9 yo vision getting worse / lazy eye

[user1471072151]

Hi

I'm really worried about the deterioration in the vision of my daughters 'lazy eye'. She's worn glasses since she was approx 3 and used to regularly wear a patch to correct the lazy eye. It's still quite dramatic if she takes her glasses off but is corrected when she wears them. This apparently means it can't be corrected with surgery. Her prescription has always been high, +6.25 in her lazy eye and +6 in the other. At her latest eye test the lazy eye is now +8 and I'm really worried that there's been such a dramatic leap in 12 months.

The optician was pretty useless in offering any advice, I have an appointment with her regular clinic in 3 months but to be honest they've never filled me with much confidence either. We were told we could stop eye patching a couple of years ago but I'm considering starting it again, it seems to me like the 'bad' eye is being used less and less and possibly shutting down. There's so much conflicting advice about but advice on USA websites seems to be more proactive whereas UK / NHS almost seems to be a shoulder shrug. USA sites seems to suggest that patching can help at much later ages but UK suggest 7 as the probable maximum.

Has anybody else experience this rapid worsening if vision in their child ? I'd be very grateful for any advice, I'm considering trying to get the money together to take her to a private clinic, not sure whether that would make any difference but want to do everything I can

Thanks

I am an adult with a lazy eye
I was given patches as a child but it didn't work as I was too old for it to have any effect
I never needed glasses until my mid forties and then just for reading

I have terrible vision in my lazy eye. My good eye has compensated and made it worse
I can't look through a telescope
I can't put make up on my eyes because I can't see if I close my good eye

Apart from that, it not affected me

Patching doesn't help with the squint (lazy eye is not the same as a squint btw) but helps improve vision if one eye has poorer sight than the other. That is not the same as degree of long sightedness either. If both eyes have roughly the same vision while wearing glasses then patching would be pointless

I have a lazy eye that was patched and operated on. My vision is very poor in that eye but, like the other poster, the vision in my good eye has compensated. I don't have any problems and have been wearing reading glasses with a low prescription for about two years (I'm 44). They don't bother putting a prescription for my bad eye as it makes no difference. It does seem odd that they won't straighten the eye, I might go down that route rather than the prescription but I don't know enough about it.

I had a lazy eye as a child, and was given lots of exercises to do to strengthen my poor eye - I remember something with knitting needles stuck in corks, and following with a pen when reading (Sorry, it's so long ago I can't remember the details!)

They helped enormously, to the extent that I've only just got reading glasses (mid 40s). My vision wasn't as bad as your daughter's by the sound of it, but I still think that exercises might be worth investigating.

I would suggest you visit another optician and ask their advice. My ds has a lazy eye which has massively improved with the correct glasses. His optician is fantastic, very knowledgeable and helpful. The nhs clinic we were referred to were not so good and i had little confidence in them.

If the glasses straighten the squint then they will not operate as the eyes would then not be straight with the glasses on. The operation would not affect the degree of long sight either. My Dd did have a squint operation but only because her squint was still noticeable while wearing her glasses

For info (just in case there is confusion)

Lazy eye = poorer sight in one eye
Squint = turn in the eye

They are not the same thing although one can contribute to the other.