Two Year Old Son Looking Cross Eyed All of a Sudden

Something out of the blue like this usually ISN'T crosseyes... but something neurological or "fun".

DOCTOR.

Fun is easy to rule out, and no big deal.

Brain injuries, however, have golden periods that need to be seen QUICKLY. Yesterday he fell, today his eyes are crossed. Hightail it. It might very well be nothing, but if it IS something. you don't want to wait.

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Fall from chair and then notice eye issues... I would call his Dr. ASAP, if not head to the ER. But that is just me....

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Call your pediatrician and have them recommend the best pediatric ophthalmologist (make sure they are on your insurance...you might need the second best).

Take your son in to see them...do not just allow your pediatrician to say he will grow out of it. Do NOT go to an adult ophthalmologist or optometrist, they do not know about children's eyes (which are very different from adult eyes).

Around two years old my daughters eyes suddenly did not align. I did the Google thing and called our pediatrician who set up up with a great pediatric ophthalmologist.

It was really good I took her in as soon as we noticed the issue...she had not lost any vision yet (the brain will stop receiving signals from the misaligned eye...and basically they go "blind" in that eye...and lose all depth perception due to only seeing from one eye).

The doctor told me we would need surgery to correct it...I was so hesitant to go through surgery on my baby's eyes...but it wasn't just cosmetic, she would lose vision.

The surgery went great and her eyes are perfectly aligned. We go in to see the doctor every six months for check ups.

I do know that she may have to have a repeat of the surgery around age eight or nine as they can have a growth spurt at that time that causes them to suddenly un-align again.

Knowing everything I do now...I would not hesitate to have the surgery done again.

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May have damaged his nerves around the eye that control eye mobility... I'd take him to the Dr.

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When you talk with him, does he straighten his eyes out or are his eyes always crossed? If so then you need to get medical advice. Call his pediatrician or the advice line. Because of the fall you need to do this ASAP.

If he looks cross eyed some of the time and looks straight most of the time, it may be that he's just learned how to do this and is doing it for fun.

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I would call my pediatrician immediately and let them know that it happened after a fall.

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I would say that it's probably nothing but, I would contact the nurse line just to see if he should be seen. Especially with the lil fall. Good Luck & Hugs to you & your lil one.

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This happened to a friend of mine--I'm not saying it's the same thing but her son has a problem with vision and his eyes started to cross as compensation. I think he's farsighted? I'd take him to get his vision tested. Her son ended up needing glasses, but lots of kids do. Not too traumatic. Good luck!

I'm really surprised no one has mentioned "lazy eye." This is a relatively common condition that appears around age 2 or 3. It can be corrected if caught early. An opthamologist prescribes eyeglasses, the child wears them.

Remember Sally from the Peanuts comic strip? She got to wear an eye-patch because that's how docs treated it in the 60s. Lazy eye tends to be hereditary, but not necessarily so. The weaker eye tends to drift when the child is tired.

I had it myself. My parents caught it at age 2 and I was out of glasses by age 8. I am very thankful for their vigilance. Glasses are no big deal today. When I was a kid, we had one option: the "Far Side" cat-eye lenses. Yuck! Toady, my nephew wears glasses and they are super-cool, with guitars on the side.

My daughter had a lazy eye develop at this time and she's in glasses now. She also has issues w/ sight that were discovered then too. But you mention both eyes ... so not sure about that. I would call your insurance and see if you need a referral for a child optometrist from your ped. or if you can just choose one and go.

I agree with Retta, get your son in to see a pediatric Opthamologist right away to rule anything serious out. Ours took a while to get into, so I'd try to make an appt as soon as you can. Our 3 yr old has duane's syndrome, but he was diagnosed early. I don't think most things like that start presenting out of the blue at 2, and it's probably absolutely nothing. But in the rare instance that it is, the Ped Opthamologist can diagnose and provide any necessary treatment to prevent any permanent damage (but I highly doubt this is anything). Better to just have him checked out. But--if you think this could be related to the fall, it may be best to take him to the emergency room first to rule out bleeding or head trauma.

Please let us know how your son is after the dr!
J.

Please let us know what the dr says!
J.

I had the exact situation with my little girl. Retta had the same response as I would. My daughter is now 18 and has no problems with her eyes after surgery when she was 3. I wouldnt go to your pediatrician, just make the appt. with the children's opthamologist. Don't worry, it will be okay!