Squint in 3 year old

[Malsmum]

Hello, can anyone help, I am totally stressing out. DH and I have noticed that our 3.4 year old has developed a squint. Got an appointment with GP for this Friday. I don't know why I'm so anxious about it (you'd think I'd be able to take it in my stride - my 5 year old has had problems with his kidneys since birth and will need a transplant within the next few years), but the thought of our youngest having to wear glasses and a patch (if that's what the outcome is) makes me really sad.

Has anyone had experience of this, is he likely to have to wear glasses forever or can these things be "fixed"? Is it too early to say? Is there anything in particular I should be asking the GP?

Thanks

No experience personally but DH had a squint when he was little, he did have to wear glasses with a patch but the squint was cured by the time he was 6 or 7. He wears glasses now but only for reading or computer work.

Occasionally, v v rarely, if he is really really tired or drinks too much alcohol his eye will go squinty which he finds unconfortable but it is only temporary and goes back to normal as soon as he gets some sleep.

Hope it goes OK, sounds as if you and family already enough on your plate healthwise :(

Squints can be corrected with patches or sometimes they are simply grown out of. As someone who has worn glasses since she was 10 I really wouldn't worry about that side of things to much!

Ds has been under the hospital for his squint since he was 8 weeks old but they are just monitoing him until he is About 4 then deciding what if any treatment is needed x

I will add it is certainly best to get it watched from a young age I have a form

Oopps posted to soon!

Form of squint which was missed til I was 16 and the exercises etc havent helped as much as they would have if I was younger so now will need glasses for life (although in my case I would have anyway for general vision!)

Hello Malsmum!

I had a squint in my right eye from birth which was operated on when I was 4. Then developed one in my left eye which was operated on when I was 8. This was many years ago now - there may be non-surgical ways of improving them. I needed glasses until around 10 years of age, then after that only for reading/TV etc. These days I can get away with no glasses at all, but like Wildbill's DH if I'm tired or unwell (or overdo the wine!), I do struggle. I still look a bit cross-eyed in photos (think it's the flash that sends my eyes haywire!) but nothing too awful.

Hope you get on ok with GP and all the best for your older DC too.

dd has had glasses from 18 months as she had a squint. She turned out to be long sighted and has worn glasses since then (now 7 years). One eye also had poorer sight so she had patching treatment to improve it which worked. At the age of 4 she also had an eye op to improve the squint as it was still noticeable when wearing her glasses. It was a shock to us as none of my siblings (or me), dh's siblings (or him) wear glasses. She looks strange without her specs now.

p.s. you will probably get a referral to the hospital orthoptist who will deal with your lo's treatment/eye tests, etc

my dd (6yrs) has just found out she has to wear glasses due to a squint, docs said she hadn't had it from birth but was due to a refractive error, having just been to see the orthopist ast the hospital last week, she needs glasses but no patch, her vision is the same in both eyes so it hasn't affected that but she is long sighted and will need glasses and regular visits to the hospital to check her eyes, i was really stressing out when the gp told me at first but do feel a bit happier, even though i do feel sorry for her having to wear glasses.

my 3 year old DS also has a squint. He had an appt today (he is checked every 2-3 months) and we were told that patching isn't effective in the long term - no idea if this is a widely held view. His vision is fine atm so he doesn;t need glasses but may need an operation for aesthetic reasons. I read somewhere that about 95% of children with a squint need glasses before adulthood so I think it is likely your DS will need them at some point. Also a lot depeneds on whether his eye/s is/are drifting outwards or inwards, and whether the squint is intermittent or constant. I'm sure your GP will refer you to an orthoptist and you can take it from there. It's actually really common - I think about 10% of children have a squint. So please don't worry (easy to say I know)

Thank you everyone for your comments. Saw the GP on Friday and got a referral, so will wait and see!!!!! xx