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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think my baby has a potential eye muscle problem?

78 replies

babyeye · 02/09/2022 18:48

I've name changed because if I upload a photo of my daughter here then I can't so unidentifiable on other posts

I took a lovely photo of my daughter today

I was looking at her gorgeous eyes and noticed they have both fixed in a different spot 😔😔 she is 5 months old

I have to wear glasses as I've got about a -2.75 and -1.5 l and r respectively
I also get double or treble vision when tired when I read it's apparently ok and not to worry about and it's just pulling the eye muscles

Wondering if I can do something to play with her to bring eyes to move together or is this a non issue as my husband says? Thank you and sorry for the photo of my baby she is indeed cute but her eyes are in different spots if you have a look.

To think my baby has a potential eye muscle problem?
OP posts:
PowerHits · 02/09/2022 20:04

My daughter has Duane's Syndrome in her right eye, it doesn't turn right. Diagnosed at eight months, regular orthoptic appointments until seven. She always had to sit to the right of the board/teacher.

She's twenty now, drives etc. You'd not notice it anymore as she alters her head posture slightly to compensate.

Original poster
babyeye · 02/09/2022 20:54

Noodledoodledoo · 02/09/2022 19:52

My two have a fab optician who have picked up at 5/7 a slight weakness and after 9 months of patching my daughters sight has corrected, my son is about month off no more patching. Neither have had any teasing at school.

The optician has said the earlier it is caught the better, we only went as youngest failed the reception eye test.

Got to ring them on Monday

I want a check

I won't be putting it at the back of my mind

Phoebe won't suffer. rather check then not.

Neither of the other two have issues I can see with their eyes yet.

Both never been to a GP and neither has she, despite being 4lb 5oz when she came home from hospital!

OP posts:
Original poster
babyeye · 02/09/2022 20:54

Starling127 · 02/09/2022 20:28

Thank you so much going to look into this xx

OP posts:
Original poster
babyeye · 02/09/2022 20:55

PowerHits · 02/09/2022 20:04

My daughter has Duane's Syndrome in her right eye, it doesn't turn right. Diagnosed at eight months, regular orthoptic appointments until seven. She always had to sit to the right of the board/teacher.

She's twenty now, drives etc. You'd not notice it anymore as she alters her head posture slightly to compensate.

What a gal!!

Going to look into this, too

I'm honestly so warmed by the replies

💘💘💘

OP posts:
Original poster
babyeye · 02/09/2022 20:56

SnackSizeRaisin · 02/09/2022 19:59

I think they look ok, in the second picture you can see that the reflection is in the same place on each eye and that's the important thing. Young babies can look like they are squinting if the bridge if the nose is relatively wide. Anyway if you are worried then get them checked. You could phone your local optician for an initial appointment. It's free for children.

I have a round nose myself and so does my husband, I have a friend who's daughter has "no bridge" and she wears glasses

Thank you for this information, too.

I bloody love Mumsnet I do x

OP posts:
Original poster
babyeye · 02/09/2022 20:56

FantasylandEnthusiast · 02/09/2022 19:51

One of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen x

Isn't she just and when she was born I screamed 🥲 I wanted to have a daughter so much

My god I am lucky

Two boys and a girl and I am married and I'm 30... wildest dreams x

OP posts:
PoorlyPooch · 02/09/2022 20:58

I got told because my kids have a wide bridge of their nose it looks like they have a turn in their eye but they don't.

Original poster
babyeye · 02/09/2022 21:00

PoorlyPooch · 02/09/2022 20:58

I got told because my kids have a wide bridge of their nose it looks like they have a turn in their eye but they don't.

