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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not get DD’s eyes tested again?

44 replies

lking679 · 15/09/2021 12:19

DD is three and has been closing one eye when pointing at things in medium to long distance last few weeks. I’ve had no worries about her eyesight before and her eyes looks straight and aligned to me. But I booked her in for an eye test at high street chain just to make sure nothing going on.
They took a photo of her eyes, did an eye test covering up each eye in turn and she has 20/20 vision. Great.
Checked for lazy eye / eye turn when one covered and looked in the back of her eye with a torch. She was very good but obviously didn’t like it much.
Optician said everything was fine but .... he wanted her back to put drops in to dilate her eyes and have a better look “to get the prescription right.” I was confused and said but everything has been fine was it necessary and what prescription?
He said it was 100% necessary and it was to check if she needed a prescription.
What is he thinking he’ll find he hasn’t already? I never had the drops as a yin heater having tests only when I had to go to hospital for an eye infection... and it was horrible. DD will get upset.
I feel like he’s doing it to charge the NHS more. I’m tempted to leave it now and see if preschool say anything and until she has an eye test at school. (Have told preschool my worries they said they hadn’t noticed).

YANBU- cancel drop eye test and wait and see
YABU- take her for eye test

OP posts:

Original poster

lking679 · 15/09/2021 19:49

See previous. My daughters had unnecessary medical tests before which resulted in an apology from GOSH.
As a child I never had dilating eye drops for eye tests either.
I will try but given can’t get anywhere near her with a pcr swab these days pretty sure that after one eye they won’t get near her for the second!

OP posts:

underneaththeash · 15/09/2021 22:17

@lking679 I wouldn’t worry about getting the drops in - we do it quickly!

I didn’t have them as a child either, but neither did my brother and he has one eye with pretty awful vision.

NanooCov · 15/09/2021 22:23

The drops really aren't that bad. My DS has them every time he sees the optometrist (every 6-9 months) and has done since he was 9 weeks old (he has a visual impairment).

On the closing one eye and pointing thing, my three year old does it but has perfect vision. Think he's just being his usual quirky self

bonbonours · 15/09/2021 22:32

Well 20/20 is not a expression actually used by UK opticians so I call bullshit. Most people have a tiny prescription which is expressed as something like +0.1or -0.2. People with a tiny prescription don't need glasses but hardly anyone has actually perfect vision. The dilation drops are used to get an accurate prescription in kids who can't do the "better one or two" thing to fine tune a prescription.

MiniCooperLover · 15/09/2021 22:32

My son has the dilating drops each time he goes (age 10 now), maybe 5 the first time he had them. It helps them check exactly how long sighted he is, when his eyes are tired he constantly closes one eye. Please get her checked again

backinthebox · 15/09/2021 22:36

It can be very difficult to identify eyesight problems in young children. If an optician recommends your child needs further eyesight tests, I would get the tests done. My younger child has horrendous eyesight, but it took numerous visits to hospital to see 3 different eye specialists to get to the bottom of it all. If an expert has recommended further tests you would be letting your daughter down not to take them.

GreyhoundG1rl · 15/09/2021 22:37

You're being unreasonable and silly.

LivingDeadGirlUK · 15/09/2021 22:57

I'm glad you are keeping the appointment OP, eyedrops go in quick but an undiagnosed issue with her eyesight could hamper her the rest of her life.

HelenaJustina · 16/09/2021 08:37

@lking679 I took my eldest DC to a high street optician twice before she was 6 as she was very obviously squinting, closing one eye when reading. She was found to have normal vision both times. It wasn’t until a sibling was referred to the eye hospital (on initial exam eye sight was fine but following drops, correction very necessary) that I pushed for the same referral for my eldest. Once the drops were applied, she was found to require correction and the complaining, headaches, squinting disappeared overnight.

Original poster

lking679 · 16/09/2021 12:21

@bonbonours

What are you calling bullshit on? He said “she has 6/6 vision which you’d understand as 20/20.” After the tests he did he didn’t find an issue with her eyesight and she didn’t need a prescription.

