Eyes not focussing- constantly darting - 4mth baby

[ladyofdemanor]

Hi, this is my first post and I hope someone may have had the same experience and be able to offer an insight. My 16 week son has eyes that constantly dart and do not focus on me or objects. He is still not tracking objects as per the 6-8 wk milestone. Have been back to my doctor today and have a referral but have a 6-8week wait. He does seem to see objects and has good coordination for example on his lay gym however when he looks at me it is almost like he is looking around a big circle in his eye with his eyes moving constantly side to side/up down. In a busy/noisy environment eg baby group the speed of movement is accentuated. Has anyone see anything like this before? Thanks

He's still very small, my three all developed at different speeds and it's easy to worry about these things when everyone is obsessed with milestones. DS2 had something similar, he wouldn't maintain eye contact as he got older. He's now 18 months and said his first little sentence yesterday, and no problems with his sight or ability to engage.

hello, they all develop at differnt rates, but I do wonder if it sounds a bit like nystagmus, where the eyes appear to flit rythmically, often from side to side, but can be vertically or rotationally.

As you say he seems to be seeing well, and thats the main thing, cant believe you have a possible 2 month wait.

It way be he has delayed visual maturation, which just means her eyes are a bit later to learn control etc

I know its easy for me to say but try not to worry.

Hi ladyofdamanor,

From what you describe it sounds like your DS might have nystagmus, as summerskye suggested. You can look up congenital motor nystagmus on you tube to see if this is what you are seeing.

Try not to worry about the length of time till your appointment. I work in an eye clinic and unfortunately 6-8weeks is a standard referral time. It can cause parents alot of stress. The eyes are fairly unco-ordinated for the first 6 months so it is ilkely the Dr's will just keep an eye on your LO (pardon the pun!)

Yes, I agree it sounds like nystagmus. I wouldn't want to wait 6-8 weeks either to be seen and whilst there's usually nothing sinister behind it, occasionally even in young children there can be a pathological cause.
Do you have the appointment yet?
If it were me I'd either pay for a paediatric ophthalmological assessment, or get the train down to London and sit in A & E in Moorfields eye hospital. Its not an emergency, but 6-8 weeks, I think in a 4 month old baby is unacceptable.

ladyofdemanor - as u is a mum of a child with nystagmus the best thing I can say to you is don't google it too much. Yes, find out the basics but please be aware as with everything "all children/people are individuals" and what is true for my ds maybe completely different for your ds.

My ds was officially diagnosed at about 8 mths after monitoring at GPs and a referral time of 6 weeks ish. He has NEVER had any developmental delay (something that can occur if other conditions are underlying - I said don't google it too much cos I sent myself into a complete spin doing this), is ahead in reading and maths at school and is a normal 6 (nearly 7) yr old boy. He did take longer to walk than some and has only just got the hang of a two wheeled bike but that is down to his eyesight not nystagmus.
Sorry, probably confusing you more than helping. If you want message me and I can try and be more use.

Hi I agree that it sounds like nystagmus - my DS has had this since he was a baby, but it wasn't picked up until he was 4 months old because everyone kept saying "oh look, he's looking around at everything!" .

I also agree with Karoleann that you should try to get it checked out sooner than 6-8 weeks as nystagmus can sometimes (not always!) be a sign of another underlying vision problem. This was the case with my DS: he had very poor vision because of another condition and the nystagmus was his brain's attempt to 'fix' on something and get some visual stimulus.

Try not to panic OP.

I strongly disagree about going to A & E!!! This causes no end of problems if the "wrong" Dr's intervene (needless scans and tests and stress for the parents, speaking from experience). Your LO needs to be seen by an ophthalmologist (eye Dr).
If you are in a panic after reading the other responses ask your GP to request a sooner appointment for you at your local eye clinic. Don't be running all over the country!
Good luck and as i said before try not to worry. If your GP was really concerned he/she would have demanded a sooner appointment there and then. It's their career on the line after all.

I don't think anyone was saying that the OP had to rush over to A&E immediately, cheekyginger. We were saying was that it might be good to press for an appointment sooner, if possible - I was also speaking from experience! My post was obviously coloured by my personal experience of DS's diagnosis, where we were very glad that his condition was picked up and treatment was started as early as possible. In his case, it was something that is so rare that most GPs will never see a case of it in their practices, so I don't think you can expect them to make the decision about whether or not something is serious - all they can do is refer you on to a specialist (as you said).

OP, hope your DS gets seen soon, and that we haven't panicked you!

Karoleann was suggesting going to A & E. Just got me a bit wound up.

I have been working in an eye clinic for 11 years and asking for a sooner appointment from your GP is the way to go OP...

Hi Ladyofdemanor,

Just wanted to say i have a thread going about various eye things...

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_health/1291818-Lazy-eye-squints-glasses-etc

You might find other mums on here that have are going through a similar wait.