sudden onset lazy eye

[Lj8893]

Am going to take dd (15 months) to the gp tomorrow but want to know if i should be worried, and to push for further checks depending on what the gp says.

over the last few days dd has suddenly developed a severe lazy eye, its a little bit bulgy too. She is fine in herself otherwise.
i first noticed it Thurs, her nursery noticed it Fri and my mum noticed it Sat. So its definitely a new thing.

i don't know if its connected but she did have mild conjunctivitis a week ago but that cleared up on its own within a couple of days.

Patching isn't used to strengthen a weak muscle, it is used to improve the sight in an eye that does not have as good sight as the other one. He seems to be confused as to how to use a patch so I would ignore that bit of advice until you have a proper diagnosis.

I mean it's not just used to strengthen eye muscles which is why you shouldn't use it without knowing what you are dealing with first e.g. Glasses may help improve a squint with no need for a patch

Sorry to put a dampener on your GP's advice but you really shouldn't patch before she has been examined. You can always chase up the referral with your GP to make sure it has been done. Most GP's will not understand very much about squints, it needs to be managed by the orthoptist and ophthalmolgist. If you take your daughter to an optometrist they can examine her but at the end of the day they will still refer her to the eye dept at the hospital. Although a squint can be a sign of a more serious underlying condition it mostly isn't. However if not treated promptly a squint can cause very reduced vision in the squinting eye as the brain will suppress the eye. If your daughter is only 15 months old you do have plenty of time to treat this but she does need to be examined as soon as possible to exclude any more serious underlying cause. Clearly there are enough posters on mumsnet that you are likely to be able to get advice from a qualified professional on most things and also support from other parents who have been through the same thing

Thanks all, maybe i wont bother with the patch for now then.
the referral has definitely been done, the appointment was made whilst I was still in his office.
funnily enough, her eye is normal again today. Is that usual?