Then he asked to do the dilation test without explaining very well why it was necessary given he hadn’t found anything on the initial eye tests.
I’ve never had a dilation done before in a routine eye test or heard anyone else having one and I’ve had my eyes checked from childhood.
Why would I put my child through something unpleasant if I thought it might not be necessary. Hence the question.

OP posts:

Mischance · 16/09/2021 12:26

Please go to the appointment. They are trying to make quite sure that she does not have some discrepancy that might cause problems. Small children's brains adapt to sight anomalies in a way that can cause permanent problems, as their brains never get programmed to see properly. Take her for the test.

I speak from experience as one of my DDs had a similar problem and she had glasses to prevent permanent sight problems.

Original poster

lking679 · 16/09/2021 12:28

@Mischance

I speak from experience as one of my DDs had a similar problem and she had glasses to prevent permanent sight problems.

As previous I am going to go, just think some people are being a bit OTT.

OP posts:

DeepaBeesKit · 16/09/2021 12:30

Vision is tested in a range of ways including using the drops which is particularly helpful in young children.

It wasn't common when we were children, like many other medical advances which take time to become commonplace. If BiL had been assessed with drops maybe they would have found his issue early enough, instead his brain ignored the bad eye and he now has no vision in it at all.

Keep the appointment.

Mischiefofmice · 16/09/2021 14:39

I am in this field, as I expect someone further up thread is ( given their excellent explanation) . Please take that advice and mine and get your child’s wet retinoscopy results . We do not get additional payments for performing this test, it’s not something we enjoy doing, we do it to eliminate conditions such as amblyopia , strab, etc. All of these if undetected can have far reaching consequences on your child’s vision. We have a small window of opportunity to correct this, the younger the child the greater the chance of a successful outcome. Do go.

Mostlylurkingiam · 17/09/2021 03:47

The eye drops are done in a split second, stop being so dramatic and making it a big deal!

Original poster

lking679 · 17/09/2021 13:14

@Mostlylurkingiam

The eye drops are done in a split second, stop being so dramatic and making it a big deal!

You have a lovely bedside manner for someone on this field (!)

OP posts:

Toomuchis · 17/09/2021 13:24

My DS used to get this done regularly at the eye hospital (he got his first glasses at 2). We had a well worn routine - all eye appointments came complete with a treat - lunch at wagamama (city a) or a big slab of cake (city b). Just made him a bit happier (he didn't like the not being able to see part of getting the drops). It isn't painful and it means that they can get a really accurate prescription for children so it is totally worth it but a wee bit of bribery just helped keep him willing to go and get the drops.

FlumpyLump · 17/09/2021 13:38

My son had all the usual tests up until the age of 4. (Routine baby tests like lights shone in eyes etc). When I took him to the opticians aged 4, they suggested the drops because they were honestly unsure about his eyesight because he was so young.
I thought it wasn't necessary because my son had never expressed any problems with his vision.
I took him to have the drops anyway and they discovered his eyesight was really bad and he'd been struggling since birth. I was mortified and felt so sorry for him.
He has worn +7.5 lenses since then and has regular eye tests.
It always best to go just to make sure x

Original poster

lking679 · 17/09/2021 14:44

@FlumpyLump

My son had all the usual tests up until the age of 4. (Routine baby tests like lights shone in eyes etc). When I took him to the opticians aged 4, they suggested the drops because they were honestly unsure about his eyesight because he was so young. I thought it wasn't necessary because my son had never expressed any problems with his vision. I took him to have the drops anyway and they discovered his eyesight was really bad and he'd been struggling since birth. I was mortified and felt so sorry for him. He has worn +7.5 lenses since then and has regular eye tests. It always best to go just to make sure x

Thanks. Did you get a second opinion? Or did you agree in hindsight he probably had vision problem you hadn’t picked up on?

OP posts:

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