21 Mo Old Refered to Eye Specialist

Hi Beth, I don't normally answer these unless I have something new to add. That being said, I have a 12 year old who was also diagnosed with strabismus as a toddler (somewhere between 1 1/2 and 2 years old). It is a very common condition (5% of children) and DOES NOT make you blind. I was shocked someone would say that since it is completely untrue and probably scared you to death! So don't freak out, just see the specialist and follow their advice.

IF strabismus is severe, it can (but CAN does not mean DOES) lead to ambylopia, which is what causes blindness. I just had to put my 2 cents in since I read the blindness comment. By the way, I have it (40 yrs old), my sister has it (48 yrs) and my son (12).....none of us even wear glasses!

DONT WORRY! and God Bless you!

First off, deep breath! Your husband has the same issue and isn't blind? Second, my son was less that a year ols and we had to see a pediatric opth. at CHOP for what they thought was a tumor growing around his eye socket. They did a complete eye exam, including dilating the eye - so plan on a long day. A- my son doesn't have a tumor. B- he has a condition requiring glasses, but because of his age and my not wanting to deal with falls and broken glasses the doctor said that it was fine and come back in a year. She is old enough that if she could not see you would know already. Just see what they say and go from there. Find out what is wrong before worrying about how to treat it! If there is something that needs correcting find out what is the least invasive thing you can try and if that doesn't work what is recommended next, etc etc. Try to relax so you daughter doesn't get freaked out!

By seeing the eye specialist you can assure yourself that he will be very well taken care of. Sometimes with a lazy eye they will patch one eye for a while to help strengthen the muscles of the other, Soemtimes they will put glasses on the children. From what you are describing I dont' think that it warrants surgery.
((((HUGS)))) M., I know when it comes to eyes and ears how much it cares the bejeesus out of us when the docs say specislist. It will be OK.

I don't know if you already have an appointment, but I just wanted to recommend Dr. Timothy Saunders at Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat. He has several offices in Charlotte. When my daughter had an ulcer on her eye that was misdiagnosed by the pediatrician, we called him, and he saw us the same day. We had never been there before, but he saw that it was an urgent matter and told us to come in immediately. I have to say he is the best! My daughter loves him, and he has been terrific with her. He has continued to work with her, and she doesn't want to go to anyone else. One of his specialties is pediatrics, so if you don't have a doctor yet, give him a call.

Hi Beth,

I know when it comes to your kids it's very difficult not to worry when it appears something is not right, but I just wanted to try to alleviate some of your fears. I am an optometrist and from what you say you are observing I really don't think surgery is going to be necessary. Usually when we see an eye turn it means the eyes have a need for some correction in order to see better. Your ped. was right about vision loss....if there is a need for prescription images do not focus on the retina and the lack of stimulation prevents the visual system from developing and the eye will never be able to see as well as it should. If things are caught early enough and the child gets glasses everything progresses normally. Being your child is 21 monthes I would think everything will be just fine even if she does need glasses. Pediatric opthamologist are great, just go to your appointment and take their advice. Just a heads up they will put drops in her eyes which for some kids may be a little tramatic.....it may even make life a little easier if you introduce her to drops at home just using some over the counter artificial tears. Take care, I'm sure all will go well.

J.

Hi Beth,
My daughter had the same thing happen and i think it occured at the same time your daughter is having this issue. It would happen on occasion so at first we really thought it was not a problem but then it kept happening more and more and that was when we were concerned. We took her to the doctor (good for you going quickly) because it is true that your child could go blind if not treated (I am sure many have no idea about this) because I would never know that could happen. My daughter was diagnosed with strabismis (not sure if I spelled that correctly) and the gave her glasses. She was only 2 and I cried and cried. I thought how are we going to get her to wear them etc. etc. I was also just worried since she is so young. Anyway, from the day we put them on her face, she kept them on. She actually could see better. She loves her glasses now and has princess ones. We go ever 3 months to check on her and now she wears bifocals. Every child is different so you will have to see what the doctor tells you but typically if it isn't that strong (you are noticing it on occasion) they try to correct it first with glasses. If my daughter does not have her glasses on for more than a few minutes she has to have them. Now that she is 41/2 it has gotten better. At her last check up they said she was seeing 2 lines better than last time. We are happy with what they are doing. Good luck to you. Stay strong and your child will do great. Hopefully she will want to wear the glasses as well. That was really great for us.

I am dealing with that issue with my 4 yo. We took him to a pediatric eye dr last march and had a CT scan done, it didnt show anything. So we are just having him wear an eye patch for an hour a day everyday. Its hard to get them to wear the patches..since mine likes pirates, we make a big deal about him being wearing a pirate patch for an hour. We miss a few days and I can tell it gets worse, so I try very hard to remember to have him wear it. Good luck!!

Hello Beth! My child has been seeing a pediatric specialist since he was about 12 months old. He will be 5 next month. His left eye turned up and out. Not all the time, but it became worse and worse. First of all, we began patching his "good eye" to make him use his "bad eye" more. It seemed to work, but mostly just with the patch on. We did this until Oct. of last year. And finally had surgery, which I wished we had done early on b/c he was older and knew more. It was the muscles in his eyes that were not tight enough. So, she went in and tightened the muscles on the inside (to pull eye back in) and loosened them on the outside. He did very well with the surgery, although the anesthesia made him very aggitated while trying to wake up. But now, the muscles are too tight on the inside, so his eye turns in when looking at things up close. At a distance, he is fine, but up close, it turns pretty bad. We are back to patching for 6 months and if not better, we will have to endure surgery again. I am glad they can repeat surgery to fix it, BUT I dread having to put him through that again. I will say this much for your benefit.... if something is not done, your child could suffer permanent vision loss in that eye b/c what happens is when the eye turns in or turns out, over a period of time, it will begin to shut itself off b/c it doesnt like seeing double. Luckily my child has not suffered any vision loss b/c we did the patching and made him use that eye. But my nephew on the other hand, has lost some vision in one of his eyes. He is 8, but didnt realize he had an issue until he began school b/c it wasnt really noticeable. So kuddos to your MIL for noticing this so early. My child however, was noticeable and for that I am thankful. So I would suggest surgery early on if possible and until then, ask about the patching b/c you need to keep that eye working and trying to focus. And sometimes that is all it takes is the patching. Which I hope will clear yours up. That would be great. But dont dread it to the point of no return sort of speak. I hope this helps your feeling. BTW... I have a baby who just turned 8 months old and his peditrician noticed a slight turn in his eyes at a check-up where we had not noticed it. So, we are taking him in the next few months to see our same ped opthamologist. Good Luck and please keep us posted.