If your child has/had a squint...

[DisturbedSleep]

If your child has or had a divergent squint, with one eye turning outwards often, what was the treatment plan please?

We're waiting for a review from the ophthalmology team, but I'm keen to prepare myself for what might happen.

My dd had an eye that turned inwards and she got glasses as she was long sighted in both eyes. She had patching treatment to improve the sight in the squintng eye and eventually had an eye operation to help correct the squint as it was still present with her glasses on.

My dd had one eye that turned out when she was 2/3. She had an operation when she was 3.5 which was successful. The symptoms began to return when she was 17/18 so she had the operation again which was successful

My Dd has had a noticeable divergent squint since about 2 years old. We have seen an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon every 6 months or so for the last 4 years. Ultimately they've said she will need corrective surgery, but at the moment it's aesthetic only so we haven't pursued it at the moment. If it begins to have an impact on her sight then we will. Or when she's old enough to make the decision herself.

It will be having an effect on her vision, she won't be able to use both eyes together, so she'll have considerably reduced depth perception. You also don't see as well with one eye alone.

@DisturbedSleep it's likely that they'll be offered surgery.
Glasses don't work in the same way as in convergent squints.

I would take the surgery when offered, as it's the best chance for your daughter to regain some binocular vision.

Dependent on the severity of the squint they may not be able to operate. Something to do with not wanting to tighten/loosen the muscles too much in case they change as they get older and they end up in a worse position. However we also know a fair amount of people who have had the squint corrected by surgery.

My daughter had patches for 6 months (although hers was convergent, not divergent) but they did nothing. She wears glasses/contacts to correct her vision and the squint and I have to say that at age 15 I barely ever see her squint now even without her glasses on. It does mean she suffers from slower visual processing time though with reading/schoolwork.

I had a squint as a child (can’t remember which type) Had years of patches a brief spell with glasses, did absolutely nothing. Thankfully my parents moved areas and the new hospital got on and operated quickly. Unfortunately I was older by that time so it has returned slightly which is now corrected by glasses as I needed glasses anyway. But I have absolutely awful hand to eye coordination which I wouldn’t have had if the had spent years patching. And I still rely on the stronger eye

I just wish I’d had the operation when I’d been a toddler.

Thank you, our child has just turned one, and their squint has been around for a while but is becoming more pronounced. It is intermittent, but it is noticeable often.

She's under regular review, so all good.

@DisturbedSleep if it's any consolation, I had a squint. I had an operation aged about two. It almost sorted it completely. I had glasses aged 5/6 for short sight and remember seeing the actual leaves on the trees. Within three to six months I had an eye patch, big, sticky elastoplast, over my blue plastic Joe 90 NHS glasses. I think that went on for about six months to a year. My gran let me have my ears poerced aged 7 because I was so upset. Mother was furious.

I'm 65 now. It never impeded me although I am v v shortsighted which might havw been the case in any event. Sometimes, when I am v tired or in a photo there is still a hint of a squint.

Good luck.

Thank you - it is really useful to hear positive stories, and how treatment has worked for others.

2 of my dc had a squint. Both had the operation, one aged 5 and one aged 6.

One of DD’s eyes started to turn in at around 2 years old. We were told she’d likely need an op to correct it. She got glasses for slight long sightedness, and we dithered a bit, because we were horrified at the thought of putting our PFB through an operation. In the mean time, she was diagnosed with cancer, and ended up going through so many other horrible ops, procedures and treatments, and the squint fell off everyone’s radar for a couple of years. When we eventually got back under orthoptics, they said that the op would still be an option, though it might be less effective as she got older, but they fully accepted that it wasn’t a priority at that point. The glasses were correcting the squint anyway and it was only noticeable when she took them off. She didn’t have any double vision, and no lazy eye, because she switched between using her left and right eye naturally. Like a PP, she has slow processing speed, which may be connected, but she’s also autistic and dyspraxic, so impossible to say. She had yearly checkups at the eye hospital. When she was about 16 or 17 we asked again about the op. They said it would be possible, but she’d probably still need to wear glasses. In the end, DD decided against. The eye hospital discharged her when she was 18. She now 20, vision has been stable for years, squint is not noticeable with her glasses at all, and barely noticeable without.

I had a squint and had an operation at 2 years old, then wore a patch and then glasses. I’m long sighted in one eye. Now I just use glasses for reading and driving.