To remind you to take the dc for optic checks

[CurlyMoo]

Posting for traffic here in the hope that it might spur those on, who like me put it off.

Took ds 7 to optician yesterday for the first time. My other 3 children all attend and have minor prescriptions. Was horrified to discover that ds is almost blind in one eye His other eye has perfect vision, which has masked the deficiency in the "bad" eye. The sad thing is that if this was picked up early, he could have been patched and the eye could have strengthened and improved a bit. It will most likely require surgery now, we have been referred to the hospital.

I am kicking myself for not taking him sooner. I asked the optician about him a few years ago and he said that around 5 was a good age, as they could be more reliable in the test etc. It was my laziness really that has caused this.

I will hasten to add that it isn't the end of the world, he has perfect vision in one eye, which I am very grateful for, but still feel it is my fault. On the plus side ds is thrilled to be getting not one, but two pairs of glasses

[CastielsClevererBetterSister]

My DD1 has worn glasses since she was 10 months old. Children don't even have to be able to talk for an optometrist to check their eyes. My sister is an optometrist who works for an independent and they are more thorough than the highstreet chain (due to time and target constraints for hig street nothing to do with the people who work there) and are more likely to see children for a very early age especially if the parent has concerns. Although if my sis hadn't drawn my attention to my DDs problem I doubt I'd have noticed myself so don't worry about missing anything.

[Nanny0gg]

And another of my DC had glasses from the age of 3 - very short sighted. The optician used picture charts.

[Nanny0gg]

Your DC would have said if it affected him that badly

No he wouldn't. The other eye compensates.

But don't beat yourself up OP. An optician missed it with one of my DCs and it only got dealt with (just in time) because we saw another one a couple of years later.

[LynetteScavo]

Hopefully you should Have an appointment a couple of weeks after referral, though.

[CurlyMoo]

Salty I will have to have a word with his teacher when they start back. He hasn't received a formal dyslexia dx yet (awaiting EP assessment) but his teacher said he suspects this as he seems "word blind". He has really struggled with reading so it will be interesting to see if the glasses make a difference. I phoned optician to ask how long referral will take, apparently 3-6 months

[SaltyMyDear]

Curly - yes. Her eyesight problems will have effected her reading.

She may have dyslexia and eye sight problems (very very common) or she may jus have eye sight problems which has been misdiagnosed/ wrongly assumed to be dyslexia.

[LynetteScavo]

I'm really surprised some opticians have said they won't see children who don't know their letters - children can and do have their eyes tested using pictures.

Children don't even need to be verbal - although obviously is helps enormously if they are cooperative.

Please don't wait until the standard test in reception....your child's school my not be the first in the list and that's a long time for a child not be be seeing as well as they could with the right glasses.

[Pangur2]

I only just had my first eye test about a month ago at the age of 33! I'm from Ireland; I don't remember ever having an eye test in school. It might be different now though.

[Dixiechickonhols]

Yes I know they can check small children, just make sure the optician knows to do the appropriate test. Yer age was on the form but like many people the optician judged on size and assumed she was a lot older. Next time optician was the dad of someone at her school so no issues and knew exactly the whiteboard set up etc she was struggling with.

[StillMedusa]

They can even test babies you know :)
DS2 was born very floppy and didn't meet his milestones including smiling or tracking... he had glasses by 6 month of age.. VERY long sighted (+8.50) and astigmatism...they sedated him and checked how his eyes reacted somehow.

People used to look at him in his pram and go 'Wow how did they know he needed glasses' and I'd reply 'Well he struggles to read the charts of course..' and wait for them to go WTF???

Still totally dependent on his glasses at 19. His siblings all thought they had escaped (I am VERY short sighted..the opposite to DS2) but in the last two years all three of them have had to get glasses.

[WhirlwindHugs]

That's really frustrating Fudgey - If you haven't already try looking at Independent Opticians.

The Optician I mentioned upthread that checked my spoke very little two year old was at a little independent place. I don't think they charged either (had to buy myself glasses so don't recall 100%)

[dementedpixie]

Even if they had a check at school they should still have an eye test annually. It's free for kids anyway

[oldsilver]

Tother half and I have appalling eyesight so signed up DS as soon as he was born. The eye hospital checked regularly with pictures and checking his eyes via drops, he was discharged at 4 1/2 with them saying he might need glasses when he hits his teens as there was a slight issue.

