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Original poster

Lazy eye, squints, glasses etc.....

947 replies

cheekyginger · 01/09/2011 22:38

Im an orthoptist (binocular vision specialist) and a mummy.

I thought i would start this thread in case anyone was wanting any advice, re-assurance, opinions about any eye problems that you wee ones are having.

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bishboschone · 29/05/2012 22:28

Hi , I'm due to see an ophthalmologist with ds next week . He was prem and 11 months ( corrected 9 ) . He had delayed visual maturation and has a heavy eyelid ( not symmetrical) I think the eye itself is level with the other eye . ( no squint) The paed said if they thought it was obscuring his vision they would do something about it .Do you know what I should expect . I'm a bit scared Sad

Original poster
cheekyginger · 29/05/2012 22:28

Hi mazza127

Basically these exercises are designed to help kids track along a line of texts. I can help with skipping words and skipping lines. This happens in kids without squints too. So in your DD's case it could just be a coincidence.

She wouldnt need any extra help in school, unless she gets diagnosed with dyslexia. But milk "reading difficulties" are often caused by tracking problems and can be treated with exercises. It's unlikely she would need to do these longterm. Smile

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Original poster
cheekyginger · 29/05/2012 22:31

No probs needsinspiration,

Thats what keeps me in a job!!! Vision screening is so important as lots of eye problems cant be detected otherwise.

Hope she gets on well with her glasses Grin

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Original poster
cheekyginger · 29/05/2012 22:39

Hi bishboschone,

With DVM the visual development is generally monitored by an Orthoptist till they can record an accurate level of vision approx age 1-2.

As for the heavy eyelid. The fancy name for this is a ptosis (silent P). Generally again the vision has to be monitored to ensure the lid isnt covering the pupil which can cause the vision to be lazy. If the lid doenst cover the pupil and the appearance of the lid is ok the eye Dr's tend to leave it alone. If you are not happy with the position of the lid then surgery can be an option in a child early teens.
Ptosis surgery is best left until the child has finished the vast majority of their growing as early surgery can result in the lid lifting too high as the child grows.

The most likely thing that will happen is that your DS will be assessed regularly to be monitored this could be every 3 month or every 6 months depending on what they find. Try not to worry Smile

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bishboschone · 29/05/2012 22:44

Thank you , I'm not overly concerned with what he looks like . It isn't that obvious unless he is tired . He has been through a lot in his little life and it seems very superficial to put him through a general for cosmetic reasons. It does sometimes obscure the pupil though .

bishboschone · 29/05/2012 22:46

I know he can see know as he watches my cats when they come in the room silently and tries to grab them . ( something he didn't do for a long time) do you know if dvm can affect eyesight later on.. ? I. E .. Is it likely he will need glasses ..

Original poster
cheekyginger · 29/05/2012 22:46

Hi bish, as long as it's above the pupil at for most of the day then it shouldnt affect his vision.

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bishboschone · 29/05/2012 22:52

Ok thank you ..

LargeGlassofRed · 29/05/2012 23:20

Thanks cheekyginger, surgery went well, eye still very bloodshot but was only sore for the first couple of days. Back to school tomorrow.

BirdyBedtime · 30/05/2012 09:49

Hi again cheeky. Hope work is going ok and your DS(?) is enjoying nursery.

We had an interesting trip to Glasgow - what they are doing is really clever. DD was suitable for the gaming training but unfortunately because they needed to do a test to work out how much to 'damp-down' the image to her strong eye and boost the image to her weaker one, and couldn't get a reading from her :(. But they did agree to try again so we're going again later in the summer holidays and if they can get the reading then we'll have a week of training. There was a good outcome though as they tested her binocular vision (which strangely has never been done at the orthoptist visits) and she does have a surprising amount of depth perception despite the difference between her 2 eyes - so that was really good news from our point of view.

Also had some good news on the DS front - he was back at the optician for a 3-month check up since getting glasses and his weaker eye is now seeing as well as his stronger one :). He'd also started to develop some depth perception. Back again in 3 months, but really positive, although we are now on the 3rd pair of glasses since Feb!

Original poster
cheekyginger · 30/05/2012 20:41

Hi Birdy, thats great news about your DS. You'll be getting to know your optician fairly well then!!!

And good luck with your DD's next attempt at the test in Glasgow.

My DS is getting on great at nursery. Seems to be a chilled out little dude and has taken it in his stride. No tears or tantrums (yet!!!), which has made going back to work much easier! Grin

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HairyFairy16 · 30/05/2012 21:04

Hi! What a lovely idea for a post! I need help!

DS is 5. Exactly one year ago he had his pre school eye check and was told one of his eyes wasn't as it should be and prescribed glasses. In the first 3 months he came on amazingly and they said they only normally see improvements like he had made over 6-9 months. However after a further 3 months no improvement and then after a further 3 months and still no additional improvement he was given a slight tweak in prescription to try and boost it rather than patch. Unfortunately this week he was told he'd have to have a patch for 3 hrs a day for 6 weeks initially.

