To be worried about my toddlers eyesight and call the GP?

[SundayWellSpent]

Sorry I know this might not be the most appropriate place to post but I've been worrying about this all weekend and I'm hoping someone might have had a similar experience or can tell me if they would be worried or not?

I've noticed that my toddler, who is 18 months, seems to be shutting one of his eyes when they are outside and it is bright or when looking at something/someone approaching from a distance. They also seem to be rubbing their eyes a lot- especially the eye they keep shutting. I didn't even cross my mind that it might be an issue until I stupidly googled it. Now I'm worried they have a lazy eye. Is this something I should be bothering a doctor with? My gut instinct says yes but I'm also not sure what they could do?

DD was in glasses at 2, and had to wear patches also.

We took her to the Optician just under 2 years old and she was referred to the Ophthalmic Dept. at the hospital.

At such a young age they should be using something such as Cardiff Cards to check visual acuity anyway which relies on “preferential looking” as opposed to being able to recognise or name a shape or letter.

Thank you all for your advice and sharing your experiences. Just to update, I called the GP surgery and asked for an advice call. When I told the receptionist what it was for she said we were best making an appointment so the GP could have a look at his eyes. We were given an appointment this morning and told there were no obvious signs of a squint but we are being referred to the Ophthalmologist at the hospital for more tests.

I took my 23 month old to the optician yesterday for a similar reason. I mentioned it to the doctor and they advised that specsavers have the paediatric optician in their branch on a Sunday. I booked and made an appt but it took about 3 weeks the doctor said it would be quicker than waiting for a referral. Good luck

Sunday ds' GP couldn't see his squint either, yet the Ophthalmologist at the hospital diagnosed all sorts of things. At least it's not a medical condition that will problematic waiting for a few months to get diagnosed.