Question about eyes

Hi everyone:

My son has recently started rubbing his eyes and rubbing his forehead a lot. It's been maybe 2 weeks now. I also notice he seems to furrow his brow when he looks at certain things, almost as if he's squinting. I was wondering if maybe these are signs that he needs glasses or has a vision problem. For those parents whose children do wear glasses, how did you know your child was having a problem?

I heard recently that all preemies should be tested, but my doc has never mentioned that. For those parents of preemies, what do your pedis suggest as far as testing?

Also - just curious - how exactly do they test a toddler's vision? Mine are just learning how to talk, so they certainly aren't reading an eye chart!

Thanks,

EC twins

 

I just had Josh's vision tested because of the same reasons. Hannah, my 10 year old, wears glasses.

Hannah came to school with me everyday when I would volunteer, and since she was only a year younger, would sit and do the same work that the K's were doing. She had trouble reading the board when we sat in the back, so I took her in. She got glasses at age 5.

I was noticing Josh having trouble seeing things in the distance here lately. One time he saw a broom flipped over at the end of the driveway, and thought it was some sort of animal. I took him in and he was 20/20 and 20/30, so we are just watching him for now.

I was not back there for Josh's test, but I think that they held up pictures and he had to tell the nurse what they were??? Not sure on that. Even if they are non-verbal, there are definitely ways of checking their vision. Your ped should give you a referral if he/she is not capable of doing a toddler exam.

Here is an article on toddler eye exams.

Good luck!

 

My twins were preemies and they have seen a pediatric ophthalmologist once a year to check their vision. We will go back next year as well to be checked. I have contacts so I am sure they will eventually need glasses, as will my oldest DD at some point probably. They use their instruments to check their vision, believe me it can be done.

 

I think for preemies they only had to have the test for ROP if they were under 34 weeks gestation at birth. I remember this b/c we just passed the cutoff.

 

My 2 get tested every year ( 32 week preemies) and both have slightly lower than average vision for thier age....but for now we are watching it.

I have glasses and got them at an early age- so they most likely at some point will too.

They use drop/instraments early on- this visit they will use a picture chart!

 

My Now 10 year old, also did the same thing. It turned out he is colour blind and struggled to "pick" up the colours and it strained his eyes. Best take him for eye testing

 

I don't there we be any harm in taking him to an optometrist. If only to help with the concerns you have. We just took our twins about two weeks ago.

My Dh is optometry school and so we were able to get their eyes checked free by the clinic. They do a really good job. I don't know if there is an optometry school close by, but that would be an idea of a place to take him to get his eyes checked for a really reasonable price that does a great job.

 

I noticed one of the concerns is how the doc would know what is going on because your son is just learning to talk. That is one of the reasons why I would take him to an optometrist compared to just the ped. An optometrist have different ways of testing then just the eye chart.

My DH also said that there are important things to look for when doing an eye exam. Like how the eye responds to the light, what the pupil does when x happens. I can't remember all the detail, but that is also how the doc opt. would be able to evaluate your son's eyes. HTH!

 

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. Everyone has been very helpful as usual. I will definitely take him to an eye doc.

 

Hi EC twins,
My wife asked me to reply. I have a few ideas.

He is most likely near sided. A person squints because the light is focusing to close to the front of the eye instead of near the retina. Your child is probably having a hard time seeing distance objects, or at least enough that his natural response is to focus the light more (done by squinting). I imagine that by squinting enough, you can develop some muscle strains. The muscles around the eye and in the eyelids may be overworked. They can be calmed and made to feel better by rubbing them, same thing as if you had a back massage. But that is just a temporary fix. He would need some sort of assistance, wether it be glasses, vision therapy, or both. The doctor would be able to let you know.

This may be hard to determine without actually running some simple tests, but if his headaches are near the center of his head, then the muscles in his eyes could be compensating for a slight eye turn. This eye turn cannot be seen since he has the ability to compensate for it. But, to compensate for the problem, he has to constantly work those muscles. Think of going running and never stopping. Eventually, your muscles will die out and you will be subject to aches and pains. Same situation with the eyes. He is trying to use his given anatomy to correct the problem but it is too big of a fix.

Just as a side note, I would recommend everychild seeing an eye doctor every two years, from the first year of life. There are many eye problems that can happen from birth that can be corrected for early. Some of the problems, if not found in the first few years of life can be permanent, causing reading problems and development issues for the rest of thier life. Some of these problems, as the one above, are not obvious and sometimes are never seen unless tested for by an optometrist

Sorry to ramble on but I hope this helps.

 

QUOTE(bodad @ Feb 13 2008, 12:33 PM) [snapback]620047[/snapback]
Hi EC twins,
My wife asked me to reply. I have a few ideas.

He is most likely near sided. A person squints because the light is focusing to close to the front of the eye instead of near the retina. Your child is probably having a hard time seeing distance objects, or at least enough that his natural response is to focus the light more (done by squinting). I imagine that by squinting enough, you can develop some muscle strains. The muscles around the eye and in the eyelids may be overworked. They can be calmed and made to feel better by rubbing them, same thing as if you had a back massage. But that is just a temporary fix. He would need some sort of assistance, wether it be glasses, vision therapy, or both. The doctor would be able to let you know.

This may be hard to determine without actually running some simple tests, but if his headaches are near the center of his head, then the muscles in his eyes could be compensating for a slight eye turn. This eye turn cannot be seen since he has the ability to compensate for it. But, to compensate for the problem, he has to constantly work those muscles. Think of going running and never stopping. Eventually, your muscles will die out and you will be subject to aches and pains. Same situation with the eyes. He is trying to use his given anatomy to correct the problem but it is too big of a fix.

Just as a side note, I would recommend everychild seeing an eye doctor every two years, from the first year of life. There are many eye problems that can happen from birth that can be corrected for early. Some of the problems, if not found in the first few years of life can be permanent, causing reading problems and development issues for the rest of thier life. Some of these problems, as the one above, are not obvious and sometimes are never seen unless tested for by an optometrist

Sorry to ramble on but I hope this helps.

Just wanted to clarify since he didn't, he is my dh.

 

QUOTE(summerfun @ Feb 12 2008, 10:55 PM) [snapback]619173[/snapback]
My twins were preemies and they have seen a pediatric ophthalmologist once a year to check their vision. We will go back next year as well to be checked. I have contacts so I am sure they will eventually need glasses, as will my oldest DD at some point probably. They use their instruments to check their vision, believe me it can be done.


Ours are 30-weekers. They were checked for ROP in the hospital before discharge, and we have our one year follow up next week. I thought they were just checking for ROP; didn't know it was to check accuracy of their vision as well (or maybe I just don't have a good understanding of what ROP is?!) Anyway, it's probably a good thing they'll be checked since I needed glasses at age 8.

 

QUOTE(melissao @ Feb 12 2008, 11:56 PM) [snapback]619235[/snapback]
I think for preemies they only had to have the test for ROP if they were under 34 weeks gestation at birth. I remember this b/c we just passed the cutoff.


Hannah was born at 35 weeks, and was tested.