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?

That's good that they are fitting her better, hopefully she will be so used to them soon that she knows they help her and she'll want to wear them all of the time. When she's of an age to have swimming lessons I'd recommend getting prescription goggles, they are never as accurate as glasses but really improved my daughters confidence in the water. Specsavers so them but we got them from a company called butterfly healthcare who had more range of colours!

Hi, I know this is an old thread but I was interested to know how your child was getting on? Especially keen to know given your job. My child is -4 at 5, was stable for 18 months then a jump of 1d over the summer. We use miyosmart and considering how early we can move to contacts as these seem to have more success. Was atropine mentioned for your child?
it is hard not to worry constantly … any positive advice welcomed.
many thanks

Hi @Farnhammummy1 did you do a search on me? 🤣 I don't think I mentioned on this thread that I'm an OT.

She's doing really, really well. Her prescription hasn't changed, still -12. Her binocular (both eyes together) vision is 6/12 which is good enough to do pretty much anything. Her speech delay resolved a couple of months after getting glasses and she bounds about like a normal 3yo. She still likes to look at things closely.

She'll start school next year so I'm looking into QTVI assessment and have in my mind to push for an EHCP if the school aren't on top of appropriate adaptations for her. She's bright so I don't think it'll be immediately obvious that she needs large print books for example as she'll be doing 'fine' when she could be doing 'great'.

The RNIB parents & carers FB group has been really supportive.

Re myopia control, no we're not doing anything yet. I'm not pushing it as the treatments seem really invasive and her myopias not progressing at all. I think she has something called Stickler Syndrome which has high but stable myopia so it might be wishful thinking but I'm kind of hoping we can avoid that altogether.

She failed hearing tests so has also been referred to ENT and via paeds to the geneticists..... more appointments 😔

For me this diagnosis journey is the hardest part. Dealing with her myopia day to day is fine; she loves her glasses, they are cute & comfy. It's times like going to appointments when I'd rather be taking her to the beach, or when a little boy took her glasses at nursery and accidentally broke them and she was stood alone holding the pieces in her hands till someone found her, or when I let myself think about her lifetime with such high myopia that get me angry & upset 💔

@CorpusCallosum glad your DD is getting on okay. When she does move to contacts she should get a better acuity than 6/12 - possibly 6/9. Glasses for myopia minify things.
@Farnhammummy1 i’ve fitted a 7 yos with contacts previously. Get her used to touching her eyes beforehand for a few months (with clean hands). Moving her lids apart and she can touch the white part of the eye without it hurting.
best thing you can do in the meantime is make sure she’s not sitting in front of screens for too much of her day. Spending time outside - at least 1 hour a day, also has a protective element.

Thank you both for your responses.

I feel we have been doing all the right things .. many hours outside every day, little close up work, great nutrition, a house of zero screens (the odd 20 mins of TV). I have been told the jump is most likely due to a growth spurt. My son is 5 - perhaps too young to consider contacts?

I do have one question though, if anyone can answer in a professional capacity.. he had a recent eye test and there was quite a difference between the cycloplegic autorefraction (-3) (by machine) and the manual cycloplegic refraction (-4.5) (by hand) Eyes were dilated. Is this common when measuring childrens eyes? Is there a reason one would expect such a difference. We are going have another eye test with undilated eyes…

Hi, I think I read an old post which mentioned you were a professional by the way! .. Thank you

Autorefraction is pretty inaccurate in children. Even with cycloplegia. I don’t bother doing it a lot if the time in younger children unless I want the curvature readings.

@CorpusCallosum

when I let myself think about her lifetime with such high myopia that get me angry & upset

I don’t know how relevant my experience is, but after living for many years with high myopia (around -10 for much of the time) I had lens replacement surgery in my early 50s. It wasn’t because of the myopia, I’d also developed increasing astigmatism, and my vision couldn’t be helped much any more with corrective lenses.

The replacement lenses were fixed focus, so I still need to wear varifocals - though I believe there are now focusing lenses - and having ultra-clear distance vision for the first time in my life was a revelation!

It was done privately, and was very expensive, but worth every penny. I know nothing about what’s available currently but it might be something you could look into for your DD once she’s an adult?

Thanks for this. My mum had lens replacement surgery for a cataract and her vision too is now better than it had been for years and she no longer needs glasses which has been liberating for her.

I understand laser surgery will be an option for DD when she's in her 20s and things have settled down. I do want her to go for it but won't push her. Her father is myopic but not nearly so severely, I half wonder if they'll make it a daddy-daughter trip for laser eye surgery in 20yrs 😂

@underneaththeash you surprise me about contacts giving better vision. Her dad is -4 and -6. He's tried all sorts of contacts but says he just can't get the vision as good as with glasses.