Eye test

[Poll37]

Hi, my DC has a eye test in a few weeks, this is in our local hospital due to age (3)
Does anyone know how young children’s eyes are tested at hospital, how long is the wait for glasses (if needed)

Nursery along with myself have concerns for eyesight suspected shortsighted, there’s shortsighted through the family, me (mum), dad, brother, aunt so this is very possible

They use pictures for little ones who are not confident in their letters. You won't get the glasses from the hospital, you get a voucher to take to whichever optician you want.

They use pictures instead of letters, Los of wands with flashy lights to get children to follow the light. My son has regular eye appoinmtents since 9 months old, t/hey have a ray of tricks up their sleave and my sons dep is very good. (Birmingham childrens hospital.)

My son was almost given glasses and was goin to choose frames from the hospital so that my depend on the unit.

Thanks, I’ve been wondering this for a while as my sons speech isn’t well understood to strangers

DS has worn glasses since 18 months old. They used to put drops in his eyes to dilate the pupils (they sting a little) and then look in his eye with a little light. Seemingly they could tell by the way the lens flexed/focused what his actual prescription was. He was given a prescription and our local optician ordered the glasses. He had a really strong prescription so it took 10 days -2 weeks for his glasses as his lenses needed thinning. We used to be there every week getting them repaired, new pairs ordered when he was small. He used to go to the hospital every 6 months until he was discharged around 7 years old then the regular optician we had always ordered his glasses from took over.

www.hey.nhs.uk/patient-leaflet/your-childs-glasses-information-for-parents-and-guardians/

I heard about drops, but I wasn’t sure how these worked.
Some very helpful information there. Thank you

Yes, they’ll put some drops in and decide the prescription using something called a retinoscope (which is basically a tube with a light).

The drops aren't too bad @Poll37 , but they can make you a bit sensitive to light for a while afterwards so maybe worth taking a cap/sun glasses for coming home