To want more info on this prescription?

[3dworld]

Child a couple of months off of their 4th birthday.
Went for an eye test yesterday. Never noticed any squinting or problems seeing things.
The prescription seems very very mild to me, yet they have prescribed glasses.
Just wondering if the optician was being over zealous or if they will really benefit DC!
I obviously trust the opticians judgement, but my prescription is similar and I don't need glasses or have any issues with my sight.
I believed I had a very mild short sightedness and that my eyes were slightly rugby ball shaped.

DC Prescription is
SPH +1.00
Cyl -0.5

SPH +1.50
Cyl -1

Thank you!

Should have put eye prescription in title. Apologies!

Maybe your child has been prescribed glasses to correct this mild prescription so that they may not need glasses when older.
Wish I wore glasses when I was supposed to.
Would have saved me thousands of pounds, I'm sure.

My prescription was similar when I got glasses, didn't think they would make much of a difference... But they do!

Yes perhaps so. It was hard to discuss things with everyone wearing masks.
Even my 3 year old was asked to wear a mask and I could barely understand them during the eye test let alone the optician.
Maybe I'll call them next week.

If your prescription is positive (+1 etc) then you are long-sighted, not short sighted, and objects closer to you are harder to see. If it’s negative, (-1 etc) then you are short sighted, and objects further away are harder to see.

If you were told you were short sighted and your eyes are rugby ball shaped, then you will be the latter. This is entirely through opposite of your child’s, which would be likely to affect his/her reading, and at that prescription could well require glasses.

My own short sight is corrected by contact lenses, as I am very short sighted, but I now also need reading glasses at +1.5 to allow me to see clearly for reading, now I’m getting older. I really struggle to see close up without them even at this prescription.

Get a second opinion from another optician? Or go back & ask why glasses were recommended for such a mild result.

It's not a high prescription but current guidance is to prescribe glasses for cyl power of 1 or above

Oh yes, just checked and mine are - not +.

So if DC prescription is + then do they have trouble seeing objects close to them or far away?

@MrsTulipTattsyrup sorry just saw your reply. They will struggle with objects close by.

Nah, I was effectively blind as a bat when my first ever eye test came out with similar numbers.

Couldn't read the board further back, but I sat at the front table, so didn't know that. Couldn't catch a ball but was assumed to be just a bit useless, not that I couldn't see the things coming. Fell over repeatedly, but it was just another case of me being clumsy.

They did an eye test in school - I walked from one side of the room to about six foot away to see the letters - and it was only when I got my first pair of glasses that I realised how little I had been able to see.

I could just about manage (ie, not fall under traffic) up to about -1.75 on one eye and -1.50 on the dominant one, at which point I started wearing glasses all the time as I was clearly a danger to myself and others.

Except for in the dark. I was always useless in the dark without glasses, as the astigmatism meant flaring. I just didn't know that was a thing.

They're also preparing for your DC starting reception. If they could make use of glasses, they'll help with reading or seeing the board.

I'm confused why they need to wear them all the time if it's only objects close by they'll struggle with? Surely just wearing them for reading would be sufficient?
I'll check with opticians next week!

If he is long sighted(+) then he will have difficulty with seeing things close up. The prescription won't make a major difference to distance viewing but make close viewing clearer.

She isn’t just long sighted, she’s got an astigmatism - that’s what the “cyl” bit is about

My ds has similar prescription and has worn glasses since he was 6 because he was starting to look out of corner of his eye and develop (not a squint) but a squint!

It's very different because +means he's long sighted when the light falls and then the - for astigmatism means short sighted where that falls.

And the two don't cancel themselves out as I was reliably informed by the optician

So they are long sighted in both eyes (the +1 and +1.5)

They have an astigmatism in each eye also which is the -0.5 and -1.0 (there will be a number after those figures which shows where the astigmatism is- will be in degrees)

@dementedpixie yes.
The numbers after the cyl number are 83 and 89.

It’s been found that astigmatism over -0.75 has the potential to be amblyogenic (ie, cause amblyopia or a lazy eye). We therefore prescribe for any child who has astigmatism over that amount to allow their eyes to develop normally.
(I’m an optometrist with a higher certification in children’s vision).

YABU. They are eye experts

@underneaththeash thank you.
So is the astigmatism something they may grow out of or not?

I obviously trust the opticians judgement

Well that's not true, is it? You've started a thread specifically questioning it, and implying that you know better.

The problem here seems to be that it wasn't well explained to you. Did they not explain what the glasses would be for?

I do trust them, but no it wasn't explained. Not even what the + and - meant and the astigmatism.
So hard with everyone in masks mumbling and they wanted children to go into the eye test on their own while you waited outside the door.
Then wanted you out of the opticians ASAP as they had people outside waiting for their appointments in the rain.
So I guess I don't feel very reassured. Basically just being told that my 3 year old will need to wear glasses full time with no explanation.

Unfortunately the astigmatism won’t grow out. It might grow with the child.

It’s important to wear glasses now. Before the age of 9 they can help prevent the astigmatism from getting worse.

So did you choose frames and get the glasses ordered OP, or leave with the prescription because you think you know better than the optician?