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Original poster

someone please help- i think my dd may have eye tumour! white pupil on photos!

48 replies

slinkstar · 20/04/2007 10:07

Took photos last night of dd and every one shows one eye with a white pupil, looked on the internet and it can mean retinoblastoma. ANyway she is already referred to a eye clinic for that eye because she has a squint, her next appointment isn't till july!
i rang them and they couldn't move the appointment and so ive just had to leave a very garbled message to some secretary.
i just rang the dr too and booked her in later today. gp can't exactly do much though can they!
what else can i do, and does anyone know of this white spot thing happening and it being nothing at all??
what i mean is should i be this worried?

OP posts:
Enid · 20/04/2007 10:08

if she has a squint it is probably the flash reflection

she obv wouldnt have it in the other eye because of the squint

singingmum · 20/04/2007 10:10

If doc susspects you are right I would think that they would get her an appointment with specialist soon.Could your optician help also if doc can't?My optitian is really good with this kind of thing.My ds was supposed to have a squint turned out thta it was really a deformed eye and that patch would have made things worse.Optician was the best. They may help

Original poster
slinkstar · 20/04/2007 10:21

she usually sees the eye dr at the hospital, her optitian is there too but they just do her glasses. maybe it is just a weird flash reflection. thing is its on all of the 9 photos i took of her last night.
It was this website that worried me-
www.chect.org.uk/page.php?id=9&s=0

OP posts:
jalopy · 20/04/2007 17:33

Agree. Your local optician should be able to check her eyes. He would refer her on if there was a problem.

crimplene · 20/04/2007 21:18

If you feel that the pupil is reflecing white (that it's not just the light catching it at a different angle than the other eye) you need to push the issue very hard. Get an appointment quick!

The Pediatric Opthalmologist we see is amazingly disorganised - they've messed up virtualy every appt; I just phone her secretary and explain calmly and she sorts it out for me. The GP could help as they could get you a much faster, or immediate appointment. Make as much fuss to as many people as you need to.

My DS has cataracts and that's another, less worrying, possiblity, but it needs prompt attention too - they sometimes grow from nothing. And it sounds fairly likely if the squint has developed recently: if she can't see much through that eye the brain just stops paying attention to the messages coming from it and it won't stay in line with the other - hence the squint. The faster they deal with it, the greater the chance of her regaining the sight in that eye and correcting the squint effectively. July is not acceptable in this case.

LaDiDaDi · 20/04/2007 21:22

Push to get this sorted out asap. It is worth taking her to your GP or optician as they can have a good look at the back of her eye for possible retinoblastoma. If they have concerns then she will get seen same day by opthalmology. Personally I think optician may be best bet as they will look at far more childrens retinas than a gp will so will be more confident. Opticians can refer direct to opthalmology.

LaDiDaDi · 20/04/2007 21:24

Re the squint, can you describe it? Is it fixed, ie does the eye always turn inwards for example, or does it alternate/move as her gaze moves?

How old is she?

Pruni · 20/04/2007 21:24

Message withdrawn

controlfreaky2 · 20/04/2007 21:28

where do you live? in london moorfields eye hospital has an a and e department i think (but phone and check). if you are elsewhere what's to top you going to a and e if you are (understandably) worried? agree with others.... push to get this sorted asap. good luck.

twinsplus1 · 20/04/2007 21:29

I'd say see the GP for a referral Monday morning. Push it and insist on an urgent referral. It might be worth ringing the local hospital as they sometimes have a walk in eye surgery.

pindy · 20/04/2007 21:34

How did you get on at the doctors?

Thinking of you X

crimplene · 20/04/2007 21:39

City Hospital, Birmingham also has an eye A&E

lucyellensmum · 20/04/2007 22:07

slinkstar, i dont really know very much about this so get it checked, of course you are anyway. Maybe this might put your mind at rest a little, you say your dd is under the eye doctor, i know only for squint but im sure someone at some stage has examined her with an opthalmoscope? If so, anything like that would be picked up on the exam as it would have reflected light back at the doc - i could be wrong, but just a thouhgt. Maybe the light was reflected white because of the squint which meant that the red light wasnt reflected.

