Baby Bug Eye Blues!

It's definitely worth a doctor visit.

Exophthalmos (bulging eyes, sometimes to the extent of the eyelids not being able to close) is the technical term for "bug eyes".

In young children it usually isn't anything to be concerned about for 2 reasons:

1) Baby's eyes are WAY bigger than our eyes proportionally speaking. Eyes do grow, but not much... so their eyes SEEM really big in their faces.

2) They're experimenting with muscle control, and communication. My son had an "aha!" moment, that he could get us to say "gesundheit" when he sneezed (7 of us said it all at the same time once when he sneezed) when he was 4 or 5 months old. For the next 3 months he'd do fake sneezes all the time in order to elicit the predictable gesundheit response. He'd then laugh like crazy. The reward factor of you guys laughing when she bugged her eyes out has turned it into a game. Plus it requires conscious muscle control (pulling back on her eyelids). Doing so also feels kinda weird. Add into the mix that kids eyes get like saucers whenever they're really intent/surprised/interested in something and voila... baby bug eyes.

So why is it worth a trip to the doc, when it's probably just your baby being herself? To rule out the most common medical causes of Exophthalmos. In children the most common causes are either tissue buildup behind the eyes (cellulitis, caused by an infection that's pretty easy to treat) or leukemia. ((in adults the most common medical cause is a thyroid condition, like Graves Disease. Here's a really decent picture of exophthalmos in an adult http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical/IM02688)) See how much white is showing above the iris? The entire eye is bugging out. If she were in profile the orb of her eye would extend beyond her eyebrow. In women, this effect is actually a sign of beauty, when it doesn't get too extreme. You'll notice many actresses and models have mild cases of exophthalmos.

Neither leukemia nor infections of the eye are caused by immunizations... and in all likelyhood... since they draw blood at well baby checkups, it's highly unlikely to be leukemia. So you're probably looking at either an infection, or just your baby girl exploring her world, one muscle group at a time. So worth a doctor visit, but no need to stress out about it.

:) R

The 'staring off into never never land' would be a concern of mine. Listen to your in-laws...they may or may not be right about their idea of the 'vaccinations', however they probably want the best for their granddaughter. Many times parents are in denial and it takes a relative to show them something that doesn't appear as 'normal development'. If your current pediatrician doesn't seem concerned, then I would get a second opinion.

Have her thyroid checked.

How scary! My thoughts and prayers are with your little one. Please keep us updated.

Re update: I am so sorry to hear that your little one has medulloblastoma. That's just heartbreaking. I will continue to keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.

J.,

My bf and son's father is an ER nurse who frequently works on babies and small children. He says this can be a very serious sign of pressure on the brain, which is what is directly causing the eyes to literally push out of the sockets and create the buy eyes you are referring to. There could be neurological issues that your daughter may have and sometimes surgery to the brain is required to fix this.

I really hope your little angel will be ok. Please write everyone back and let us know the outcome.

Your ped may suggest it too but I would see a pediatric opthomaligist. ( i can't spell!!! ). It could be that there are issues with the muscles of the eye. Bug eyes can be a problem for some people because the lids may not close properly causing dry eyes. I have read almost everything out there concerning vaccines and have never heard a thing about eyes. It is likely not anything serious but you will definitely feel better by talking to a specialist to rule out all of your fears. I know if I don't get an answer from somebody who actually knows what they are talking about i'll spend a zillion hours on the internet checking symptoms. By the time i'm done my whole family has something terminal!! My bet is that it isn't very serious and it won't be a big deal to treat.

Hello, I would keep the doctor's appointment. However, I would also not get too worked up over in-law opinions. When my now 42 year old daughter was 18 months old, her grandma thought she had inner ear problems because she would fall down sometimes. I just let her think I was as concerned as her and really ignored it. She was trying to be a caring grandma and I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but I knew that my daughter was fine. I am sure that your baby will be fine too.
Good luck with your precious family.
K. K.

i would break up the shots..i started out having my son get all his shots at once and it affected him..so i broke them up..but i know that people w/ gout or hyperthyroid get bug eyed u may want to have her checked for gout..thyroid problems..good luck

hugs

D.

Bug eyes are not normal, it can happen because of built up pressure behind the eyes. It's good that you have a doctor's appointment. Good luck and I hope you get a friendly answer but don't let the Doctor dismiss your worries if you really think something is wrong. Get a second opinion if necessary. People tend to blame shots for everything, in 10 years they'll blame something else.

That is a symptom of hypo thyroid so you may ask the doc about that. Not sure it that can even be an issue at that age, but that is all that comes to mind. Sorry.

DId the permanent bug eye look occur after the shots or before? Vaccines do have a lot of side effects and they attack the neurological system. Your doctor will NOT EVER say that it's from the shots so you have to really track it down if you think it might be. There might have been something wrong before, but now that you say that she is staring off in to space ... I'd be very concerned myself if it was my child. If your doctor doesn't give you an answer then keep seeking.