1 year old eye appointment UK, what to expect?

[itsnowmyturn]

My daughter is almost 1 year 3 months and has had a worsening eye turn for at least 6 months. I got my GP to refer her to the optometrist and she's there tomorrow. I'm wondering what to expect. What tests will they do? It's just a normal eye clinic not a paediatric one so will the person be experienced enough to adjust their tests to suit a 1 year old? I'm worried that the person will dismiss it as a pseudo squint because they can't do the tests properly and my daughter will end up with some permanent vision loss as her brain will stop taking notice of the messages from that eye.

Does anyone have any experience of squint tests or the treatment?

 

[alibaba24]

My daughter got referrered at a young age and they pull out different pictures etc to see if the child looks at them . She also had to get eyedrops. She was prescribed patches

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Thanks. I did wonder how they could test them at such a young age, she obviously can't tell them anything. Her eye has got progressively worse and everyone notices it now whereas to start with people only noticed when I mentioned it.
How did u get ur lo to keep the patch on?

 

[alibaba24]

I don't think it matters much that they can't answer questions they are looking to see what the child focuses on (at that age anyway). Thankfully my daughter was really good at keeping the patches on she had to wear them for 2 hours a day on her good eye. She actually had her eyes checked in September they couldn't even detect her squint anymore. Hope your appointment goes well x

 

[itsnowmyturn]

I completely forgot to reply. They confirmed a squint, it seems to be getting worse and her other eye is showing signs of squint too.
Something popped up on Facebook today about retinoblastoma and I looked at it and it has me worried. There are pictures where I'm not sure if she has white eye or if it's the flash reflection, they also had trouble getting red eye reflex at birth.
She has her second apt next week where they will dilate her pupils to check her eyes and do an eye test. She could need glasses if her vision is off or she could need surgery if it isn't her sight causing it and they will adjust her muscle strength. Wish I hadn't seen the retinoblastoma thing though, it's going to be a long week. I'm sure it's just a squint and nothing more but everyone says they never thought it would happen to them. Staying positive though, and at least it's getting dealt with while she's young

 

[alibaba24]

What is white eye ?

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Where there would usually be a red eye reflection from a camera flash it appears as a white disc instead. From what iv read retinoblastoma is something they routinely rule out when doing squint tests at her next apt anyway so just got to sit tight for a few more days

 

[alibaba24]

Sometimes my daughter has white in 1 eye sometimes both red she saw the ophthalmology dep last year and was discharged

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Sometimes I no that phone cameras in particular can cause it through reflection and the way their eyes are facing etc so trying not to look too much into it (excuse the pun) I don't no what it is, I have a feeling I can't put my finger on, iv never felt this anxious about anything before, even when she was newborn and went into hospital with suspected sepsis I didn't panic and thought it's OK I no she will be fine but this feels different. I'm spending loads of time trying to find something that sets my mind at ease (I tend to search online for reassurance rather than diagnosis) but everything I read seems to just add flame to the fire.

 

[alibaba24]

It was a phone camera I used thank you I'm just hoping if there was any issue they would have seen at her check up . I understand the anxiety you feel iv been through lots of appointments with my daughter for other things and looking on Google was the worst thing I could have done

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Yes I agree Google isn't great for times like this. Although it does make me feel like I'm doing something while I'm waiting rather than just sitting and waiting. I hadn't really worried about it today until this evening when I took a picture of her and the flash went off, her eyes show up different on it, sometimes there is a red eye on one but not the other, sometimes one is red and one is very light pink and sometimes they are white. I really hope the next 5 days go really quick, I need to be told I'm worrying about nothing from someone who can tell me that with certainty rather than someone telling me that who is trying to reassure me.

Her left eye is now showing more signs of a squint, when we went 6 weeks ago it was mostly the right one and I had no concerns about the left but more and more the left is turning in, today she leant her head on something on the left side and her left eye turned all the way in. Not sure if that's a good sign or not in terms of the cause of the squint, I keep trying to figure out if things mean it's more likely to be vision problems or muscle problems and needing glasses or surgery.
Being off work sick after scalding my foot hasn't helped, far too much time on my hands to set my fingers to work on the tablet lol.

 

[alibaba24]

I really hope the next 5 days come around quickly and you can get to your appointment. please keep this thread updated. If you need to pass time and talk to keep you from google drop me a line!

