Child's squint

[elaine64]

My son is now 7 and has been wearing glasses for 2 years now. Squint getting worse but opticion says she won't refer him for an operation what can i do?

Why won't they refer?
Is the squint noticeable when he's got his glasses on?

Is he doing his eye exercises diligently?

Does he need a stronger prescription

My dd didn't get exercises to do but did have patching treatment. She had an eye operation at around age 4 after having glasses from 18 months old

I think it was the GP who referred my son to the eye department of the children's hospital so you could try that.

The ophthalmologist would discuss treatment options with you ( might not be an operation).

When dd was that age she was under the care of the hospital orthoptist. She wasn't discharged to optician care until age 7/8ish. It was the hospital team that referred for the squint surgery

Which way is the eye turning?

If it turns in, they won't operate until they're older. The prescription can affect the size of the squint and the prescription can change massively throughout their teens. If they think your son is one of those whose eyes might correct themselves as he grows they may just monitor it or for now.

Also squint surgery is notorious for not being 100% successful. If both eyes are capable of seeing well but not aligned, bringing them into alignment can cause double vision if not 100% straight. Making it so much worse visually although cosmetically nicer.

If the eye is lazy and it's purely for cosmetic reasons then how bad is the squint? If the eyes are straight with the glasses on (or very minimal) then certainly no surgery will be done.

My sister had squint surgery and they over corrected it, then needed Botox to relax it back to the right position. They also accidentally scratched her cornea when operating so she was in immense pain after the surgery. Years on it still turns out regularly. It's not an easy fix sometimes and should only be done if the turn is very noticeable even with glasses on.

Please don't just assume the optometrist is being nasty.

My dd had an inward squint and was operated on at age 4. This was because she still had a noticeable squint even with her glasses on. She still squints when her glasses are off but it is mostly corrected now with them on

Yes his squint is still noticeable with his glasses on. He has started to ask why his eye is different. In photos it is really noticeable. Wears his glasses all the time.

OP you've posted in childcare too! Ask for it to be moved to children's health.

I'm an optometrist - there must be a reason she's not referring. Sometimes, it's due to the type of squint - some only appear at distance and not near for example. Sometimes, regional variations in referral ask us not to refer certain things (as they're too busy, or have lost some of their paediatric staff).
It may be that the clinical measurements show that the squint hasn't changed.

I would call up the practice and ask her to put the reasons in writing, so that you can understand them better.

Hi
I am a consultant paediatric ophthalmologist and very happy to answer any questions about eye problems in children.
I think you absolutely need to get a referral to a local hospital as most will have a consultant specialising in strabismus. You can find details of your nearest specialist on
biposa.org/find-a-specialist/
Squints in children (or adults) should not be ignored and may can be corrected non surgically .
Best wishes
Saurabh Jain
www.saurabhjain.co.uk