13mo DD with 'lazy eye'...

[joannawood]

My DD since birth has always had a lazy eye. Her left eye is slightly turned in when she looks at you. We left it as convinced ourselves it would correct itself in time. Now DD is 13mo and still has the problem.
Do i see her GP or take her to an optician?

Whats likely to happen? Experiences from people who've had similar probs would be great, me and DH are v worried about her.

My son is now 8 and had surgery aged 5, it didnt correct it but it is less than it was, he still wears glasses but the ophthalmotist has advised another op. I am reluctant but after reading some of these comments I am begining to change my mind. I know both eyes will never work together but atleast the squint will become less noticeable. My younger son is also wearing patches now he is now 5 but the squint isnt noticable at all. Were back at hospital next month will see about another operation i think!

Hi yurt1. Yes I am in the Uk.
I had a lazy eye when I was a child and had an operation at 3, It didn't help at all with my sight. But patching did.
In regards to my own children we were told that they should only have the operation if it was really noticable and it should not be done at all untilthey were at laest 9.
This is because the eye muscles are still developing ubtil they are 8.
Eye sight can go on changing into the teen years although that is why DD3 16 still has once a year eye tests.

Joanna

I took DS to an optician, he did lots of phsyio, exercises, all sorts and now you can't tell at all. He had to go there for YEARS.

My eldest dd had a very bad squint, turned right into the corner and upwards as well. We did the patching for years (started just after her second birthday when the squint suddenly became noticeable), but all it did was make her blind as her left eyesight was so poor - covering her 'good' eye all day was actually quite a cruel thing to do to her because she couldn't see. We had several miserable years with her struggling. Great if it works for some, and I'm glad we tried it, but it wasn't the answer for her.

I was the same, as was my dad and several of his siblings, so obviously it is a hereditary thing for us. Eventually, aged 7(ish - can't remember exactly, she's 25 now) she had squint correction surgery, and has had a further two follow up operations, the last one just last year to try to keep her eye as straight as possible.

I've had two operations myself, my left eye has almost no sight, but my right eye has almost perfect vision, so it's possible to drive. I can't play tennis, or anything where you have to judge a ball coming towards you, and 3-d specs are a waste of time for me. I do wear glasses for driving and watching tv, but the prescription is only to sharpen up the sight in my right eye, the left one is plain glass because no prescription will ever help the sight in it.

Only one thing on this thread I would take issue with is the thing about squint correction surgery being only cosmetic. Yes maybe technically so, but having had the confidence knocked out of me, I really did appreciate having the chance to look people in the eyes without feeling self conscious. I remember (post op) my dentist saying to me he hadn't noticed my squint before (because I never used to look straight at anyone) but that having it corrected was the best thing I could have done as my personality changed dramatically afterwards. My dd feels the same. For us having straight eyes was about much more than cosmetic reasons.

Forgot to say to op, yes take her to your doctor or health visitor now because the quicker it is picked up, the quicker it can be treated. Waiting until two was too late for my dd, although her squint hadn't been noticed before then.

I can only echo the don't leave it too late posts. I am registered blind because of the treatment I had as a child. my left eye was lazy (and had other problems) and the sight didn't develop. My parents are't sure when the doctors decided intervention was necessary but they think I was about 2. I had intensive patching and when I wouldn't tollorate it (as my left eye was blind) they put drops in my right eye to impair it. The sight in my left didn't come back and the years of drops caused the sight in my right eye to deteriorate.

My dd has the same eye conditions that I have and we started patching 2 months ago as eye surgery on her left eye was successful but it wasn't on her right, therefore creating a dominent eye for her. There is a test called and ERG (electro retinagram or summat like that) which can monitor the development of the eye and optic pathways and hopefully stop history repeating itsself.

Thankyou all very much for the advice.... bit scared with the thought of patches and operations - but obviously i'd do anything to make sure DD grows up fit & well.

I had a lazy eye. Wore glasses from 3 yo to 9 yo sometimes with patches. The eye did get corrected but my parents had to be strict and make sure I wore my glasses all the time.
Because this is hereditary we had both children refered by hv to specialist at hospital.
DS2 now is showing signs of inheriting it from me. at 10m they couldn't quite tell for sure but at the annual check next month I think they will confirm my suspicions. If he needs glasses and patches I'm not going to panic as they will have caught it earlier than mine. I'm glad to read that there are support threads on here about it all, will probably be back in a few weeks
Just a positive note - I was told at 35 that eyesight deteriorates after 40 and that I would need reading glasses at 45 or so. Had an eyetest last year and have almost perfect vision.

I'm 24 and have had a lazy eye since childhood. We were given patches for me to wear over the good eye to allow the lazy one to get stronger but I never wore them (I used them as bandages on my dolls instead!), and my mum didn't make me. Which is something that makes me sad when I remember it, because it has knocked my confidence so much and I now find it really hard to make friends/talk to people.
There was a suggestion that I might have to wear glasses, which my mum wasn't keen on. I don't know if they mentioned operations, I was only about 6.

I knew a kid at the time who also had a squint, and his dad made him wear a pirate eye patch for a few hours a day, he was really firm about it. He's 19 now has straight eyes, whereas mine is wonky and looks far away to the side. I can't help but feel really jealous of him and the fact that his parents were firmer than mine.

Please don't underestimate the effect that a lazy eye can cause on a persons confidence. I was called a 'cross eyed b**h' at school, and have no friends now as an adult because I'm so shy and embarrassed about it. I really hope my baby doesn't have a lazy eye when it grows up! Because I know how hard it can be...

Vicky, it's not too late to have your squint corrected - I had squint correction surgery when I was 22 and my daughter at 23. Go and speak to your gp about it, I promise it is worth it to feel better about yourself. Good luck

I second the suggestion to get it corrected.
Nobody noticed mine till i was 11, or suggested i got it corrected. I was 19 when I had it sorted (only cosmetic as it was too late to save the sight) and i have never regretted it. My eye was 97 degrees out and the surgeon was shocked it had not been suggested before It was painful but worth it. Good luck

Good news - Took DD to GP today, although she has been referred to a specialist, GP seemed to be of the opinion it may be an optical illusion as DD has slightly more skin around one eye then the other (easier to see than explain!).

Thanks to all for the advice, feel relieved now we've begun to address it.

Watch this video about lazy eye (amblyopia) and this guide is full of easy to understand info: Your Eye Guide - Lazy Eye Amblyopia