Hi everyone!
I haven't posted in a while. Things have been going great for us, but the last few weeks I have noticed Scout's eyes sort of crossing. I have noticed both of her eyes turning in at different times. She was checked with the other two at 12 months and everything seemed fine, but now this has started. Anyway, we have an appointment tomorrow with the pediatric opthamologist and I just was wondering if anyone has been through this and what we can expect tomorrow. Also, what treatments has anyone tried to fix the problem?
TIA!

Becky
Proud Mommy to:
Scout, Maya and Milo 4-5-02

Becky
Proud Mommy to:
Scout, Maya and Milo 4-5-02

At 18 months, my son left eye started turning in a little, first subtley, then more obviously. As I had had glasses as a child for "lazy eye" I knew that it needed to be checked, and went to a pedi ophthalmologist.

Although the boys are identical, and they were both "Far Sighted", only one boy's eye was turning, and so the doc said that only one needed glasses. He has what is called: "Hyperopia(far sighted) with accomodative esotropia(eye turns inward)". The eye turns in to shut off the double vision that occurs. If this condition goes untreated the eye that turns in can go blind because it isn't being used.

Ours is being treated with glasses. Some children need glasses and surgery also. Hoo, Boy! Trying to keep glasses on a 19-month-old was a TRIP!! We actually found great glasses at Walmart with a good warranty. The first year we had the glasses or parts of them replaced 5 or 6 times, at no extra charge! Ask about the warranty wherever you get the glasses; most places have a good warranty.

Now, he gets up in the morning and wants to get the glasses on right away! I believe I have a phot in the "Photo Album" section of these boards. If you can't find this or would like to see a younger pic of him with his first glasses I can post it for you!

Good luck today! And anyone else reading this: All children should have a thorough eye exam by preferably a Pediatric Ophthalmologist before they enter Kindergarten as many eye conditions go undiagnosed until it is too late to help.

Mom of a princess, age six, and two princes, age 4

My DD just got glasses on Mon. She is 14 mo old. Here is just a little history....She had ROP with laser treatment in the the left eye. We have been going to an eye doctor since last Feb just to make sure she is doing ok. I started to notice one eye turning in so I brought her in to the doctor before Christmas. She is nearsighted in the left eye (-4.50) and farsighted in the right eye (+0.50). The doctor said that at this time she is not using one eye to correct the other, so we didn't have to patch.
There is a condition called Pseudostrabismus which is the "false appearance of misaligned eyes". On some kids, preemie or not, the "bridge of the nose and the eyelid skin on the nasal side of the eye" make it look like the eye is turned in". In other words, there is extra skin by the corners of the eye. The eye is straight, but it looks like it is turned in. My DD does have this a little bit.
We have had the glasses a few days and it is going well. She does take them off and we just keep putting them back on. I try to distract her as much as possible. I have decided to give her positive reinforcement instead of saying "no-no" when she takes the glasses off. I say..."The glasses need to stay on".
She does look darn cute in them. good luck and let me know if you have any questions. It's not the worse thing that can happen.

Nancy
Colin, Megan, and Kaitlyn 10/17/02 27w5d

This is extremely common in my practice. Generally it is treated with eyeglasses and vision therapy(eye exercises). Sometimes surgery is needed but this is strictly cosmetic. In order to improve or save the vision, glasses and or therapy is necessary. I don't mean to scare you or anyone else but there is a so called red flag that pops up with any eyecare professional who sees a patient with an eye that is turning or crossing. The very first thing that needs to be done is to have the eye dilated to rule out any tumors or retinoblastoma which is fatal in children.
There are many silent diseases that can be prevented by annual eye exams. Children should receive annual exams starting in their first year of life. The exam should be done by either an optometrist or an ophthalmologist,not a pediatrician(they lack the proper equipment to evaluate the health of the eye)

My youngest, Henry, has that too. I have to patch his eyes for it. One hour a day, one eye. Then the next day, one hour the other eye.

