Worried about 7 year old eye test results

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Hi all
Hoping there are may be some knowledgeable parents or optometrists on here who can give some advice around my daughter’s eye test results please?
I took my 7 year old daughter for an eye test today after it was suggested by an option who treated her for an eye infection a week ago. I’ve been told she is farsighted and one eye is weaker than the other (think they called it astigmatism?) and they have referred her to the hospital but said that as she is already 7 there isn’t really much that can be done to treat it and that she may be unable to drive in the future.

I’m feeling incredibly upset and guilty as she’s never displayed any signs of poor eyesight but as her mother surely I should have noticed and am now beating myself up that she will have significantly impaired vision for the rest of her life!

I don’t really understand her prescription either so hoping someone could help me to understand it a bit better?
SPH CYL AXIS Near - ADD Inter - ADD BVD
R+4.00 -1.00 180
L +3.00

Thanks so much in advance for any replies

Sorry OP can't offer much help but wanted to say don't beat yourself up about not realising. We just found out my son has hearing problems (found at school on routine check up) and I'd never noticed. If she can't drive when she's older it doesn't have to be a big problem, I'm 40 and have never learnt to drive and have no intentions of doing so.

Astigmatism is when one or both eyes are shaped more like a rugby ball than a football.

I'm not sure why they are sending her to the hospital, have they prescribed any glasses for her?

Also things have developed rapidly since I was a child.

Contact lenses you sleep in so you don't need them in the day.
Light weigh glasses.
Laser eye surgery.
Permanent contact lenses.

So I wouldn't worry about her driving. In ten years we might be in self driving cars.

I have a similar prescription. It was discovered when I was 6. I did go to the hospital to get it checked at the time. I wear glasses but also drive - have had my (clean) licence for over 30 years. My vision with glasses is excellent. I do have difficulty with stereo vision but this only impacts really on some elements - I'm never going to be a great rock climber... I don't know of the stereo vision is linked to the astigmatism or not. I don't believe so.

As a previous poster said, there are lots of newer treatments that may be an option.

Please don't beat yourself up. My prescription was missed by ophthalmologists as a toddler. (They'd seen me for something else.)

We only found out when my DD was 5, and likewise it was a huge shock as there had been no signs whatsoever, none of my family or school could believe how strong the prescription was, and I felt absolutely devastated for her as we would have taken her much younger had we any idea.

It was picked up in a routine school test. I immediately took her to an optician where they told me she had +6 type prescriptions (I was horrified). There was no mention of not being able to drive.

Thankfully, as part of the school check a referral was also made at hospital, where they found the first prescription to be wrong and was in fact around +3.

The hospital are great at explaining things and will do a thorough check, and again haven't said anything about not being able to drive. Your DD could see improvements when wearing glasses as I'm sure eyes continue to change and grow whilst they are young. On a recent hospital check up, one eye is now +2.5 and we're signed off to a normal optician - not the same as before!

My main advice would be to pay for glasses thinning. It's around £40 on top, but it will make the glasses much lighter on their nose and not cause little dents - wait for the hospital prescription first though. Its 100% worth the money for their size lenses.

Thank you so much for your kind replies, it’s really helping to put my mind at ease.
I think the optician maybe hasn’t explained things in the best way.
I worry more for her as she’s already under ENT for chronic ear infections, has quite severe asthma and now this on top of it all; she really has been dealt a crap hand in comparison to her older sister 😞

Can anyone explain a bit more about what may happen at the hospital? The optician seemed to indicate that getting her seen was time sensitive due to her age and that her eyes had a better chance of improving if she could be seen before turning 8 but that it was still quite late to begin treatment. Would going private be an option?

Yes, they have prescribed her glasses which we pick up next week.
She’s quite excited as she’s going to have one Frozen pair and one pink Rupunzel pair!
I think they’re referring her to hospital as they may want to try patching? I think that’s what was mentioned, but again it was quite a shock to hear her eyesight is so poor, so I may not recall everything clearly.

My daughter had a similar thing. Delayed due to covid. She had to wear a patch 3 hrs a day for less than a year. It made a big difference. Although of course still needs to wear glasses.

At the hospital they were so kind. They do the normal eye test but then they have books or letter/ shapes which they use whilst each eye has a cover over it. Stuck to her glasses.

My daughter wasn't phased by it.

It has all helped immensely. Hope your daughter gets on well

Thanks so much for your answer. Would you mind me asking how old your daughter was when they began patching her eye?

The optician has led me to believe that it probably won’t be effective for my daughter due to her being older than 7, which is another reason I feel so awful, as if we’d caught it sooner she may have had more success in ‘correcting’ her poorer eye.

I think she was around 7. They do say that patching should be done earlier. But we had a pandemic in-between her school check.

The patching really helped. They choose their patch. Lots of funky colours. I was a bit shocked when they said she'd need a patch but the outcome was good. It made her weaker eye more balanced with the stronger one.

My Dd was about the same age as yours when we noticed a slightly lazy eye. She was also far sighted and had a prescription for 3.75.

They referred her to the hospital but they didn’t patch her.

The teen years hit and she refused to wear her glasses. She swore her eyes were better and lo and behold, her prescription is now 2.25 and she can just wear reading glasses, if she wants to. And she doesn’t have a lazy eye either!

Your dd is long sighted in both eyes (that's the +4 and +3). she also has an astigmatism in one eye (that's the -1.00 180 figures. -1.00 is the size of the astigmatism and its at 180 degrees on the axis)

It sounds like 1 eye has poorer sight too and that's what patching would be for; it forces the eye with poorer sight to work harder so the brain doesn't switch off signals from that eye.