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Thanks I appreciate it. Feel like I'm obsessing over it a bit which really isn't like me but nothing worries any parent as much as their child's health

 

[alibaba24]

I have spent the last 2 years obsessing over whether my dd is autistic or not it's soooo draining and unhealthy. But like you say it can't be helped when it's your child

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Def. Autism is a big one at the minute. My nephew has it but is waiting for a conformational diagnosis. He's 3 n half but doesn't speak and has typical autistic traits but it took ages for apts and treatments, it's ridiculous, I first went to the GP nabout Sophie's eyes in November I think it was and it's taken this long, that Dr wants to hope it's nothing more serious than a squint because he will be getting a very strongly worded letter if so.
It's weird because when there's something not typical about ur child (trying to avoid saying 'something wrong') it's like u feel bad for them, even though they probably don't care, but u also feel bad for u, like U don't have the child u thought u had. I can't explain it, I'm not saying I love her less, that's just not possible and would never happen, I hope that doesn't make me sound really shallow because I will always think she's perfect regardless of anything in her life

 

[alibaba24]

Def. Autism is a big one at the minute. My nephew has it but is waiting for a conformational diagnosis. He's 3 n half but doesn't speak and has typical autistic traits but it took ages for apts and treatments, it's ridiculous, I first went to the GP nabout Sophie's eyes in November I think it was and it's taken this long, that Dr wants to hope it's nothing more serious than a squint because he will be getting a very strongly worded letter if so.
It's weird because when there's something not typical about ur child (trying to avoid saying 'something wrong') it's like u feel bad for them, even though they probably don't care, but u also feel bad for u, like U don't have the child u thought u had. I can't explain it, I'm not saying I love her less, that's just not possible and would never happen, I hope that doesn't make me sound really shallow because I will always think she's perfect regardless of anything in her life

I absolutely know what you mean. And for me it's funny as I thought my dd was perfect (she still is to me ) and then to have someone say actually that's not right...it's soul destroying. It was a hv who picked up on her squint as a baby 1 year old even. And I remember thinking I hadn't even noticed but looking back on the pics I can see it clearly. At her last opthamogy they couldn't even detect a hint of a squint so it seems to be something that can be sorted

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Well the dr she saw today was a grumpy woman who didn't seem to have the patience with a 1 year 4 month old. In the end she said the back of her eyes were healthy, thankfully, but she is quite a bit long-sighted, she said she is +5 I looked online and apparently that is moderate not high, but maybe it's high for her age. She has to have glasses and hopefully that will correct it, I dfo no though that many children who have glasses to correct vision problems that is causing a squint end up with the surgery for cosmetic reasons, but now I no it's nothing major I'm happy to just sit back and wait to see what happens.
Wish me luck with keeping her glasses on as she has to wear them all the time. Wondering whether starting off with shoirt times is better and build it up but il chat with my partner

 

[alibaba24]

thats great that its nothing more sinister and hope she keeps her glasses on

 

[itsnowmyturn]

She's keeping them on brill!! I suppose she's happy to be able to see properly, she only really takes them off when she's throwing a strop or when she's tired so Im actually really surprised and proud of her. While we were in Germany on holiday I got so fed up of people staring at her, it's not so bad in England but I got so wound up in Germany, only two people asked about them (which I would prefer people do) one was a little girl who asked why she needed them, I thought that was a real credit to the parents, nothing more important than teaching kids to be inquisitive and ask questions rather than judging. She's got a follow up in June so hopefully she will have got a little bit of improvement. I def notice the squint more when her glasses r off.

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Thought I would update for anyone who reads this when looking for help.

My daughter is now 2 years 10 months, she wears her glasses like a pro!! She developed a lazy eye and now has one eye patches and she wears that perfectly too.
For most of her appointments the Dr was really happy that her squint switched eyes, was a bit odd that he was happy it was in both eyes rather than just one but apparently it means that both eyes have the ability to develop and focus the same. Her last 2 appointments he didn't think that the squint was switching and that's why he wanted her to wear the patches because it means that the squinted eye would be missing out on developing properly because the she would just focus out of the other one.
We were just about to get a referral to the surgeon to get the squint sorted but sorting the lazy eye is more important because that will affect her developing vision and the squint won't. Once the lazy eye treatment is finished we will get the surgeon referral.