To be worried? School nurse letter...

[Charlieandthechocolatecake]

DS who is in reception had his check done by the school nurse last week. We got a letter back today with his sight check details. He has been referred to the local eye hospital.

If it was a case of him needing glasses, surely he'd be referred to Specsavers or something?

Does anybody else have experience of this?

I'm so worried. Would it be worth trying to contact the school nurse to ask what the problem is?

[DeadMorose]

Childr Get their glasses for free as far as I know. Unless you decide to get some expensive frame.
My DS got two pairs of glasses for free at Specsavers.

[BackforGood]

It's standard. Nothing to worry about. They will generally put drops in so their eyes look big (make sure you've read Little Red Riding Hood to them first so you can do "ds, don't your eys look big" - take a little mirror with them to show them.... dd thought this hilarious ).
Better for them to be checked at the hospital. If it is then decided they need glasses, you get a prescription and trot off to specsavers or wherever you prefer.
It's not to do with severity - dd's was not very severe and she only wore glasses for about 3 or 4 years. and only then when they weren't lost.

[PyongyangKipperbang]

I should add that I only ask as DS is a sod for sitting on his, I have become a master at repairing broken glasses arms!

[RB68]

yeah they are a bit better than just the blue or pink ones from the 70's. I was a rebel and always had blue...

[BackforGood]

Pyong - you can just keep going back, every time they break or lost them. No limits or none that we reached.

[bettycat81]

Had this with my DS (we were referred to a clinic set in a children's centre).... they couldn't work out what was wrong... turned out to be a case of can't-be-bothered-itis.... it took many frustrating months for this diagnosis and we all breathed a sigh of relief to when he was discharged only for him to do some pretty serious damage to his eye a few months later to be sent to me Moorfields where they had to compete with the aforementioned diagnosis. Glasses are free for kids... specsavers are great as you get a second pair free (handy if your child is likely to break/loose or lend a pair to his mates sisters cousins rabbit) and they have lots of cool frames.... you just take Dr's prescription in.

[BenjaminLinus]

Don't worry, it's normal to go to the hospital. My ds had eye issues from birth so we had regular appointments at the hospital from 8 months old. The waiting room always had worried parents referred from school, and wanting to know how we'd known that he needed glasses when they hadn't noticed anything wrong with their child's eyesight.

The school nurse is qualified to know that something isn't right, but you need an orthoptist or orthopmologist to take a better look. It could also be that your son didn't understand the test, so it might be worth talking to him about it before the appointment.

[ChuffMuffin]

Pyongyang love the name! :D.

It's technically unlimited, however the NHS can investigate if a child is getting through a huge amount of replacements in a short period of time.

[Charlieandthechocolatecake]

Oh that's good news. DS is very clumsy and even the most robust of his toys break after a few days so free glasses are fantastic.

Thanks for all your help, I was seriously thinking he had cancer or something.

Now that he's 4 I only recently stopped wondering if he was going to die in his sleep or at school or at his grandparents. So this letter brought back all if those horrible new mum feelings.

We were in A&E last night with DS2. He woke up barely able to breathe. It turned out to be croupe. I've been in panic mode since. I need a drink.

[BenjaminLinus]

We had many replacements per prescription, especially at the frustrated toddler stage where he'd take them off and throw them .

[PyongyangKipperbang]

Really Back?

So I didnt need to keep going to poundland to buy cheap reading glasses just to cannibalise the screws?

I feel like such a fuckwit now

RB68 I had blue too! Although my mother didnt want me to have either pink or blue, she wanted me to have the tortoiseshell ones and with hindsight, I think that she was right!

[BenjaminLinus]

Your ds might be less clumsy with glasses?

[Charlieandthechocolatecake]

That just crossed my mind Benjamin!

[NoSquirrels]

Pyongyang free repairs on the NHS. If you go to Specsavers (highly recommended by us - awesome kids range with lots of Disney characters, Marvel superheroes etc) you get 2 free pairs on the prescription - you nominate which pair is the official NHS pair, and those will always be repaired free of charge - but if you break the other pair you pay to replace.

[Mumgyver]

DD had loads of styles to choose from, they even had branded ones like Star Wars and Frozen. The voucher covers up to £60 I think but they had loads in that price range. She managed to break her first pair within a week! She's usually really good about being careful with her belongings but she was the first in her class to get glasses and all her friends wanted to try them on so she let them, they ended up snapped (and she got a stern talking to about not letting the other girls try them on). The opticians replaced them free of charge. Then when we went for a follow up appointment one of the little flower decals on the arm had worn away and she was gutted, apparently that flower was her favourite one. She told the optician and even though she didn't need a new prescription they replaced the frames (free of charge and no NHS voucher issued) because they wanted her to feel happy and confident in her glasses as it would encourage her to keep wearing them.

