optician first who did very thorough tests. She was referred to the hospital and I was told this was standard practise for children. They did the drops thing for her there but other than that they didn't do anything the optician hadn't already done and indeed really did a lot less. They discharged her back to the optician.

If you want a second opinion I don't see that it would do any harm but I see no reason to assume that the optician is wrong. It sounds like they've been quite thorough.

maxybrown · 07/07/2011 13:43

when should you start taking your child for an eye test then?

skrumle · 07/07/2011 13:47

my DS sees the orthoptist and a consultant (don't know what he is
opthalmologist??) every six months as he has brown's syndrome. as part of the tests they check his eyesight as well using pictures.

i know that the orthoptists came to DS's nursery to check the eyesight of the pre-school children so i think in scotland at least it is the norm to check 4yo's.

maxybrown · 07/07/2011 13:48

oh just looked on NHS website and they say "if there is a history of squint or lazy eye in the family, it is important that you do not wait for the vision screening at school. Take your child to a local optometrist for a sight test."

DH had very bad lazy eye, was operated on etc and wore patches. Should I take DS? Presume he would be in reception before he would be tested at school. He only starts nursery in Sept (when he will be 4)

sorry asking questions on here!

mumblebum · 07/07/2011 13:51

Yes take him maxy the tests they can do with littles are more limited obviously but they can still pick things up. DS had his first test at the optician when he was 3 because of DD's problems although luckily he seems to be ok so far. DD went at 4 because having started school and starting to read she was getting bad headaches.

maxybrown · 07/07/2011 13:53

ah ok thanks! Hmm, where to go then - any opticians?

mumblebum · 07/07/2011 14:07

I think so. I took DD to see my friend so not a very scientific approach to choosing :).

VegetablePatch · 07/07/2011 14:17

maxybrown As mumblebum says you should definitely take him for an eye test at this age. Squint/lazy eye are inherited conditions so your DS is at a higher risk given your DH's history (but he may also be completely unaffected, and to find that out would give you peace of mind).

My advice would be to look for independent opticians in your area. Absolutely nothing at all against the multiple practices (Specsavers, etc.) but the opticians there are often working under greater time pressures and may not always feel able to devote as much time to testing a child as they would like.

If you contact an independent optician and explain the situation (your DH's history and DS's age), they will advise you as to whether they are happy to see him and also what it might involve- having drops in etc.

HTH

LiegeAndLief · 07/07/2011 14:25

maxybrown, my dh also had a bad lazy eye and had patches as a child. I told the hv shortly after ds was born (it was part of all those questions they ask you, she was asking about eye sight) and she referred us to the optometrist at the local hospital. We went for a few checks when ds was about 18mths and again when he was 2-3ish (am a bit ashamed I now can't remember! but he was talking so could answer questions about what he could see). Obviously depends on the opinion of the hv though, because I had a different one with dd, and when I mentioned that ds had been referred to optometrist because of family history she said that it wasn't necessary until you noticed a squint.

VegetablePatch · 07/07/2011 14:34

LiegeAndLief Your first hv was right and your second hv was misinformed. Often these problems can be detected and treated before a squint develops. Hope both your DC are fine and free of eye problems anyway, a family history makes it more likely but doesn't mean that children will definitely be affected.

maxybrown · 07/07/2011 14:46

Ok Thanks for all your help. Will I have to pay for him at an independant opticians? No HV have ever asked me about eyesight history - though I have never actually met our HV as they were always understaffed MIL has very very poor eyes too. I haven't noticed any problems with him but on website it does say a lazy eye can go undetected just by looking at them. Will get him checked out. He will MOST impressed if he has to have drops in he hates anything near his eyes, yikes!

VegetablePatch · 07/07/2011 15:02

No, you should not have to pay for his eye test wherever you go as the NHS pays for all children under 16. If he needs glasses you will receive a voucher towards the cost, you can usually get children's glasses that are entirely covered by this but many places offer an 'upgrade', allowing you to pay the difference towards higher quality lenses or a wider choice of frames.

maxybrown · 07/07/2011 15:07

Thank you so much for your help - I know nothing, as you can tell

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