I've got a right button nose and so has my husband

I'm 1/4 Pakistani which may explain the rounder nose

My husband is like the blonde, tall version of me. Bizarre

I even have a blonde baby and I've got basically black hair

Genetics eh

OP posts:
TowerRavenSeven · 02/09/2022 21:02

Can you take her to an ophthalmologist? It might be nothing but if it is something you’d want it properly looked after - in the nicest possible way, not just having her look a different way when playing. We didn’t catch my son’s eye turning in until about 5 and he did wear strong glasses to correct it.

cavebaby · 02/09/2022 21:09

PreVerbalGerbil · 02/09/2022 19:02

Whilst her eyes appear to be in different directions, it’s because of the angle of her head. When you look at the corneal reflections (where the light spot is in either eye) they are symmetrical. If she had a true squint one would be displaced temporally.
It’s not uncommon for babies to have periods of ocular misalignment in the first 6 months of life. If it persists or you want reassurance, a health visitor or GP referral to an Orthoptist is a sensible course of action 😊 Can guarantee they would be happy to see such a cutie! X

This. DD appeared to have one eye that turned in and we had a hospital appointment about it but the lovely doctor said that it just often appeared that way with babies (I think it had something to do with their nasal bridge). Said to look at the reflection of light on their eyes and whether that appears in the same place on both eyes :)

BangingOn · 02/09/2022 21:15

Your daughter is adorable!

As others have said, it is likely nothing at all or nothing serious, but please please please please get her checked. It wasn’t nothing for my DS but it was caught early and treated quickly. It’s much better to have her checked and your mind put at rest.

PersianStar · 02/09/2022 21:21

She is beautiful!
I thought I was going mad with my DS at about 8 months because I was sure his eye wandered out…. No one else could see it 🤦🏼‍♀️
when he was 12 months, I happened to have a phone call from the HV about my newborn and mentioned it to her. She wrote the referral letter there and then as she thought the waiting list was very long after covid. She wasn’t expecting him to be seen until he was 2 and said if he’s grown out of it by the time the appointment comes through, just cancel it.
anyway he had his appointment at 18 months, he does have intermittent distance exotropia which is basically a lazy eye so we are now waiting for more tests to see a course of action as he’s only 20 months.
The doctor did say that she never usually sees children this young as parents “wait and see” but the earlier it’s caught the better the outcome.
so what I’m saying in all the waffle is go with your gut, she may have grown out of it by the time the appointment comes but at least you’ve started the ball rolling x

Namechange600 · 02/09/2022 21:29

Yes I can see her left eye is turned in. Babies can grow out of it I understand but would get into the NHS now.
my dd had long sightedness, double vision and esotropia not diagnosed until age 8 which can be a problem as the eyes get more fixed at that age. We had to patch and get varifocals (so expensive)… now she is suddenly getting more short sighted quickly as well… not easy.
good you’ve spotted it so early.
my dd thought it was normal to see double 😢😢 the consultant told us it’s not uncommon to hear that from older children too but harder to fix when older I believe.

DoNotGetADog · 02/09/2022 21:32

Some of the advice here is good, some less so. I don’t think “Google Brown’s syndrome” or looking up about Duane’s is a good idea for the OP. There’s no point in the OP Googling fairly rare conditions which are not always that easy for trained professionals to diagnose. It also makes it all sound more alarming than it is.

What PPs have said about symmetrical reflections of a light is correct.

The other thing to be aware of is that babies nearly all have large “epicanthal folds” which are the folds of skin between the side of the nose and the eye. When the baby looks to one side, there is far less white of the eye to be seen in the eye that is turned towards the nose because of these folds. Lots of people think their baby’s eyes are misaligned because of this and in most cases they are completely normal.

If you want reassurance though then get a professional to look at your babies eyes - you can just go to the optician rather than a GP. They won’t be able to do a really full eye test as you can’t at that age, but they will be able to tell if she has a turn in her eye. Do this rather than Google rare syndromes!

Carrie76 · 02/09/2022 21:36

My ds’s eye was turned in like your gorgeous girls. I noticed it when he was very small I think about 5 weeks (we’re in Ireland) I rang the maternity hospital and they told me to bring him in. They put the fear of god in me by saying he might have had a stroke. We were sent for a scan and then referred to the optical dept.

