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Original poster

short-sightedness at 2?

21 replies

hazlinh · 07/10/2006 03:24

dd, who will be 3 in feb, has been diagnosed as shortsighted, possibly more than 200 and may need to wear glasses. can anyone share their experiences on this? am feeling like a bad mother. doctor says it's likely to be hereditary, as me and all my siblings are seriously short-sighted but i only started wearing glasses at 8.so i feel 2 is really young!!and how on earth will i get dd to wear them? and will i need to keep getting her new ones every week? as i'm sure they will keep breaking...

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Gingerbear · 07/10/2006 06:42

hello hazlinh, I haven't bumped into you here for ages. I too wore glasses from age 8 and am hoping DD has inherited her father's good eyesight and not mine.
Thomcat's DD has to wear them - some threads here
here
and here

Original poster
hazlinh · 08/10/2006 05:35

hiya gingerbear...haven't been on mumsnet for a while..been awfully busy.recently changed jobs and all...how have u been? thanks for the threads..will check them out now..

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Gingerbear · 08/10/2006 07:01

I am fine, 8 weeks pregnant with no 2. DH and I are so happy - we thought we couldn't have any more
Where are you working now? Are you still living in KL?

Original poster
hazlinh · 08/10/2006 10:40

that's fantastic news!!! congratulations to you both...
i'm still in kl...but am now working for a UN agency..dd is going to be 3 in feb..she's started playschool twice a week in preparation for 5 days a week next year...i really can't wait...she really needs the routine and ahem discipline...she can be rather ah active..and is driving my mum, who takes care of her, up the wall!!
ah the joys of having a toddler..!

and you?how are you coping..?

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Xales · 08/10/2006 11:10

Hi there.

It could be that you were short sighted at this age but that they pick up on these things quicker now. Not sure how old you are so don't want to sound insulting by going on about technology moving on (-:

Would it be possible to buy several cheap sets of the same frames so that if one set breaks (more likely than the lenses) the lenses can just be popped straight into another frame again.

Also vision express may do repairs for free if you buy from them (not sure about other opticians).

Piffle · 08/10/2006 11:18

FWIW my dd adored her glasses aged 2, the fact that their sight imrpoves so much, means you have little or no hard sell!
My dd has long sightedness, squint and astigmatism and nystagmus, so she has some pretty clever lenses and never takes them off, sh loves them! she is 4 in 2 weeks
(OMG better get some presents in)

swedishmum · 08/10/2006 11:38

Hi
My daughter also has astygmatism and has worn glasses since 2. Some pairs have been more successful than others. The trick was to find a good optician that fits children properly - ours (in Beckenham) had a children's section and ordered more in for us as dd's face was so tiny. She's 10 now and apart from losing them the odd time it's been fine. SHe only wears them for school/reading now. Good trick - if you lose them for a bit (we genuinely did) you can get a repeat pair. We had to pay half price for the frames as they weren't nhs. Means we now have a spare pair for repairs/if they are left at school etc. She now keeps one pair in her school drawer permanently.

Gingerbear · 08/10/2006 11:46

hazlinh is in Malaysia, so no Vision express etc, (I don't think), but I recall opticians being quite cheap when I worked there over 10 years ago, I had several pairs made up at a fraction of the cost that they would have been in the UK.

As a matter of interest, in the UK do children get glasses free?

swedishmum · 09/10/2006 00:18

Dd could have glasses free but would have to choose from a choice of frames - not always an ideal fit. Frames for kids seem quite cheap however - though somehow my dd picks the most expensive ones!

Original poster
hazlinh · 09/10/2006 08:28

hiya!
thanks for the responses..
i sincerely hope dd will not need to wear glasses (we're going for the proper check-up and measurement on friday)

but, if she DOES need to wear them, that it will involve minimal trauma, fuss, breakage and tears or tantrums...and as other mums have kindly and wisely suggested, i will try to get a second pair as back-up...

frames are quite cheap in malaysia compared to the uk but it's the lenses that'll kill you, esp if your power is high and you want to get the pricey thinner lenses..altho i must admit it would prolly cost around 200 pounds at the most to get a nice pair if your power is 800 (which is what my eyes are at the mo).i can't remember what they cost in the uk...but i remember as a student in london thinking no way will i ever break a pair of glasses and also i bought a year's supply of contacts back in malaysia everytime i went back for hols.

anyway, will report back after friday!
thanks everyone..

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Original poster
hazlinh · 15/10/2006 08:40

just had follow-up with doc and she confirmed that dd does indeed need to wear glasses and i got the shock of my life because she said dd's left eye was 800!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and the right eye was 400. nearly broke down there and then and stopped short of calling the dr incompetent.if dd is anything like me, and her power goes up by at least 100 every year, i don't know what her eyesight will be like when she's a teenager..

am having a counter check next month with the same dr, and am also going for a 2nd opinion to confirm the 800...

meanwhile..on the bright side, have ordered the specs, and dd was so incredibly ecstatic and excited to try on 101 different pairs of frames at the opticians...she's so funny...

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Original poster
hazlinh · 15/10/2006 08:43

does anyone know what is the maximum power to be able to wear contact lenses? and to do lasik?
thanks in advance..

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Original poster
hazlinh · 16/10/2006 05:42

bump..

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Original poster
hazlinh · 16/10/2006 05:44

i mean obviously i won't make her go through it now..am just checking out her options for when she is older...

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Gingerbear · 16/10/2006 05:51

hello again hazlinh,
not sure what those terms mean. In the UK opticians measure sight in dioptres - Shortsight is minus and longsight is plus. I was -7 in one eye and -6.5 in the other. This is moderate to severely short sighted. I wore contact lenses successfully for years, then had my eyes lasered last year.
Your suitability for laser treatment depends on many things, but particularly the corneal thickness.

I am not an optician, this is just my own experience.

Gingerbear · 16/10/2006 05:52

Oh, and a friend of mine who was -14 wore contact lenses too (-14 is very short sighted)

Original poster
hazlinh · 16/10/2006 06:13

hiya gingerbear!! thought i was all alone for a second.. (altho i guess the time difference doesn't help!)

i think if in dioptres, dd's eyes are -8 and -4.5

i had heard that you could only wear contacts up to a certain power, and get your eyes lasered up to -1.3 or 1.4?? am not sure of the veracity of that..

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Original poster
hazlinh · 16/10/2006 06:13

i meant -13 and -14

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Original poster
hazlinh · 16/10/2006 08:38

anyone?
just need reassurance..

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Gingerbear · 16/10/2006 11:34

bump for any optical type persons

Original poster
hazlinh · 17/10/2006 03:57

oh well..thanks gingerbear..
sigh..

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