Korrie~
^i^B/G/G 24 w 3d,1/17/00
B 10/31/01
B 1/27/03

<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="" alt="Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker" border="0" /></a>

Thank you all so much for your replies. We went today and the visit went better than I expected. Meaning that Scout did great and didn't cry once. I was so proud! The Doctor dialated her eyes and checked to see if she was farsighted. He also checked for any inflammation. Her vision was fine and there was nothing wrong otherwise. He said that because it didn't have anything to do with her vision, glasses wouldn't help. He also said that patching wouldn't work because both of her eyes are doing it. He said that if one eye was more dominant that patching might help.
So, he wants to do surgery right away. I am kind of surprised because I expected to try some less invasive measures first.

Now, my question is, is this rushing things a bit? Should I get a second opinion and wait months to get in with another doctor?
Has anyone been through the surgery. The doctor acted like the surgery would fix her eye forever, but that is not the impression that I have gotten from others.

Sorry so many question. I am just a little bit freaked out and not sure what to do. I need help from all of you experts!

Thanks!!!!


Becky
Proud Mommy to:
Scout, Maya and Milo 4-5-02

Becky
Proud Mommy to:
Scout, Maya and Milo 4-5-02

I have heard of surgery of this, but hopefully eyeopeners3 will check back with you. Sometimes there is a conflict between people who advocate vision therapy and people who advocate surgery. I checked for an old message board I used to visit, run by the AAPOS, (Am. Assoc. of Ped. Ophth. Surgeons), but the site has been password protected, or maybe there is something wrong with my computer...type aapos in your search engine, I think it is the site with "aapos.bu.edu" or something like that.

The very best of luck to you, I'm so glad her vision is OK, but I'm afraid I do not know enough about whether or not the surgery is a good idea.

Mom of a princess, age six, and two princes, age 4

This is why these boards are great! I JUST got off the phone to make an eye dr appt for my son. I was about to post the exact question. My kids are about 10 days older than yours Becky. Thanks everyone your replies were very helpful.
Tara

I'm glad that some of your questions were answered. Is the same thing happening with your son? I'm curious what his doctor will suggest.
This age is fun ,isn't it! I can see the terrible twos on the horizon though. Maya threw a screaming tantrum today because I would not let her have my wallet! Fun!

Becky
Proud Mommy to:
Scout, Maya and Milo 4-5-02

Becky
Proud Mommy to:
Scout, Maya and Milo 4-5-02

One of Christian's eye seems to turn in. They all were also checked at 12 months. The first person to notice was the nicu dr from a picture (my mom used to work in the hospital), then my ped also mentioned it. We dont go until Feb but I will keep you posted. It is a fun age they seem to learn something new everyday. I feel as if the terrible twos are already here.
Tara

Healthy eyes! That's great news. I would definitely get a second opinion. If the doctor felt that nothing was wrong except the eye turn it is strictly a cosmetic problem. There would be no need to rush into surgery. I would feel much more comfortable with this if you had a second opinion. What state are you in? If you don't want to post this you can send me an email. I might be able to recommend someone for you.

We are in St. Louis. I have a few other names, but I didn't have a chance to call today. If you have a recommendation, that would be great. Thank you so much!

Becky
Proud Mommy to:
Scout, Maya and Milo 4-5-02

Becky
Proud Mommy to:
Scout, Maya and Milo 4-5-02

I am sorry that I have not replied to you sooner. I just read your last post. I will try to post a recommendation for you in the next day or two.

I would get a second opinion ASAP and then do the surgery, if that is what they say. I would hate for you to find out later that you should have done the surgery. Eyes are so important. I have been thrilled with all of the advice we have gotten concerning our daughters eyes. Good luck!

Nancy

Hi Becky,

I don't post very often here either. Not much time on my hands these days. One of my sons has a turned in left eye. I only picked it up about 4 months ago. He sees the eye specialist at the RBH in about 3 weeks. He to had the appropriate tests as an infant and nothing was ever detected. In photos his eye was fine so i never thought anything about it. Until one day after school i noticed it. I think it was more noticable when he started school and had to use the eye more when he was consintrating. It really only turns in when he is sleepy or has had a long day at school. I am only hoping that because it has been found at this late stage ( he is 6 now) that it is going to be fixable. Good luck in your quest, just do what you feel is right, don't be presured and get a second opinion if necessary.

Sharon

Sharon mum to Aimee 14, Taylah, Christopher and Matthew 10