Really worried, dd 12 is complaining of intermittant double vision

[Kaylasmum49]

Hi, my 12 yo dd told me the other day that she is having the occasional episode of double vision. I should explain that I have health anxiety which has been under control mostly but this has sent me into a downward spiral of fear and obsessive googling.

She says it happens maybe once a week or so and lasts for a few minutes. She told me when it happened yesterday at school she closed one eye and it was'nt really noticeable with the other eye, she also said that it's only on certain objects, she can look around and not notice it on other things.

Her dad has a squint that he had since early childhood, she had that checked out when she was little and there was no evidence of one. I certainly don't notice one when looking at her, can a squint suddenly occur at this age? I'm focussing on a brain tumour and I'm driving myself to the brink of insanity.

My eldest dd has taken her for an eye test so I'm anxiously waiting to hear from her.

Can anyone help to calm me down, please. Please don't tell me any scary stuff

Anyone???

It is very very unlikely she has a brain tumour. Most likely thst she needs glasses. You've done right in getting her an eye test, have you heard how it went?

Hi she had her eyes checked thoroughly and the optician said her eyes are perfect, nothing for concern. She said it could be down to tiredness. For just now I'm going to monitor it and if it worsens or continues I'll take her to the gp. Trying to keep my anxiety in check but it's an uphill battle

I had this and it turns out that my eyes don't converge properly, particulary when they get tired. Could it be this? It's possible to have very good vision generally with this. This is something that isn't generally tested for by opticians in this country. Has she been suffering with achey eyes or headaches?

She doesn't seem to be bothered with achy eyes and she did have a spell with headaches which is'nt an issue atm. She has anxiety issues and I feel she doesn't get enough sleep so this could be the cause I suppose.

You don't want an optician, you need a specialist eye hospital. Go to the GP and get her referred. Dd2's bf had this, and she was referred down to Great Ormond St, despite having several closer that have eye hospitals they felt she needed that level of specialism.
She has glasses and is fine.

Start with a referral to your local Orthoptic clinic. Orthoptics means straight eyes and they specialise in things like double vision !

I had this as a teen- my eyes kind of lost focus and blurred when I was tired or very bored at school.Best get her checked out, but honestly, it sounds EXACTLY like what I used to get.

Ds1 had double vision aged 14 as pointed out by optician.
He was checked out by eye hospital, had an MRI to rule out brain tumour (as squints in teens is rare, but rumours are far rarer).
Had an operation to correct his squint and is fine now.
So it is possible to develop at a late stage.

Weirdly, I was going to post something about my 8 year old boy who gets double vision every morning for about 5 minutes. He says it happens sometimes at school when he looks at the smart board or his teacher speaks to him close up.

Got his eyes tested at the optician about 6 months ago. He couldn't find anything, but, said that it sometimes happens with viral illnesses.

It's not gone away though - so, I was thinking that perhaps I should get him looked at again.

Why would they need a specialist, Wtch?

An optician is more than capable of assessing for double vision. You don't need a specialist eye hospital or orthotic appt at this stage. Your GP would probably want a referral from an optician anyway. So relax, see how things go. If it gets worse, go back to the optician.

Ifgrandma - you said that your eyes didn't converge properly, but would that not show up on an eye test? Her test came back fine.

Stealtheating- did the optician not recommend seeing your gp? Does your ds see it on everything that he looks at or is it just some things? My dd says that she doesn't see it on everything, only on certain things and only on parts of an object as opposed to the whole thing and only if she moved in certain ways.

Unfortunately I have been googling and its causing extreme anxiety in me. If you go back to the opticians let me know what they say please

Still worrying and panicking here. Anyone else's dc had this happen

No, optician said there was nothing to find. That if it came back to take him back whilst he was seeing double, but, it's fairly transient - seems to settle within five minutes of wakening.

Having said that, it's worse if he's got a virus. will come and go, but, unpredictable.

TBH, he's a third kid, so, you know, I'm a bit lax. He's healthy and has no other symptoms of anything worrying - balance is fine, no tripping, no headaches, no slurring - nothing at all has developed, so I took the optician's "probably viral" at face value.

I will go and get him seen again, though. it should be followed up.

I wouldn't panic, though - I know it's hard not to if you've been on google. Some scary stuff out there.

Turn the computer off, see your GP and mention that her double vision is making your anxiety worse - there might be something they can do to manage that for you.

