Astigmatism and understanding prescription help please

[Cindyindy]

Hi there littlest dd(4) had the opticians today and by sound of it has pretty bad astigmatism , dh done the appointment and never really asked any questions 🙄.
Hoping someone can help me understand this , is she short sighted /long sighted or is it just astigmatism that’s the issue ? And how bad is the astigmatism ?

Right eye has astigmatism of +4.5
Left eye is slightly long sighted at +0.5 with an astigmatism of +4.0

I'm not an optician though

From that prescription, I’m sorry to say, she really does have quite bad astigmatism. Astigmatism above 3.00 is usually referred to as “extreme” astigmatism and is right at the top of the scale. Was she complaining that everything was blurry? I have astigmatism at that level and it’s hard to function without my glasses.

@JeannieTheZebra

From that prescription, I’m sorry to say, she really does have quite bad astigmatism. Astigmatism above 3.00 is usually referred to as “extreme” astigmatism and is right at the top of the scale. Was she complaining that everything was blurry? I have astigmatism at that level and it’s hard to function without my glasses.

😭 she hasn't complained at all about her sight and we/nursery have never had any concerns with it , the reason for the eye test was she was complaining about not being able to blink which obviously made us think something was up . I feel really guilty I didn't notice sooner .

She was maybe wanting to blink to make her vision clearer. They are good at compensating for bad sight and that's why they should get their eyes tested regularly

Hmmm I think with the “blinking” thing and that level of astigmatism without the corresponding distance prescription (she’s only very slightly longsighted in one eye) I’d be asking for a referral to the eye clinic. Not to worry you too much or anything, but it is a very high level of astigmatism for such a young child and the script does look a little odd (for comparison, I have a similar level of astigmatism but I’m also -10 shortsighted whereas her longsightedness is only 0.5; high levels of astigmatism and high distance prescriptions usually go together). It’s probably just the way she is, but I’d still want a doctor to have a look-even if it’s just to make sure that the script is right. Getting an accurate reading from little children is notoriously difficult. Did they use eye drops or rely on her reporting what she could see?

Did the optician say she'd be referred to a hospital orthoptist? My dd got glasses at 18 months and was under hospital care until she was around age 7 or 8. It was only then she was dealt with by a high street optician.

@dementedpixie

She was maybe wanting to blink to make her vision clearer. They are good at compensating for bad sight and that's why they should get their eyes tested regularly

Definitely agree the blinking thing did strike me as odd , I wish we had took her sooner but I stupidly was waiting as I know her nursery to one for the kids due too start school and until recently she had never had any complaints .

@JeannieTheZebra

Hmmm I think with the “blinking” thing and that level of astigmatism without the corresponding distance prescription (she’s only very slightly longsighted in one eye) I’d be asking for a referral to the eye clinic. Not to worry you too much or anything, but it is a very high level of astigmatism for such a young child and the script does look a little odd (for comparison, I have a similar level of astigmatism but I’m also -10 shortsighted whereas her longsightedness is only 0.5; high levels of astigmatism and high distance prescriptions usually go together). It’s probably just the way she is, but I’d still want a doctor to have a look-even if it’s just to make sure that the script is right. Getting an accurate reading from little children is notoriously difficult. Did they use eye drops or rely on her reporting what she could see?

They used eye drops and they said to go back in 6 weeks and mentioned a referral to eye hospital I wasn't at the appointment so not sure of ins and outs i will need to call them to clarify. I'm surprised how bad it is she honestly hasn't shown any signs , from what I've read online it must be very hard for her to see 😭

@dementedpixie

Did the optician say she'd be referred to a hospital orthoptist? My dd got glasses at 18 months and was under hospital care until she was around age 7 or 8. It was only then she was dealt with by a high street optician.

Yeah the optician said about doing a referral at next appointment I'm 6 weeks time .

Please do not panic. Lots of children have plus readings. My son is +4.5 and +2.5 and he has a lazy eye and a micro squint. Plus readings can get less as the child gets older. Your child will get glasses and have a test yearly and will get on with life, just like I have with my eye issues, lazy eye, squint, etc. My son is perfectly able and gifted academically he just has challenges around his eyes, but he is happy and healthy. Xx

That's good she's getting referred as they will be best placed to help her.
She won't know any different as that will be her normal.
At least you've picked it up early and she can get glasses to help

@Lactuwoes

Please do not panic. Lots of children have plus readings. My son is +4.5 and +2.5 and he has a lazy eye and a micro squint. Plus readings can get less as the child gets older. Your child will get glasses and have a test yearly and will get on with life, just like I have with my eye issues, lazy eye, squint, etc. My son is perfectly able and gifted academically he just has challenges around his eyes, but he is happy and healthy. Xx

Thank you 🙏 I know she will be fine I wear contact lenses myself and have terrible eye sight ( short sighted) I just feel overwhelmingly guilty for not having noticed sooner . Suppose better late than never she choose glasses today and went for pink ones 😂 she is very excited to get them x

@Lactuwoes

Please do not panic. Lots of children have plus readings. My son is +4.5 and +2.5 and he has a lazy eye and a micro squint. Plus readings can get less as the child gets older. Your child will get glasses and have a test yearly and will get on with life, just like I have with my eye issues, lazy eye, squint, etc. My son is perfectly able and gifted academically he just has challenges around his eyes, but he is happy and healthy. Xx

OPs + readings are different to your child's + readings as your child is long sighted whereas OPs child has a rugby shaped cornea which is distorting her vision (astigmatism)

@dementedpixie. Yes, my son has high astigmatism readings too. Especially in the 4.5 eye.

@dementedpixie

That's good she's getting referred as they will be best placed to help her. She won't know any different as that will be her normal. At least you've picked it up early and she can get glasses to help

Yeah I'm glad at-least she will get help with it now , feel guilty for not realising sooner 😬. Very glad it's been realised before she starts school in august , she's very excited about the glasses let's hope the novelty doesn't wear off too quickly 😂

My dd is long sighted and still wear glasses now at age 17 after first getting them at 18 months old. She doesn't look right without them now

Yes, they've done all the right things, they'll see how her vision progresses and she's young enough to have really good vision with her glasses - don't worry OP .

Please don’t feel bad at not noticing sooner- why would you? She’s only known this way of seeing, it’s not as if she could see clearly one day and the next it changed. Her sight has always been her normal, she will not have known any different.