Severe myopia (-12) in 2yo

[CorpusCallosum]

We're not long back from the Ophthalmologist where my 2yo DD was diagnosed as short sighted with a prescription of -12.

DH is shortsighted and as an adult is -10 which is severe. I understand for DD it's likely to worsen as she grows.

I'm struggling to get my head around it. She has some delays but I always thought her vision was fine, turns out it could be the route of it all.

Has anyone here been through this? How did your toddler come to accept glasses? What has life been like for you?

Hi Corpus, my son (16) now has been wearing glasses since he was 1 year old. He also has an extremely high prescription of approx -24 in both eyes. He took to wearing glasses very well, he was finally able to see., he was a -7 when he got his first pair. Try to use a glasses strap for your daughter as this will help to stop her pulling them off. My son also has other disabilities as well. When is your daughter getting her glasses?

Hi @Orange32 thank you so much for replying. A good idea about the glasses strap, I'll look for one but she hates anything on her head 😩 I'm hoping that being able to see will be motivating for her to wear them.

Has your son experienced any vision loss/deterioration in his eye health along the way?

We went to the optician this morning and ordered them, we should have them in about a week.

I should add because I only realised it this morning that she is -12 in each eye so -24 altogether. DH is -6 in one and -4 in the other so -10 overall.

Hi CorpusCallosum, my son is -23 in his left eye and -24 in his right eye. The prescription is taken for each eye separately and not added together. His prescription has increased over the years but the health of his eye is still good at the moment and his glasses provide him with a reasonable amount of usable vision. Does your husband wear glasses as this may help your little one to get used to seeing someone else.

Have you had a good chat with the optician about all your options? Glasses, corrective contact lenses that stop the sight deteriorating, surgery, there will be more options than you think.

I'm very short sighted, -11 and -8. It's is a bit shit but there are worse problems. We're spending £45 a month on Mi-sight contact lenses for ds in the hope of preventing his eyesight getting any worse, but he's much older.

Don't panic, get lots of advice. I bet once she realises she can see properly she'll be happy to wear her glasses.

Does she struggle to pick things up, stack blocks, pick up a glass without knocking it over? All that sort of thing is affected by how you perceive distance and she'll be finding that really hard if she's not seeing properly.

Yeah he does wear glasses, the adding together was how he described it so I just assumed that was how it was - thank you for explaining 🙌

She tolerated the trial pair in the optician today quite well so I'm hopeful but we'll see when she has them for real next week, and then forever not just a minute or two.

So glad to hear your sons eyes are healthy 💚 the prospect of vision loss looming large in my head right now but of course until yesterday afternoon we thought she could see normally so maybe I shouldn't be worrying about something that hasn't happened yet and might not for a long time.

Did the opthmolagist explain why your daughters prescription is so high? Is it genetics or was she born prematurely? A strong prescription does not mean total vision loss at all, her prescription might only change slightly over the years. As she gets older she will be better able to tell you if she us having trouble. Did you get a backup pair for her?

Hi @Knitwit1👋

Thanks for saying hello, sounds like your prescription isn't far off hers at the mo. If you feel able I'd really like a description of what you can see? I don't have any issues and I'm struggling to understand what she 'sees'.

In many ways we never knew, she doesn't knock things over, her coordination and fine motor skills are a strength! She loves drawing and painting, she runs around fearlessly, she learned to feed herself early, points out (big) things that are far away and responded to me waving from 20ft away today - we're really struggling to square those observations with her diagnosis. I'm thinking she must just have got really good at compensating in ways we don't understand yet.

Other things make sense though. She is speech delayed, she collects things right in front of her like her paint tray being on top of her painting or getting cross if we move her cup away from the edge of the table when she's placed it v deliberately right next to her plate. She stands about 2" from the TV when it's on. Things we thought (and giggled about) as toddler quirks can actually all be explained by this.

Going back further when she was still in a high chair she used to hate it in the mornings when I'd sit her in there and give her breakfast then move around the kitchen doing jobs. Obviously I'd just restrained her and then disappeared into a sea of strange noise. I used to get so annoyed and now I feel so sad and guilty 😢

I note you mention she has some other delays and her vision could most certainly be contributing to these delays. You may see some big improvements with this when she is wearing her glasses. Good luck with it and hopefully she takes to them quickly as she will feel a lot better with them.

I’ve been a -9.5 for the last 7 years. At my last appointment they reduced my px to -9. I was so shocked, I’ve never had that happen in the 32 years I’ve worn glasses.

Have they said anything about the weight? I have triple thinned lenses and they’re still heavy on my ears. Can they thin more for kids? I’m just thinking of all that weight on little ears.

It will make such a difference to her to be able to see, would you be able to update us on how she gets on?

Dont feel guilty, you did not realise and small kids are extremely good at adapting to poor vision and finding their own way to do stuff, while parents are none the wiser. The important thing is that you are now aware of this and being proactive about it for your daughter.

