Any opticians on here? Been referred to opticians by school sight test

[Redandbrown]

Feeling a bit anxious as only my child and one other were given letters after school today.
It says he was found to have reduced vision and something was written on a form which I’ve attached and I don’t understand.
It says to book him in at an optician of your choice.

Can anyone interpret the comments written?

Just book a standard eye test, they should have one by the time they start school anyway. Mind both did but then I'm short sighted and wanted to make sure they didn't needed glasses for school.

Options check the health of the eye and colour blindness and at lest they are still free for children on the NHS.

Googled cyclo Rx and it said cycloplegic refraction, something to do with the pupil dilating.

Probably just struggling to see the board and might need glasses. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Some kids need glasses.

Nothing to be anxious about here, these are just eye tests that the orthoptist recommends. They are tests for vision, nothing sinister.

My daughter got referred to the opticians after her school eye test. The opticians then referred her to the orthoptics department at the hospital and she’s been under their care for the last year. She needed patches as she has one eye weaker than the other and a slight squint.

This was how my short sightedness was picked up.

Basically it looks like they are a little long sighted but it’s hard to be sure without a full examination how much

I was referred to an optician after a routine eye test at school, 12 years old. I needed glasses. Just book an eye exam and go from there.

Cyclo is where they put drops in to accurately test a child's eyes. So it will be longer than your average sight test. It's nothing to worry about, it's how we test most young children's eyes who present with reduced vision. The visions mean they couldn't read to the last few lines on their chart on the day.

@mintich
I have no idea how he’ll Co-operate having drops put into his eye, he doesn’t even like having his hair brushed (slight sensory issues).

Thanks for all the replies, I’m just panicking I think! I don’t know why exactly.

@Redandbrown totally natural as a mum, things like this are always concerning. But just get your child booked in for a sight test. It will be ok.

His dad (my DH) has worn glasses since he was 8 years old. And his vision is really poor even now. So could be hereditary.

Not an optician, but the fundus is usually examined on a proper eye examination, it's not something to be unduly worried about.

Both my children had tests when young, both had glasses for very different things one had a divergence and 20/10 vision in one eye which is now closer to 20/20 sadly. The other myopia and astigmatism (inherited from me). Only the latter still needs them as an adult.

Just to warn you, the eye drops to dilate their pupils were horrific for us. Dd has had them 3 times from age 6 and each time it has taken 2 adults to hold her down while the optician puts the drops in and even then she’s screamed, cried and struggled. It was traumatising for all of us.

In the interests of balance: it's not like that for the majority of kids.

I’m worried about the eye drops as my son is very sensory averse anyway. Is there any other option if they can’t do it?

He’s quite excited about seeing an image of the back of his eye on the screen though, he loves anything to do with science.

Lots of children cope just fine having drops put in.
And sometimes it can be a wee bit of a battle but it will be over in seconds and will allow the best test possible.
This is why we have school eye tests so that things like this can be picked up and sorted.

Really not necessary to say this ! And I have a child with learning difficulties who has had this many times . Stay calm and focus on the end pictures, don’t make a big deal about it or talk about it lots before hand .Had them myself last week.

Is it true it can make them unsteady for 24 hours after? My son has very light coloured eyes.

My son has had them several times between 4 and 8, The only difficulty in doing it was when he blinked, so i wasn't sure if it had gone in or not.

He also has light blue eyes, and had no issues with over-sensitivity to brightness or unsteadiness.
I'd suggest taking the piece of paper in when booking the appointment.

@britnay

Oh that’s reassuring.

Can I ask why I need to take the paper?

So that the optician can see exactly what has been recommended.

I would take sunglasses for afterwards because it can make you light sensitive for a short while.

I'd try not to worry until you are there at the opticians and they can run through it all with you

My husband took my daughter with him when he had his last checked (they hadn't done the reception ones done yet). Turns out she actually has poor vision and they keep an eye on her (pardon the pun) every six months as they believe she'll need glasses eventually. Further to this she has just failed her hearing check again so we've got an audiology appointment coming. My poor kid, her dad has poor vision and I have moderate to severe hearing loss. Hopefully none of it is hereditary, not that we know of anyway 🙈.

Normal vision at this age is a score of 0.2 or less. So the right eye has vision one line (on a vision chart) below the pass mark and the left eye is only one letter off.
What that means is his eyesight isn't really bad, but it is below normal and this could impact his learning.
As pp have said, the optician can do a thorough check and prescribe glasses if needed. It's very important that any glasses needed are worn at this age so that their vision can develop to its full potential. If you wait until he's older, it may never improve, even with glasses (if it's amblyopia).
The drops feel uncomfortable for a few seconds then your eyes feel normal again. As pp have said, he will be light sensitive for the rest of the day and will have blurry vision for a few hours until they wear off.
The whole point of the school vision screening is to pick up on any reduced vision that may not have been noticed. It's great that this has been picked up now while he's young enough to do something it.
Best of luck 🤞