Eye Problem

Hello L.: I just saw this and wondered why you hadn't taken your child in already to see the doctor?
As a mother of 5 and now the Grandmother of several sweetherts. When ever there is a questions that concerns the parents becasue of somethey see as different about the child, I tell them it is always better to ask than to cause suffering, or discomfort to the child. It could be as simple as Hay Fever, an Allergic reation to something, a clogged tear duct or as serious as pink eye!
Good Luck, Nana G

Hello,

Sorry I am a little late to respond, but I would take her to the doctor. My son looked crossed eye and I took him. He actually was not, the bridge of his nose ws flat and had not delevoped yet, making him look that way. The doctor saw him three months later to see how he was developing and again a year later to follow up.

I would take her immediately, peace of mind and if there was something wrong you can get it corrected at an early age.

Good Luck,
M

Hi L.,
I would definitely recommend taking her to her pediatrician. My daughter had a similar problem earlier this year at just over two years of age. Our pediatrician referred us to an opthalmologist and discovered she was extremely far-sighted and needed glasses. What we heard from the doctor as well as in our research, that the earlier some kind of eye conditions are caught and taken care of, the more likely it can improve over time.

Good luck!

Yes, of course, take her to the doctor. Eyes are very important!

You really need to find a good eye doctor and take that child right away. Quit procrastinating.

Yes, take her to an eye doctor. If it's amblyopia (lazy eye) it's a fairly common problem and can usually be corrected. The earlier you catch it, the better. The longer you wait, the weaker the "lazy eye" will get and the harder it is to treat. Usually the child wears an eye patch or glasses with an obstructed lense over the "good eye" to force the "lazy eye" to work. Sometimes eye exercises are also prescribed.
If the amblyopia is not corrected, no glasses or contact lens will be able to correct the vision in that eye.

HI L.,
Yes take her to a pediatric opthamologist right away. We had no idea that our daughter had a lazy eye until her 4 year check up. They covered her right eye and she was immediately ducking out to try to see. Turns out that she had almost no vision in her left eye. The sooner your daughter gets treated for this the better chance they have to improve her vision.

Just a few other tips... if they do diagnose her with a lazy eye and recommend a patch, I would advise getting a "framehuggers" patch. We went through 2 patches and a lot of frustration before we ordered one of these. They fit right over the lens, so you don't have to worry about the patch slipping around or then seeing from the edges. We now are able to use ointment that dilates the healthy eye and that has been terrific. It is more effective and needs to be used less often than the patch, but I think the weak eye has to be to a certain prescription before they will let you use the ointment.

Also, if your daughter has to wear glasses and you can afford it at all, get her a second pair. I didn't realize how easy it was to get glasses made and we waited weeks to get her fixed after she'd break them or lose a screw, etc... Kids are hard on glasses and I can't believe it took us so long to get a second pair. All you need is the prescription for her lenses and you can take it anywhere that they make glasses. We went to Lenscrafters, which is expensive, but was worth it to me.

Good luck. Feel free to e-mail me if I can help answer any questions for you. Our daughter has been wearing glasses for almost 2 years now.

It sounds like it could be lazy eye, by all means, take her to a doctor! It will be worth it just for your peace of mind!

Hello L.:
I will tell you that my son now 4yrs started to get a "lazy eye" when he was two. I noticed it a little when he would get really tired or upset. So we took him to this amazing doctor in Burlingame, Kim Cooper. I know it would be a drive for you but it might be worth it to get the quality help you need. They do almost all children but do do adults as well. Dr Cooper is an amazing doctor and actually has a lazy eye herself so she can totally relate to the kids and the parents fears. She will work with you when it comes to different theapys as well. My 19 month old is trending to have issues with her eyes too, but an amazing thought is if you catch them early enough, they should both be out of glasses by the time they are 12. So, the hard work now will pay off later! If you would like her info please do not hesitate to contact me, but she is in burlingame California and honestly is great with children of all ages... infant to 59years old!

SMILE,
C.

Yes, take her to an eye doctor, an Opthamologist- who specializes in pinpointing eye problem and diseases, as opposed to an optometrist, who corrects vision.

Yes, strabismus (eye turn) should be addressed, especially if you notice it. An Optometrist or Ophthalmologist can help you to determine what to do after an eye exam. Depending on where you live, there is a Pediatric Eye Clinic at UC Berkeley that will make the exam fun. There are also many Pediatric Optometrists and Ophthalmologists in the Bay Area. Correction early on in life leads to best overall outcomes. Best of luck in finding the right doctor. Once examined, you will have piece of mind about your daughter.

why would you NOT take her to a doctor?

yes, take her in. My daughter has stigmata (lazy eye). It is a weak eye muscle because the brain is favoring the other eye. My daughter would use that muscle to hold it all day and by the end of the day when the muscle was tired, her eye would cross. She has great vision, just has that lazy eye. She is 5 now and has been wearing glasses for almost a year. She also has a bi-focal on her prescription. The glasses has helped so much to where things are the same and not worse. She may have to do eye therapy if it comes to it. Worse case is eye surgery and having the glasses now at a young age will help prevent that. She has to wear an eye patch 15 min. a day. She started with 2 hours, now it's 15 min. Don't wait, take her in soon. Good luck!

sounds like a lazy eye, take her for a check up the earlier you catch it the more they can do to fix it.

Yes, have it looked at! It may get worse if you wait.
Some eye problems can be corrected while kids are young and still growing.

Hi L.,
I would absolutely take her to see a ophthamologist. Make sure they work with children. Some offices don't want to and will tell you that the child needs to know their alphabet to do an eye exam. NOT TRUE! Children can distinguish different shapes and animals and such and a good office will be able to do an exam as early as 1. Don't take no for an answer. My son, 6, had some similar issues and in a year and a half we have been able to correct quite a bit of his vision problems with patching, eye exercises, glasses and regular eye check-ups.
Good luck!

My husband had lazy eye when he was a child (there's a medical term for it). It is very important to determine if this is the problem. If so it needs to be corrected, or as I understand from what DH told me is that eye will eventually go blind. I'm not a doctor, and of course this is second hand information, but I wouldn't take any chances.