[Nokia3310]

My son was under the care of the hospital from the age of 5 -7 because he required daily patching. Once his weak eye stopped improving he was discharged and now attends just the opticians. He gets 2 free pairs, however due to the level of weakness in one of his eyes it was suggested that he paid to get one of the lenses thinned on his nhs pair. Otherwise it's like looking through a jam jar.

[nooka]

The eye hospital team (I'm never quite sure about all the professional titles of eye specialists) will do a much better job than a high street optician. My ds had two tests at our local optician because we were concerned about his sights (plus dh and me both have poor eyesight) and they both said he was fine. The specialist at the hospital said he was in fact very long sighted.

As the earlier you get glasses if you are long sighted the better the outcome we were very frustrated, but ds was not very cooperative, and the standard adult tests are really not great for very distractable 4/5 year old. The pediatric specialist did things very differently.

[janed9388]

another vote for specsavers. even repairs to the non NHS pair are reasonable. In the space of a week my daughter lost her NHS pair (replaced free, no quibbles) and broke her non NHS pair (£7 to replace as they needed replacing but they only charged us for the broken part which was a hinge).
They also don't mind you popping in what seems like every week for things straightening / tightening etc.

[notanevilstepmother]

I think it wouldn't be permitted for the school nurse to put a reason, they can screen for various problems and refer, but a reason might be seen as a diagnosis which is the hospitals job. Hope that explains it.

[minisoksmakehardwork]

Op. I hope you're feeling reassured. I have 3 in glasses, all picked up very young (18 months and birth!!). The twins have been wearing glasses since they were 8 months old and are under the hospital ophthalmology dept. Dd1 was discharged just after she turned 8. We were told 7 originally!

Specsavers are definitely the best place. The glasses are completely free as others have said, you get 2 pairs. What I will say though is they will ask you which are to be the NHS pair as specsavers themselves fund the second pair. So if the second pair get broken irreparably, you are asked to pay towards replacement. Ds2's were £15 - still a whole lot cheaper than buying a second pair though. The NHS pair they replace completely free but they do know which is which if both pairs are the same!

Specsavers do a brilliant range. Ds2 is currently sporting Star Wars glasses, dd2's glow in the dark. They've had anything from mickey and Minnie to frozen and avengers.

[PhyllisWig]

My dd did have something seriously wrong with her eye picked up
at the reception eye test but it was actually great as we got a swift referral to the hospital, lots of tests and a diagnosis and treatment. She still gets seen every 6 months (and I get to look at the imaging photos which are stunning - I'd like one in the wall as art).

They are so good there. Wonderful with the kids, manage the queue/waiting time well etc. Dd doesn't love it obvs but she tolerates it well - this year they got Easter eggs and there are normally biscuits knocking about which helps.....

[HelenaJustina]

The DC at our school have the 'option' of three letters:
1 your child was seen and no action required
2 your child was seen and we recommend a visit to a local optician
3 your child was seen and an appointment has been made for you at local eye hospital

It just indicated the level of the potential problem and the level of qualification needed to diagnose it! For a lot of children, the pupil dilation drops are required to give an accurate measurement and we were told that most high street opticians are extremely reluctant to perform that test on children. Whereas the hospital does it all the time!

Try not to worry or panic. If there is a problem, how much better that it has been picked up now, before it impacts on DSs schooling. (And I say that as the owner of two DC who were referred to the eye hospital through school screening and require classes!)

[Gizlotsmum]

My son is 5 and under the hospital for his eyes.. so much easier. Use spec savers for his glasses ( depending on the strength of any prescription required it can include thinning of lenses). Has always covered his choice of frames from the range available ( currently has minions ones!) repairs are free. We have the second pair as sunglasses as they are included ( and a godsend in bright weather)

[Degasinacar]

We were referred as Dd had a lazy eye. She had 2 appointments to establish its situation and then had surgery to correct it at age 6. At all times we were kept fully informed by the hospital and reassured. On the day there was a huge play area on the ward , films on, games to play etc.
There were 10 children all having surgery in the same day for the same thing and they took the children in order of youngest to oldest so dd was 7th I think. I was allowed into the room where she was anaesthetised and then sent back to her bed to wait with her dad. She was under for about 40 mins and was awake in just over an hour and calling for me. It was nerve wracking but everyone was totally reassuring. Once she was back on the ward she had to rest until she could open her eyes, eat toast and walk, all of which she did within 2hrs and we were discharged by 3.30. When we left there was just one boy left who had had surgery on both eyes and was nervous to get out of bed.
This is probably too long but I thought it might reassure you that even if its not just glasses it can still be ok. Dd's eyes are amazing now, the opticians are always super pleased with her.

[StealthPolarBear]

Yes agree with others, ds had the smallest sight problem ever but we were referred to eye hospital for reallt thorough checks. How it should be I suppose