Has your dd never had an eye test before? Did she not have a screening test around schools starting age?

My dd got glasses for long sight at 18 months old and had patching treatment around the age of 3/4) as she also had poorer sight in her left eye. She also had a squint which is how we picked up her sight issues.

She was dealt with by the hospital orthoptist until around the age of 8 at which point she was discharged to a high street optician

Thank you, that’s very reassuring. My daughter is also 7.

The pandemic meant she missed her eye check in Reception and then because she’s never displayed signs of poor eyesight, we didn’t get an eye test as we didn’t realise. Hence all my feelings of guilt, as I feel I should have noticed and if her eyesight remains poor as a consequence, I’m not sure I could forgive myself 😞

Im happy it’s worked out well for your daughter 😊

Due to Covid she didn’t have a screening test at school as she missed most of Nursery and Reception due to lockdown.

I haven’t had her tested previously as she’s never displayed any signs of poor vision, which is why I’m now feeling so terrible as I feel I’ve allowed this to progress and worsen when it could have been treated more successfully at a younger age.

I've just looked up when she had the patch. It was 3 months b4 her 7th birthday. My daughter had her school eye check then the world stopped so she didn't get glasses until months and months later. The hospital were really quick at getting everything turned around.

Really hope it works for your daughter too.

Do you mean she had a squint? A squint isn't the same as a lazy eye. Lazy eye is when one eye doesn't see as clearly as the other. Patching can help the eye improve the sight levels as it forces the other eye to work properly. There is a time limit on when patching can be effective though

Meant to add please don't beat yourself up about it.

She is having treatment now. 💐

Hopefully you've caught it in time. My kids had annual eye tests which have now gone to every 2 years now they are older. Ds had his first eye test around age 3/4 I think after our experience with dds eye issues.

DS's optician also referred him to Ophthalmology when her was younger, and mentioned the possibility of patching etc. I remember feeling so guilty that it wasn't picked up earlier. In the end, he was prescribed glasses, and the ophthalmologist mentioned that there was a small possibility that he might grow out of needing them later. And now, a good few years later, he has!

I remember how stressful the whole things was, and how guilty I felt. Lots of luck OP, and try to remember that patching etc. wouldn't be the end of the world - you'd all be able to adjust and get on with things.

I have astigmatism and I drive. As long as her vision is sufficiently corrected in glasses, I can't see why she wouldn't. Pun not intended. 😆

Patching can do wonders. I patched one eye as I had a small injury to it for 4 days and next eye test, the vision in the other eye had improved slightly and that was in my 20s.

Thank you again for all your thoughtful replies, they’ve really helped me to gain some perspective.

She gets her glasses next Saturday, so I’m hoping we’ll see quite rapid improvements. I’ll come back to update how she gets on. 💐

My daughter is very long sighted! 6+ in both eyes. She also patched for a year when younger to help a lazy eye. So she is probably classed as a severe case but has never been told she’ll not be able to drive and in fact this year was offered contact lenses! (Which she declined).

OP, did the optician tell you or record what her vision was? Eg something like 6/12 or 6/6?
Regardless of her glasses prescription, the vision is what's important.
Vision can still improve after the age of 7 but may not improve as easily or as much as if she was younger.
HOWEVER, she's only has to have normal vision in one eye to be able to drive.
It takes 18 weeks of glasses wearing in children to get the maximum benefit from them. If the hospital don't see her until 18 weeks don't worry, they are following scientific evidence.
If you can find out what her vision test results were I can give more specific advice.

Thanks so much for the reply, there’s nothing on her card so I’ve rung the optician again and they’ve clarified further
They Haven’t given the full prescription yet as it’s very strong and they need to ease her into it, so it’s more like a +6 in both eyes.
Her visual acuity on the Right eye is 6/48 and on the left eye it was 6/30.
They’ve just repeated again that this means she’ll be unable to drive in the future, which has left me feeling awful all over again.
I’m trying to access private eye care for her but I’m so incredibly upset that I’ve allowed this to happen to her.

I was 11 when everyone realised I had double vision! I never knew you weren't meant to see 2 of things when they are close up! Anything closer than arms length I see double

I have a mild astigmatism and have zero issues driving. My partner and a friend both have a more significant astigmatism and they struggle with glare in low lights and don't like driving in the dark. They can safely drive in the dark but both prefer not to if there is another appropriate driver around. The only down side to this seems to be that I am always the designated driver when we go out! He drives there in the light and I drive home in the dark.

Hi OP, that's helpful. That vision is very reduced, I'm surprised school have never mentioned any issues to you.
She can't drive IF her vision stays at that level. HOWEVER it might improve gradually as long as she wears the glasses full time. Like I said it takes up to 18 weeks to get the full effect of glasses wear.
It's sensible to start her with a reduced prescription but due to her age I would want to get her into her full prescription ASAP to give her vision the best chance of developing.
Did they use eye drops for the glasses test?
The hospital should use eye drops and should issue the full or almost full amount. Then it's a case of waiting and monitoring. She is keen to get glasses so hopefully she will wear them full time.
Under the age of 7 there is a high chance of improvement, then the chances of improvement gradually lessen over time.
The driving standard is 6/12 so if she can improve to that she may be able to drive.
Be aware that ideally she needs a refraction by an optometrist who is experienced with refracting children. If you go privately, she may be refracted by a doctor. Ophthalmologists are qualified to refract children BUT some have a team of optometrists who usually do it in NHS hospitals so are less experienced. I would want an experienced optometrist to do it if possible. Best of luck.