SlightlyMadSecret · 20/04/2007 23:02

Slinkstar - it definately needs checking - you are right it is a sign of retinoblastoma. However, there was thread on here recently where someone saw something similar on a photo of a classmate. That turned out to be nothing. I will try and find teh thread.

How old is DD? If your profile is correct that she is 7 - I think that is a positive for you as Rb is more common in younger children (95% of cases are diagnosed in under 5s).

I really hope it is something less sinister.

SlightlyMadSecret · 20/04/2007 23:06

heres the link to teh other thread. I don't think there is much useful info just that it was a white pupil and apperently OK in teh end

Original poster
slinkstar · 21/04/2007 23:15

Thanks everyone, sorry i forgot to check this thread today!
i went to the drs yesterday with dd and the dr took one look at the photos and said its fine, he did check her eyes and said he couldn't see anything, I should be relieved but i am not convinced as i read a website that said seeing white in the pupil is never normal, so until i see an eye dr i will not rest. The eye drs secretary rang me back and said she has not been able to get in touch with the dr yet but is leaving a message on his phone and hopefully he may call me direct.

The gp said it was the light reflecting differently because her eye isn't looking straight. i have tried to get a photo with my eyes like this by taking in different angles and no luck. I am happy however that he didn't find anything sinister by taking a quick look. I still need a second opinion though. i think the dr thought i was a bit neurotic- maybe i should have just took 1 photo in! i took all 9

dd's squint came on suddenly when she was 5 (2 and a half years ago) she has been patched on and off since then. They stopped patching in october last year as she was seeing double, but since then i think her eye has got worse as it turns in more and if i cover the good eye she says she can't see at all.

OP posts:
gess · 21/04/2007 23:18

can you afford one private consultation just to get it checked. They can look at the back of the eye then and tell you there and then, you'll know within a week.

Original poster
slinkstar · 21/04/2007 23:22

yes i may do private if i cannot get an appointment this week.

ive put a pic of dd's eye on my profile if anyone wants to see.

OP posts:
lisad123 · 21/04/2007 23:26

This was a warning sign for a little lad I know, he was seen quickly.
I would go back to GP's a tell them you want a referal to hospital or go private. Better to be safe than sorry.
Good luck

gess · 21/04/2007 23:26

ds3 has a squint and I haven't seen photos like that of him (and I checked after the last thread on this!) Are they all like this? It does look a bit like the whole eye, rather than just the pupil (which I thought the white eye photos were like). Do you trust your GP (I had an old GP I completely trusted, not so sure of my new one). TBH if I took a photo of ds3 tomorrow and it was like that I'd book a private appointment rather than wait for his end of June one he has booked in with the eye infimary. I'd be 90% sure it was OK, but I wouldn't want to wait, I'd just want to know.

gess · 21/04/2007 23:27

I mean I vaguely remember the 'bad' photos being just the pupil whereas your dd looks like its the whole eye and therefore perhaps not the same. TBH in your shoes I'd still want someone to look at the back of her eye though.

gess · 21/04/2007 23:27

Take them and her to the optician on Monday and ask them if you need a referral to a consultant???

Chocolateface · 21/04/2007 23:29

I think your GP is quite right, but know how scared you must feel. We once suspected DS1 had a tumor. One day we had what we thought was a perfect little boy, the next we discover he can't see out of one eye, and have no reason for it. Very scary.

SlightlyMadSecret · 21/04/2007 23:29

When people were talking about a white pupil I had imagined it to be pure white.

I have seen this kind of shiney white/pink/golden colour on occasional photos where I have taken the picture side on. I just assumed it was the angle.

As the squint means the eyes are never looking in the same direction it may make it more likely to get a 'side' reflection....I hope that it is all it is. I hope you get seen sooner rather than later.

gess · 21/04/2007 23:33

just the pupil other pics i have seen are the same. I;d still want it checked in your case (and would pay for that peace of mind), but this would reassure me iykwim