They discussed all sorts such as injecting it with Botox. First off they said they’d put a patch on the other eye and see if that helped. Lo and behold after a few weeks of regular patch wearing his eye was moving. We had regular checks until he was 3 and then he was discharged so basically a lazy eye.

PowerHits · 02/09/2022 21:37

@DoNotGetADog who told her to Google Duane's Syndrome?

DoNotGetADog · 02/09/2022 21:42

Ok - someone said “Google Brown’s syndrome” and then replying to your post about Duane’s the OP said “I’ll look into this as well.”

I am happy to state for the record that you didn’t tell her to Google Duane’s.

My point is though that the OP spending ages Googling possible diagnoses is counterproductive as she will not be able to diagnose anything correctly and will only get worried unnecessarily.

Ethelfromnumber73 · 02/09/2022 21:42

She's a beaut.

My nine yr old was diagnosed with a convergent squint/long-sightedness at 18m. She has worn glasses since and rocks them. She's also been through periods of patching etc. Whatever happens OP, all will be fine.

SockQueen · 02/09/2022 21:46

I noticed this in my DS1 when he was a similar age, but for him it wasn't always the same eye. Took him to the GP about 6 months and they referred us to eye clinic. Initially they said it was probably a pseudosquint (where it just looks like one because of the wide bridge of his nose) but as it persisted they did more tests and he got bifocal glasses when he was about 3.5. He's now almost 6 and will probably always need glasses but he is absolutely brilliant with them and his squint is barely noticeable when wearing them.

There are lots of different causes for squints, which can need different treatments (e.g. patching wouldn't work for DS as both eyes work pretty well on their own, just not together!) Or no treatment at all, sometimes! But getting her reviewed is certainly a sensible plan.

lifehappens12 · 02/09/2022 21:51

Just book in with the GP on Monday and they can refer to the eye department at hospital. My youngest was referred for eye lid issues at 6 weeks and we were seen at 4 months and they were great at doing eye tests on a baby!

PoorlyPooch · 02/09/2022 21:53

PoorlyPooch · 02/09/2022 20:58

I got told because my kids have a wide bridge of their nose it looks like they have a turn in their eye but they don't.

Sorry, I meant to say that as babies of a similar age to yours they looked like they had a turn but they are now teens and don't

ItsnotaHenryMoore · 02/09/2022 21:59

Ethelfromnumber73 · 02/09/2022 21:42

She's a beaut.

My nine yr old was diagnosed with a convergent squint/long-sightedness at 18m. She has worn glasses since and rocks them. She's also been through periods of patching etc. Whatever happens OP, all will be fine.

My DD was wearing glasses at 9 months, and later patched. She managed fine and looked so gorgeous. She had one eye with 20/20 vision but one was extremely long sighted - and was heading towards a serious squint, if it hadn't been picked up. She's 14 now, no glasses and no squint.

Worth checking it out, as I did, and if it requires follow up, the earlier the better!

FarmersWife2019 · 02/09/2022 22:10

I have a hereditary alternating squint (strabismus) which was diagnosed when I was 1. At 1 1/2 I had an operation to tighten the muscles in my eyes to give me more control. It is cosmetically better and I’ve worn glasses ever since (I’m 33) to control it. I remember wearing patches at home when I was primary school age. Can’t say I’ve ever noticed the squint when drunk but it happens a lot when I’m tired. My baby is nearly 8 months old so I’ll be keeping a close eye on him just in case. If you need any advice just book an appointment with an optometrist for a consultation. I’ve seen the same one all these years so having one you can trust is important.

Pashazade · 02/09/2022 22:11

Definitely get a referral from the doc. A normal high street optician won't be geared to checking a baby. We were under the hospital ophthalmologist until DS was 7. He has a lazy eye still without his glasses but is very long sighted. All will be fine I'm sure, glasses are no biggy in the long run, but best to get her checked. I hadn't noticed and it took my Dad to spot DS's squint just before he was 18 months.