He didn't say why it was so strong. He said the retina looked healthy which is obv good. Apart from DHs myopia there's only a little history on my side. My mum needed glasses in her 30s my uncle from being a teen - both also shortsighted but not to this extent. My dad was an anonymous donor so could have issues - we just don't know. He would have been screened for vision but problems developed as an adult (like my mum has) may not have been apparent at the time of his donation.

DD was full term, totally normal pregnancy. Long birth but nothing that would (I'd have thought?!) caused problems with eye development.

Because she is generally slightly delayed (like 6 months behind in communication/social dev milestones) she's seeing audiology and SLT too. We'll see if anything else comes up that indicates a cause.

So many cross posts 😖

Hi @Marmite27 👋 we paid extra for her to have the thinnest lenses they can do. I too am worried about the weight. DH has permanent indents on his nose from his glasses which can be painful 😢 we didn't get a second pair as we wanted to see how she gets on with these before spending lots.

It's super superficial & awful & guilt inducing again but I am sad she has to wear them, her little face is so perfect. And this from someone who has always kind of wished they needed glasses as they look so cool - like I kind of fell for DH a bit because I love his glasses!! 🙈 It will be life changing for her when she can see though so I'm holding on to that and I won't care about it at all when I see she's happy.

Also thank you @Orange32 your insights really have helped me feel better 💚

DH happens to be with DD at PILs for a bit so I'm going to go and pour myself a big wine and let myself feel how I feel about it all 🥲

My son uses a nose bridge for his glasses, and still does today, instead of the nose pads that come with them. These help to distribute the weight better. Did you get the hi-index plastic lenses thinned down? Are you based in UK?

She will probably take to the glasses quite well. I think (generally speaking) the more that the glasses make a difference, the more likely they are to happily wear them as it’s a very positive experience!

@Orange32 so I don't exactly know - you are teaching me the right questions to ask! Yes UK based - England if it makes a difference. Conversation went like this:

Me: can you show me an example of how thick the lenses will be?
Optician: No, but they'll come to about here you can get them made thinner but it costs a bit more.
DH: Yes we'll do that (this is what he has too)

So I'm not sure what exactly we've bought, I'm so clueless 😖 the frame we've got does have a nose bridge though so I'm really pleased that helps! They also hook right round the ear which I think will help stop them accidentally coming off 🤞 the metal frame won't disguise the thickness at all but I don't think DD will mind 😆

@ForkedIt that is what I'm hoping will be the case!

Have you seen some of those videos on youtube of babies and toddlers getting their first glasses? Some of them are incredible - the look on the children's faces as they can really see their Mum for the first time, or all the things around them! That might make you feel better about her having them, thinking about how wonderful her world will be now too.

It might also help her speech, as she will be able to see people's lips move, and that helps her copy, and even just things like seeing who is speaking and what they might be pointing at etc will help her comprehension. Obviously none of it is necessary, as children without vision learn to speak, but when you've not known she wasn't seeing well, you wouldn't have made any adaptations for her yet.

My glasses also are quite thick, but not that bad (I think -9.5 or something, with the astigmatism). And having them thinned really helps make them lighter.

My DD has the opposite problem, her prescription is a strong +8 however she started wearing glasses at two and I had lots of similar worries to you but she just took to them straight away.. I think because even as a toddler she could tell they made a difference so she just kept them on. Hopefully your little one will be the same

CorpusCallosum, if possible go with plastic frames in future as these help to hide the thickness of the lenses and always best to pay to get the thinnest lenses you can as they will be lighter for her face and less chance of her removing /throwing them.
Another point is we had to request is for the sides of the lenses to be frosted and not left clear as the clear side, in a stronger prescription, can allow the sunlight in and cause rings to be visible at the side of the lenses which can cause distortion for the wearer.
Most of the larger eye stores do the 2 for 1 on kids glasses so you could get the 2nd pair that way. You may have a few visits back to the optician at first to get the fit right.
If you have any other queries dont hesitate to ask.

I don’t know if you can see it ok, these are photos of my -9.5 triple thinned, they’re still rather thick.

I agree with plastic frames ‘hiding’ the lens a bit more, but they make my eczema flare up on my face.

Thank you so much @Orange32 big virtual hugs (if hugging is your thing 😆) to you and your son for helping us.

They just didn't have plastic frames that were small enough for her face. Next time maybe. We went to the first optician that could fit her in so we might try a specsavers/boots next time & try to be a bit more savvy. I think DH, having lived through this himself, thinks he knows all there is to know and doesn't ask for details but this is all new to me and I don't understand at all.

@Marmite27 they don't look too bad to me! 🤩Thank you so much for sharing!!

I'll post a pic of DDs glasses when they come through 💚

@VanillaFlat I've been crying happy tears at some videos, they're amazing and I'll have the camera out for DD 😍

@Shieldingending ahh hugs for you going through it too, so great to hear she took to them straight away ❤️ must have been incredible for her being able to see her mumma clearly and close for the first time, happy-sad-magical moment. Do you remember how that was?