My question is that originally I was told that it was only a fairly slight difference in his eyes and they'd be able to bring it on so that once he was around 10 he wouldn't have to wear glasses full time, if at all. This week we were told that he doesn't focus in the right place at the back of his eye and that sometimes Patch could sort that and sometimes it couldn't. Do you know what the chances are and also, if it doesn't, does this mean he is destined for a life with glasses?

Thanks!

Original poster
cheekyginger · 30/05/2012 21:27

Hi HairyFairy16,

When you say "he doesn't focus in the right place at the back of his eye". That sounds like he may have what we would call a microtropia. If he has a microtropia then there will be a limit to the vision of that eye. It may only be slightly poorer than his good eye but it ill unlikely be equal.

Do you know what his prescription is? That would determine if he needs them fulltime/forever. Generally anything over a +3.00 is classed as long term.

Smile
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HairyFairy16 · 30/05/2012 21:36

We were told his prescription was a "general" prescription.

Right eye is +4.5

skewiff · 30/05/2012 21:42

Thank you cheekyginger for your advice,

I am wondering whether it is best to patch (and further encourage DS to only see out of one eye at a time) - or instead visit a behavioural optometrist (we've done this before but gave up as were unsure ...) and try, through exercises, to get both eyes working together (is this actually at all possibly in your opinion?).

I have just started to do one of the eye exercises that a BO set for us. I hold a toy in front of DS's nose and take it slowly out to each side and up and then down. Its to get his eyes tracking and following the toy - the aim is to get the eyes working together, I am guessing. At the moment they sort of do up and down but out to the side just the eye on that side of his body works and the other one gets stuck by his nose.

Am I wasting my time doing this?

Thank you.

Original poster
cheekyginger · 31/05/2012 15:17

Hi HairyFairy,
I would tell a parent that they would need their glasses full time and long term with that prescription. It's unlikely to reduce enough for him to manage without for any length of time. As i said our rule is anything over +3.00 is full time/long term.
Sorry if thats not what you wanted to hear.

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Original poster
cheekyginger · 31/05/2012 15:20

Hi Skewiff

IMO behavioural optometrists are con artists. Thats strictly my opinion. Yes many eye conditions can be treated with eye exercises but NOT constant squints.
In my 12 years of being qualified i have came across many parents really unhappy with treatment they have had at a BO. Dont get me wrong they are fantastic sales people but majority of there work has no scientific back up!!!

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HairyFairy16 · 31/05/2012 19:51

Thanks Cheeky, that totally contradicts what both Opthalmologists we have seen here have said so I'll check again when I next see either of them.
Thanks again.

skewiff · 31/05/2012 20:17

Thank you cheekyginger - that made me chuckle - I haven't given up hope with them, but a sort of relative is an optician and gave me the same advice re: BOs.

Do you then think that my son is stuck for life without depth perception? Will he always only be able to see out of one eye at a time?

If so is it a terrible thing do you think? What I mean is will it really restrict him in life?

Original poster
cheekyginger · 02/06/2012 22:44

Hi HairyFairy, i was surprised you said i was contradicting what you've been told, untill i re-read your previous message. You said the RE was a +4.50. What is the left eye? I thought he was +4.50 both eyes Confused. That might change my answer!!!

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Original poster
cheekyginger · 02/06/2012 22:58

Hi skewiff,

Binocular vision (3D) develops over the first 1-2 years of life. The eyes have to be straight for the majority of this period for your 3D vision to develop. If a squint develops around age 2 or 3 and is constant (no matter if its big or small), then the longer the squint is present or the younger it presents then the less likely it is that the child will develop 3D vision.

However, if a child does not have 3D vision from a young age they dont know any different. They often grow up without any apparent difference from a binocular child. He may not be able to be a neuro surgeon but it really is unlikely to hinder him in anyway. Smile

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Original poster
cheekyginger · 05/06/2012 21:52

Why do people not bother to show up for their child's eye appointments??!!!! Angry

The NHS should start charging for missed appointments!

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skewiff · 06/06/2012 22:02

Oh good,

Thank you x

jubilee10 · 07/06/2012 08:35

Both dh and I have lazy eyes and dh has a squint. Ds2 also has a squint and lazy eye and was patched from age 3. When ds3 was a baby I noticed that, when his pupils were dilated, one was larger than the other. I mentioned it to my GP and optician. Neither thought it was significant. This was later found to be his lazy eye and, he too, was patched from the age of three.

What I often wonder is, if this was significant and if this could have been picked up earlier.

Madsometimes · 07/06/2012 11:25

Hi Cheekyginger,
I just wanted to say thank you for the advice you gave me back in April about my eyes. The opthamologist did indeed say that I had experienced amaurosis fugax, but was not too concerned about it. He felt it was caused by circulation problems after surgery. He also said that I had 6/6 vision, which I think is good. My pupils were dilated, but apart from not being able to MN for the rest of the day, it was not too traumatic Wink.

I don't know why people don't turn up for NHS appointments either. I suppose it is human to make mistakes, but some people seem to be persistent offenders

Maybe if people were not so forgetful, we would not have the 14 week waits to see specialists.