6 months later had his Reception class check up where they said he needed glasses. I actually ignored them as I thought the eye hospital knew better than HVs.

4 years later he got headaches and motion sickness, GP suggested an eye check. He has quite serious astigmatism (nearly as bad as mine) and they've had to give him incremental prescriptions as what he would need would have been too strong to suddenly move to. Even they can't understand how the eye hospital missed the severity of it.

The guilt I feel is immense. He never once mentioned he couldn't see properly and compared to DP and I even without glasses his vision was better than ours.

[dangermouseisace]

don't be tough on yourself OP. The key words in your post are 'could'- how things could have been if….etc. EXH eye problem was picked up early…he had operation to correct a squint, glasses, patches, the lot. And guess what? He still can't focus at all with that eye…and has perfect vision with the other.

He can see things without glasses, that I can't, with glasses. The only way this has affected him at all (apart from being scarred by his mum making wear his NHS specs for photos) is that he cannot watch a 3D movie and see the 3D as it requires both eyes to work.

So…you could have started a bit earlier but the outcome may not have been any different. I haven't taken DD3 who is 6 to the opticians yet as I assumed they had a test at school at 5 (in England) that they would have informed me if it was irregular.

[CurlyMoo]

I am now wondering if ds' reading problems are related to the sight issue?!

[CurlyMoo]

I feel a bit better about it, I have spoken to a lot of friends who were also unaware that regular eye tests should be a "thing". I did ask the optician about ds several years ago and he said that unless he was complaining or I was concerned then not to bother until he knew the alphabet, so it seems it is definitely not typical for all opticians to do routine checks when they are below Reception age. DS has dyslexia (and I told her this) so the test was purely pictures, no letters involved.

[MrsJoeyMaynard]

Maybe try ringing round a few more opticians Fudgey?

There's definitely charts with pictures on available - our optician has them, in varying sizes as per the letter charts, just with pictures (including house, tree, boat, scissors, car, cake, horse) instead of letters.

And I would expect an optician to be better at spotting eye problems than a GP, given that opticians spend so much more of their working time looking at eyes than GPs.

[MrsJoeyMaynard]

Yes, DS1 has always had the charts with pictures on too.
A child doesn't need to know their letters to have an eye test.

[FudgeyCookie]

I've tried taking dd who will be 4 in September to a couple of different opticians locally to me and all have told me they won't see her until she knows all her letters, and if I think there's a problem take her to the doctors.

Both myself and dp, grandparents, great grandparents and aunts on both sides have glasses. My sister had to be patched around dad's age as one of her eye balls were the wrong shape at the back and was affecting her vision. I don't think dd has a problem, I just want it checked..

[GeorgeTheThird]

You can take them before they know their letters - there are charts with pictures on instead. I'm not saying it's easy taking a toddler, but it is very possible.

[Dixiechickonhols]

I'm sure it's common op. I first took dd at 5 as a friend's nephew had just been discovered without site in one eye, he lives abroad but had got to age 10ish without any checks.

Do make sure they know how old the child is, they just got DD to read the usual chart. She did but phonetically, she was in reception. He had assumed she was 8ish as she is tall.

[PurpleAlerts]

My DH had serious problems with his eyes from very young. Long sight runs in his family so we took our two DDs to the eye clinic for eye checks starting at 6 months. DD1 had glasses from 16 months starting with a prescription of + 6.5 and DD 2 was initially told she was fine but this deteriorated and she had glasses and patching from 2.5 with a prescription of +7 in her worse eye!

As they got older the prescription strength gradually came down and now aged 18 and 20 their prescriptions have gone down to +0.75/5 and they can both read pretty well without glasses.

We were told when they were little that although they could see without the glasses, the strain on the eye muscles to focus was enormous and that long term the muscles would not develop properly without glasses to support the muscles.

There was no indication that either of mine had any difficulty with their vision- it was only the hereditary aspect that meant we had them checked early.

[youshouldcancelthecheque]

I am very shortsighted and wondered about my DD, will ask my optician next time I visit,

[LynetteScavo]

DS had just had his 4th birthday when he told me he couldn't see out of one eye. Two years of patching later he was a +6.

Because of this I took my younger DC to be checked around their 2nd birthday.

I would urge everyone to take their DC as young as an optician will see them.

[QuackDuckQuack]

Our local HV team have a mobile optometrist who does all 3/4 year olds before they start school. I am surprised that isn't the same for all areas. I'd have thought it was either deemed necessary or not.