Turn in eye

[Twinnies10]

Hi
This is my first post and I hoping you mam us might be able to help me, my dd (20months, 18 corrected) has a pretty bad turn in her eye, been for check ups and the doctor says because it is not affecting her eyesight there is nothing they will do, it's "only cosmetic"!!! I am so annoyed, she has an aunty who has a pretty bad turn and it looks awful and she hates it, anyone know of anything that can be done? He said a patch or glasses wouldn't help at all

have you been referred to an orthoptist/been to an optician? DD had a squint and ended up with glasses as she was long sighted. She also had an eye operation at age 4 to correct the squint as it was still noticeable even with her glasses on. DD was referred to an orthoptist via the health visitor

That's a ridiculous comment by the doctor, who should know better. The quickest way through all this may be to take your DD to an eye hospital to see a specialist.

See another GP and get a second opinion - and a referral to a peadiatric consultant, I don't trust the "nothing can be done" comment. Squints can be improved by eye exercises/patches and the sooner treatment is started, the better. There are surgical options too but I think that is if the exercises/patches don't work.
If not treated in early childhood (by about 4), it is very hard to sort. No direct experience but friend has 2 DS who required years of daily eye training and patches over the good eye, but now have barely detectable squint (sometimes you see it for a moment if they are tired).

It can affect depth perception, ability to judge speed, etc so hardly "only cosmetic".

The cosmetic aspect is not superficial either (though it should be).

Twinnies, was this a GP or an ophthalmologist? If a GP, they should have referred to to see an ophthalmologist. If an ophthalmologist, that sounds really unusual that they would do nothing.

Has your daughter been seen by a specialist at the hospital eye dept.? Eyesight will be affected in an eye that turns. Patching the good eye is to help vision develop in the eye that turns, specs might not help, but in a young child I would expect surgery to be offered to straighten that eye if there's a chance of binocular vision and for cosmetic reasons. If the GP has said there's nothing "they" will do, and if there isn't some other cause that you haven't mentioned, then I think you need to ask for referral asap.

Hi
It was in an eye clinic in the hospital, he did say an operation would fix it but it's not somethin they would advise, i think ought bring her to optician for another opinion, we are based in Ireland and the health system prob not as good as
England!!

Hi OP. I was born with a slight turn in my eye which got worse as I got older. I've had two operations (around the ages of approx 6 and 10) for cosmetic reasons and it's the best thing I ever did (obviously it was my parents decision).

Sometimes my eye will slightly glide if I am tired but it's not that noticeable.

I am staggered that your GP hasn't referred you to an eye hospital. We started to notice that our DS had a lazy eye around the age of 2 (he wasn't born with one), he wore a patch for an hour every day until the age of 7 and his eye is now completely corrected (this wasn't an option for me at the time). I am so pleased that he won't endure the same teasing I had at school.

It's absolutely not just a cosmetic problem in many cases. It can often be associated with longsightedness and other visual problems. I feel frustrated for you Twinnies10. You just have to seek a second opinion. I wouldn't even mention the comments made by the first doctor.

Hi twinnies is there aslo something else wrong with her eye? Sometimes premature babies have retinal problems and it can lead to the eye not seeing correctly. I presume the eye is turning out rather than in - usually glasses don't help much in those circumstances.
Nevertheless if it looks unslightly then you should definately get a second opinion. Don't be fobbed off- state that you want the eye corrected even if its for cosmetic reasons.

Twinnies, I'm an optometrist in Ireland. Are you in Dublin?

All 3 of my DDs had a squint. All 3 had patches DD1 from aged 2 and DD2 from age 13 months they both also had glasses. It did correct it self and by 8 both of them were only wearing glasses for reading. They are young adults now and do not have to wear glasses at all. tDD3's squint wasn't picked up until she was 5 she also had patches and glasses which did partly correct the problems. She is now 20 and is still supposed to wear her glasses for reading and watching TV. Please take your DD to an eye hospital to see a specialist.

she has been to the eye clinic and been told it is a cosmetic issue only i.e. the eyesight itself is ok (which means patching will not help as it is used to make the eyesight in one eye the same as in the other eye). I would still find out if surgery is an option although dd didnt get her op until she was 4 and had been wearing glasses and squinting from the age of 18 months. She also had patching treatment as her squinting eye had poorer eyesight than the other.

Wow, StrandedBear....