First squint appointment for toddler

[MonkeyPuddle]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has an idea what happens at the first squint appointment? The letter is a bit vague, mentions eye drops and tests but doesn’t go into any detail. DD is 16mo so I figure it might be a bit tricky!
Thanks in advance.

They put drops in to dilate the pupils so they can see to the back of the eye, you then wait about 15 minutes for them to work before the optician checks the eyes.

They are cold and can sting a bit so you will need to hold her while the optician puts them in. I'm not going to lie, DS was fine with it (from 2 years) but DD screamed every time (from 3.5 years and a bit of a sensitive child) but was fine after it was done. Take a toy for her to hold and a treat for after they've been put in while you wait.

At that age the optician will use a hand lens to look in her eyes and take measurements. Mine both had squints to had patches but it depends on the squint and whether glasses with be prescribed.

My ds is now 7 so has been a while but at his first appointment (aged 2) they held toys up to get him to look in various directions with one eye covered (by their hand). Mainly just discussed how they would monitor and possible treatments in the future. We had to go to an optician for some tests as hospital didn't do it in house anymore. At the optician had drops to dilate eyes and then they use a light with different prisms in a dark room to measure refraction in the eyes. Ds was on my lap so could comfort and hold still when necessary. Ds was seen by the hospital every 6 months. Ds eventually had surgery at age 6, much later than planned, and has just been discharged from the eye clinic.

Ah thank you for the replies, it’s put my mind at ease. Both of her eyes intermittently look into her nose multiple times a day.
I will pack snacks and a fave toy!

Hello, my daughter is 2 now but had her first appointment just after she had turned one. The first appointment like other users have said involved drops which dilated the pupils. Expect it to be a fairly long appointment. I think we were seen by 3 different people in total doing different tests. In the end my daughter was given her prescription for glasses which we took straight to specsavers, and it was a couple of week wait before she had them. Since then we are on 6-8 week appointments. After a while they may look at patching her depending on her squint. My daughter was on 6 hours a day with a patch and after she showed improvements with her eyesight she was moved to 3 hours a day. Hope this helps 😊

You'll be seen by three people usually. The first will do fun tests for toddler, like moving a toy around the room to see if she follows, putting on some cool sunglasses with one lense to look at each eye separately, if she's old enough that she may hold up some pictures and get the little one to point to them on a card to see how far they can see.

Back into the waiting room, the next person will put drops in her eyes, usually a drop of anesthetic first, then a drop to make them dilated. This can sting, prepare dd first and tell her what they'll do, be prepared to have to hold her down.

Back to the waiting room again and then the consultant will see her. Look at her eyes with different lenses. Put on the funny hat in the dark to see the back of her eyes. Again prepare dd for this because the thing the doctor wears on their head can be strange and frightening, and again, be prepared to have to hold her down.

Our opthalmologist is wonderful though, and I'm sure yours will be too.

we went to Moorfields for her first appointment, was there nearly 4 hours. Wondered why there was so many parents with rucksacks full of snacks and toys.

Hey OP. Would you mind me asking how the appointment was and what the outcome was? My DS has similar symptoms to what you described x