3 yr old eyes crossing

[ktmummy1]

Over the last few weeks I have noticed that now and again, my 3yo daughter's eyes cross. I can't be sure which eye it is but they just go crossed and turn inwards. I first noticed it a couple of weeks ago when I was sitting opposite my dd in a bright cafe for a drink. It was the morning but my dd was washed out and tired. The other times I've noticed it have been after nursery when she's tired. I know tiredness can cause it but I have been quite alarmed as they've never done this before until recently . Any advice gratefully received

Squint surgery (strabismus surgery) is still very common - our son had it at 1.5. We patched too for a while prior to surgery.

Hi, my son developed a squint and it took me a while to spot because it just made him look really, really tired. Reading your op, I just wondered if your dd's squint is making her look more tired than usual?

Ds' eyelid also started to droop before he got his glasses and the Ophthalmologist told us that's because he was struggling to use that eye so all the muscles around it were getting more tired too.

However, don't be afraid to take DD back to the gp if you feel she needs other tests to investigate her tiredness.

My dd had a squint and got glasses at 18 months old as she was long sighted. She had a lazy left eye (the sight was poorer in that eye) and had patching treatment to improve the sight in that eye. She had squint surgery age 4 as her squint was still noticeable even when she had her glasses on. She still wears glasses now and is 12.

I think it's the fact that the crossed eyes have only appeared very recently and out of the blue that have worried me plus:

A) she is always tired (but maybe this is normal for 3 yr 2m olds who go to nursery 3 days a week and refuse a nap?
B) her behaviour has become challenging -screaming if I switch TV off, dropping toys on purpose, demanding my attention, hitting me, pulling her baby brothers hair etc etc. flying off the handle for minor things, being awkward eg suddenly refusing to go out the house when we are all ready etc
C) being small for her age eg 13 kg at 3 yrs 2 m
D) complaining her eyes hurt
E) looking v pale/washed out constantly
F)getting severe cases of normally non-serious child illnesses eg severe pock marks after v severe chicken pox; bronchitis every cold she has

Am I being over anxious?

Her squint is alarming and is definitely a new thing and I may as well be honest, my main worry is a brain tumour but this probably sounds ridiculous, I am terrified of this though.

I thought dd's had come on suddenly but from looking at earlier photos it was present much earlier than I had first noticed.

www.headsmart.org.uk/admin/uploads/symptoms-card-final-v4_-printready.pdf

If you're worried - go to an ophthalmologist. If things don't seem right to you then keep pushing until you have answers. If she's unhappy you want to get to the bottom of it if it's something serious or even if it's not - there's no point in her suffering.

Spec savers seen my son at 6 months and are checking him again now he over 1

Ring round all your local opticians someone should see her

We have been referred to an opthalologist/optometrist in the hospital, unfortunately there is a long wait. I'm going to go to opticians today and hope someone can fit her in.

Do you have insurance? Or even if you don't...if you're really concerned make a private appt direct with an ophthal.

kt , Try not to worry, most squints in children are not caused by anything serious. Your daughter may well be longsighted(hypermetropic) which means she is having to focus more than normal. Squints can often start at around this age and can come on quite suddenly, they tend to be noticed more when children are tired or concentrating on something up close. Your daughter should be referred to your local eye hospital to see an orthoptist (I'm one) and will need to be examined with eye drops to dilate her pupils which allows them to check if she needs glasses and get a good look at the back of the eye. Squints caused by something nasty do happen but are rare, hope things get sorted soon

Try not to worry too much, it's more likely to be a vision problem than anything more serious. Did you manage to see an optician today? The wait for the hospital can be quite long but pester the GP/HV or optician and they may be able to get you a quicker appointment.

We too have a family history of squints, DD2's started when she was almost 4 in one eye only. DS2 started just before he turned 2 and in both eyes when he was tired and trying to focus on something. Despite his squints developing quickly and in both eyes he could actually see distance and close up without problems which I couldn't understand. They are both long sighted yet he could point to pictures in a book without difficulty and never bumped into things.

We get all our glasses from Specsavers so I know they do treat very young children but will also refer for hospital treatment.

Thanks so much for all the reassurance. Managed to see an optician yesterday. He had a good look at her and did a naming pictures assessment of sight (instead of letters) she did pretty well with this. He also used a torch to look in to her eyes, he said her optic discs and back of her eyes looked normal. He didn't dilate her pupils with the drops as she would have this done at her hospital appointment. It was reassuring anyway and I feel much better about it! Thanks all for your input x

I'm so pleased the optician was helpful and you're feeling reassured. I hope that your hospital referral comes through quickly.