Can anyone put my worried mind at ease? What are these dark spots in my toddler’s eye?

[Danani]

Okay, some backstory: I have a degree of health anxiety. Always have and maybe always will. I worry, and even more so since becoming a mum. I am worrying myself about this now, so if anyone can put my mind at ease I shall be ever so grateful.

My 2 year old DD has this…dark speck on the white of her eye. It’s only really noticeable if she looks to the right otherwise you can’t see it. She’s had it for…a while? For ever? It’s not new, nothing has happened where it’s popped up all of the sudden. I guess it’s always been there? My anxious brain just now decided to start worrying about it.

It’s grey (not red, not black). It’s tiny. More Like a speck than a shadow.
I was just going through photos and noticed another similar looking speck on the other side of her eye too! (Photos attached).

Her eyes don’t seem sore; she’s not had any eye issues; her vision seems totally fine; it doesn’t seem to bother her in any way shape or form. Just me.

Give the opticians a call. They will be able to say if it is something common, or an infection etc.

Check with optician to be sure.

But to put your mind at rest... I have spots just like these, I asked the optician when I was young and she said it was just blood vessels. It didn't look like it, it just looked like a dark spot, but didn't disturb me so I got on with life. A good 20 yrs later, I have grown and eyes have changed a little, I can now see that they are just blood vessels in a particular position. I know it seems unlikely when the marks are that dark grey colour, but that's what they are for me.

Agree with PP that it's almost certainly fine, BUT also go to an optician first (not vision express or some big chain) and if that doesn't put your mind at rest go to the GP and demand a referral to an ophthalmologist.

FWIW there is a very rare form of eye cancer which appears in children by the age of 3 or 4, but it manifests as a white spot in the pupil.

Just to add to my previous post... for other reasons I have had my eyes very, very thoroughly checked on several occasions. No one has even thought once, let alone twice, about the spots.

Does she have a mixed heritage op? It’s quite common in some ethnicities, my own dd had them (African mix) and I know of a few with Bangladeshi heritage that have them

Take her to the opticians as I am not one however, my son has a much larger version of this, grey, not brown or black, and after being referred and then referred again to another eye specialist.....its a birth mark/mole! Honestly, I went down the rabbit hole of eye cancer and all sorts. But, just a birth mark!

Both my dc had these. I didn't realise they were more conman in certain ethnicities (Asian here).
I didn't get them checked specifically but both dc have their eyes tested regularly and all seems fine.

Thank you all!

Just to answer: she is not mixed race; she is caucasian/white.

I rang the local Specsavers opticians, but they said they can’t see her as she’s under 4. They didn’t want to do a phone consult/let me send photos. And told me to contact our GP. Which I have now done, I hope they let me send the photos and then call me tomorrow.

I might be completely off base, but I suspect a blood vessel or a mole/freckle whatever the correct term is. I’ve gone through old photos and she’s had this as young as 7-8 months old and maybe even from birth (just her eyes were smaller and she wasn’t looking around so much so no photo to clearly see).

I have similar. Opticians told me it is a pinguecula.

My son has this (we are white) and I never really thought much of it. He is 11yo and had several eye tests over the years, and these have never been mentioned as a concern

I have that in both eyes, my son in one eye

I'm Trinidadian (Indian)
Son is half Trinidadian and Gujarati.

Has your dc got a mixed heritage? X

Oh just seen your update.
Yes best get it checked . Probably harmless

So insane you just posted this! I also have really really bad health anxiety over my kids!!!!! My daughter is 22 months and I have discovered this in her eye too...Literally panicking

Mine has one of these. I noticed it when she was about two and she had had a bad cough so I thought it may be a blood vessel or something.

We were luckily enough to easily see paediatric eye specialists at our local hospital and they said it was just pigment. She has very dark brown eyes due to ethnicity which makes this more likely.

My daughter has it in only 1 eye

It does look just like a bit of pigment, it's unlikely to be anything serious as it's small, very round and in both eyes, the colour suggests it's on the sclera, rather than the conjunctiva. No harm getting it checked though.
Keep those photos though and see if they change over time.

@Makelikeatreeandleaf a pingeculae is different, it's a non pigmented jelly like lump on the surface of the conjunctiva.

@SarahBaz4715 I can't actually see anything on the photo, it just looks like a blood vessel.