Squint in 5 month old baby

[Chewiecat]

Hi

My DS is 5 months old now and still has a squint.. we are getting referred to the ophthalmology department now.

Would like to hear of anyone's experience re squint? I have posted a pix of his eyes for reference

Tia x

Hi there
He looks a cutie!
We have a history in my family. DD had noticable squint at 12 months and was referred, they realised she is also very long-sighted so she's been wearing glasses since she was 15 months. Have you been told what to expect when you go to the appointment?

Thank you!!

No idea what to expect.. we still haven't got an appointment any advice on what they do in the appointment?

I'm worried and a bit sad about the whole thing, even though I know it's treatable!

Hope your DD is doing better x

Hello. We went to Moorfields with a suspected baby squint. There was a bit of funny glasses wearing and showing him pictures. They are fab at whizzing through because they know babies will lose their shit.

Are you sure that's a squint? Do the pupils ever go in different directions? Could just be wide nose bridge? I think that's what gave mine the look of a squint, as well as quite hooded eye lids.

Outputgap thanks for the info, we are going to moorfields on Friday too. That's good to know, I guess they are so used to it

Not sure if it's a real squint.. the hv has referred us as she thought it would be safer to check. His eyes always follow or track in the same direction.. so hopefully it may not be a real squint x

I can't see the picture, but my DS1 had an intermittent squint at around that age but they thought it was because he had a very flat bridge to his nose and very long eyelashes and they thought he was looking at them. Anyway it sorted itself as his face matured. They told us at the GPs that unless you have a family history, it was unlikely to be a true squint - no idea if that's true or not.

Good luck with it, I am sure it will be easily resolved.

Sounds a good sign that his eyes are working together and following the same direction. They'll ask you about that when you go. Moorfields is definitely the best place to be seen imo!
We saw 3 separate people when we were there. The first checked the focus and movement of eyes, shining a light and holding up little things for dd to look at and follow. DD also needed eye drops to dilate the pupils before having an eye test (of sorts) where prisms were held up to the eyes and a light shone (I think this was probably related to the long sightedness though not the squint) and we also had to see the consultant, just for good measure!
Try not to worry, with any luck they'll find nothing. If you're going to City Road, the department is really nice and welcoming, with toys and colouring in and books and stuff. The staff I've met have all been really friendly and happy to answer any questions, explain exactly what they need to do and why.
Hope it all goes well x

Have just realised he's only tiny, probably too small for the toys and colouring in For you, there's a cafe downstairs and baby changing facilities!!

My DD was referred at her 12 month check, I'm surprised they are doing it earlier as they often outgrow an apparent squint but maybe they thought it best to get the ball rolling.
Anyway, my DD had a bilateral squint, both eyes would move in and up and her pupils were often at different levels. She had surgery on both eyes at age 2 - awful for us as parents but a breeze for her. It corrected the squint about 80% I'd say. She still has a residual squint in one eye, wears glasses and uses an eye patch and is being referred again for another op (she's now 7).
I'm so glad we had the op done young, as although she needs a small correction now, it's tiny in comparison to what was done initially and she doesn't remember a thing about it.
We have no family history of squints.

Thank you all for sharing. Hoping it will all be fine and he will grow out of it. Will keep you all posted after our appointment on Friday x

Your picture doesn't show a squint, a squint (strabismus) is when one eye is pointing inwards/outwards and the other isn't. Your baby is just converging in your photo above which is what happens normally when they look at something close to them.

They may well be squinting under other circumstances, but in case any other posters are worried, your photo isn't showing a squinting child.

DS was referred to an ophthalmologist at around 7/8 months for what appeared to be a squint. It turned out to be a pseudo squint, which is not uncommon among babies with almond shaped eyes. The pupils were aligned but the shape of the eyes made it look like one pupil was tucked into the inner corner of the eye more when looking ahead (if that makes sense). By the time DS was 1 the appearance of having a faint squint disappeared.

How did it go Chewiecat?

Hi!

Just to post an update, it went well! Turns out he has what machine has described above. So the bridge of his nose is very wide and so covered his eyes, giving the appearance of a squint. They were happy with his eyesight, apparently he is a bit long sighted but it's normal for babies his age. He should grow out of it.

Everyone was fab there, they really knew how to get a babies attention!

Just so relieved!! Thank you everyone for the support xx

Good news Chewie