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Original poster

If your child has eye sight problems, how often do they see the optician?

47 replies

YouSaidItAgain · 20/11/2016 10:02

How often do they see the optician?
Dd was discharged last year from our local children's hospital ophthalmologist. She has quite severe astigmatism but it hasn't gotten any more severe since her first hospital appointment.
I'm just wondering anyone whose child has eye sight problems do they go once a year or every 2 years?

OP posts:
Original poster
YouSaidItAgain · 20/11/2016 12:22

Heavenlypink im nit sure how sevete dds astigmatism is i was just told it was pretty bad for her age, dd is 8 this coming year. Do you mind me asking what your dc's prescription is?

OP posts:
firawla · 20/11/2016 15:11

About every 6-12 weeks at the moment, but he's just turned 5 I think it'll be less as he gets older

mrsmorningstar · 20/11/2016 16:26

my ds is 4, and goes every 3 months since he was 2

Lasaraleen · 20/11/2016 16:30

My dc have no sight problems and go once a year (there is family history as dh and I both have poor sight that began in early childhood). I'd be really surprised if dc with glasses / sight issues were going less frequently.

BrianMolkoismyPlacebo · 20/11/2016 16:33

Ds is long sighted +7 in one. It wasn't picked up until aged 5 when his eye started to turn in. He started wear glasses from then on. He also had patches for 18 months so we were at the opthomologist every 6 weeks for a check up and seeing the consultant every 6 months.
He's 7 now and hadn't patched for past 8 weeks. He has an appointment tomorrow but not sure if they'll cut them down or carry on every 6 weeks.

JemimaMuddledUp · 20/11/2016 16:40

DS1 (14) and DS2 (12) both wear glasses and both see the optician every 6 months.

dementedpixie · 20/11/2016 16:52

My optician sends a reminder when our eye tests are due. I am sure ds is due one around now and dds is in january. I go every 2 years

SprogletsMum · 20/11/2016 17:27

Thanks Tara that's reassuring.

Karoleann · 20/11/2016 17:56

Things have changed recently and the NHS now tightly dictate recall periods depending on the severity of the child's eye condition. Optometrists have significantly less ability to offer free eye examinations under the tightened up rules.

If its a routine check its 1-2 years depending on the child's current prescription, occasionally 6 months. However, if you are concerned about your child's sight you can ask to be seen sooner than your child is due.

heavenlypink · 20/11/2016 22:22

YouSaidItAgain I'll see if I still have his older prescriptions on what's on them.

Potatoooooo · 20/11/2016 22:28

The replies on here are making me feel quite upset as I'd hoped that eyesight got better with age - at least that's what we've been told Sad my DD is nearly 4. She's +8 and +6. Very long sighted.
She also has a slight squint.

Do child's eyes not change and grow? Saw earlier post of someone saying their eyes got worse?

I hope hers don't get worse Sad

dementedpixie · 20/11/2016 22:38

Long sight tends to improve a little as they get older. With that level of prescription though they will always need glasses. My Dd has got a lower prescription than she used to but will still always need glasses or contacts. She has had glasses since she was a year and a half and is now thirteen.

dementedpixie · 20/11/2016 22:39

I think Dd is now around +4.5 and +5.5 and had a squint that was corrected with surgery

HowToTrainYour · 20/11/2016 22:40

potato my ds eye improved by .5 with patching. Not much but it was caught late, aged 5 and they say the earlier the better for patching.
He's now 7 and they've said that there's no longer any point to patching as his eyes will now be less pliable

bookwormnerd · 20/11/2016 22:51

Potatooo my daughter is 5, we got told you can improve squint up til about age of 7 though new evidence says could be after. Treatment through patching and glasses or one or other can help turn the optic nerve of bad eye back on improving sight in that eye. My daughters eye sight overall has not got better but less of a difference. Her squint and the degree of turn in her eye is a lot better than when she was 2. The squint is caused by brain relying on good eye so forcing it to work can reconnect the bad eye to turning back on

bookwormnerd · 20/11/2016 22:53

Also I was told at youngest check up that they are more long sighted when younger and that improves (he is 2 and got checked due to daughters problem)

Karoleann · 20/11/2016 23:44

potato - your DD sight won't change much over the next few years and she'll always have to wear glasses (especially as she has a squint).

She can wear contact lenses in a few years though.

Patching improves acuity (so the amount of letter she can see on the chart) rather than prescription.

bookwormned - its the muscles in the eye rather than the optic nerve that is affected in a squint. The optic nerve sends visual messages to the brain the extra-occular muscles just keep the eye pointing in the right direction.
The squint is caused by the extra exertion in the eye to see properly, in long sighted people who have a high accommodative//covergence ratio, their eye turns in when they try to over come their long sight.

Seren85 · 20/11/2016 23:47

I'm technically blind in one eye which was only discovered age 8 due to a school sight test (yeah, no one is sure how that happened). I went every 6 months until 18 and once a year now, as opposed to the usual every two years.

Potatoooooo · 20/11/2016 23:52

They have not patched her yet. She's been wearing glasses since 1. They've have helped a lot with her squint and they say that as far as they're concerned she sees "straight" with the glasses.
Although she has yet to complete all the tests at the appointment so, they're basing her seeing straight on what she has provided so far regarding the sight tests.

I realise that she will always wear glasses, we've been told this. But would like to know that her eye sight isn't going to deteriorate further, that scares me!

Karoleann · 20/11/2016 23:59

Potatooo if they've not patched yet, they probably won't be.

I don't think that her prescription will change that much, maybe +.05 up in the next few years and then an extra +0.5 when she's 40.

Its the shortsighted children that really deteriorate, rather than the long sighted ones.

BoopTheSnoot · 21/11/2016 00:00

My DS is two, he has a turn in his eye caused by astigmatism and wears glasses to try to correct it.
He sees the optometrist at our local hospital every four months so that they can monitor his progress and adjust the prescription of his lenses if needed.

bookwormnerd · 21/11/2016 07:25

Ah karoleann happy to be corrected. I was going by what told in orthotics. My daughter's bad eye had turned its self off hence the turn so brain relyed on other eye. The orthotics team said the patch would force it to turn back on so that it would work. This was 3 years ago so awhile a go. Potatoooo for some children glasses work so don't worry if don't patch. My little girl just needed extra help and they started her with just glasses

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