You'll wear yourself out fretting. been there, done that, hurrah for citilopram

xx

Thanks for replying, I called the opticians today as I did'by take my dd for the check up because my anxiety was too high and I didn't want my dd to pick up on it. I spoke to an assistant who had a look at the results of her eye test and she said all was fine, perfect eyesight, nothing worrying to be seen and the nerves are working fine in the eyes.

My dd is my 4th child, I was much more laid back with my first three, I think because there was no internet back then. She has had an ear infection and flu in the last few weeks so don't know if that could have something to do with it or not, she's a bit vague about how long it's been happening for so it's difficult to tell if it is because of being unwell. I was thinking maybe hormonal as she's nearing puberty.

Can you let me know how you get on when you get your ds checked please. Would greatly appreciate it x

I filmed him this morning. When it happens his left eye turns right in. If he looks away, or at something else, or changes focal length, it corrects itself. Happened half a dozen times in about half an hour - now gone (mid morning).

The squint was really obvious.

I'll take the video in to the optician and see what he thinks.

How is your anxiety doing? Sounds like it's really interfering with your day to day stuff. It's a horrible thing, I had it after some family illness but am Much Better on the drugs. Never coming off them, that's for sure.

Kaylas, is the double vision horizontal (side by side) or are the images on top of each other?

Stealth - I wonder why your opticians did'nt pick up the squint before. At least you've managed to film it.

This is affecting me quite badly but I'm trying really hard to keep it together. I've been on citalopram for almost 12 years now.

Bayworld- she sees it on top and to the side of objects, but not on every object she looks at. It's not happened over the last 2 days. Why do you ask? Your question has induced even higher anxiety in me now.

My 12 year old DS gets this and has recently been diagnosed with Convergence Insufficiency by a behavioural optometrist (as mentioned above). Basically his eyes naturally turn outwards when focusing on something close to him so he needs to make a concerted effort to focus and get rid of the double vision, so worse when tired. Apparently some opticians miss this.

she will either have double vision or not....it's not possible to have it on some objects and not others. It may be intermittent and she is explaining it badly, but if there are issues they would be over the whole of her vision.

any optometrist will have checked her muscle balance/ stereoscopic vision during a standard eye exam and referred to a eye clinic via the GP if necessary. Some may prescribe specs, or describe eye exercises to do. If you feel she is struggling with new symptoms then you can book her back in for a eye check.

if she has been ill recently it could be a simple post viral thing, it's extremely unlikely to be anything serious.

Kaylas, sorry I caused you extra stress, I didn't mean to do that. I was just trying to find out more about when the double vision occurs. It does sound like everything is ok and any optometrist should be able to know the difference between double vision that is and isn't serious. If you are still worried then there is absolutely no harm in getting a second opinion.
Any optometrist should also be able to work out whether it is convergence insufficiency or now. You don't need a referral for that.

Dear Kaylas,
Double vision is common and in the absence of any other symptoms is rarely serious. Just on its own double vision doesn't imply brain tumour. I agree with the earlier advice; if symptoms continue get a second optician opinion or see your GP for a thorough examination. Your GP hopefully will then be able to advice whether an eye specialist opinion is required or not.
Rashad

www.manchesterpaediatrician.com

Thanks for all the replies, I just wish I was'nt so pathetic. I thought I had my health anxiety under control but obviously not! I tend to catastrophise which really scares me.

I would have thought the optician would have spotted it if it was convergence insufficiency during the test. She did ask my dd if itwas horizontal or vertical and my dd told her it was both . My dd told her it's not on everything, it is'nt always close up it can be as far as 3 feet away. I'm going to take her to another opticians

Hi Kaylas
You're certainly not pathetic! There's absolutely nothing wrong with having an anxiety issue and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Convergence insufficiency can cause issues as far away as 3 feet. In fact, we are seeing more convergence insufficiency these days than ever before. Perhaps this is as a result of the digital age, though the mechanism behind this is not fully understood. How much time does your child spend on tablets/smartphones?
I think it's a good idea to get a second opinion. I'm not suggesting the initial optician is wrong but I think this will give you peace of mind.

Bayworld - thanks for taking the time to explain things to me. I'm assuming you're an optician? I have found reassurance in your words but I'm still in high anxiety every day.

The convergence insufficiency, you say that a lot more people have this, is it something that suddenly comes on? Is it more in children than in adults? Would the optician not have noticed that during the eye test? Sorry for all the questions.

My dd does spend a considerable amount of time on her phone/tablet. Probably approx 2 hours per evening during the week and around 4 hours or more each day at the weekends.

I am going to take her to another opticians on Saturday, it was specsavers she went to recently, I'm thinking maybe boots would be better?