I’ve noticed, Ethan has been slowly going cross-eyed. You don’t see it all the time, but occasionally, you notice that his left eye is a little bit inward. At first, I thought it was just they angle, but now with more people noticing too, I made an appointment and took him in.
It was horrible to say the least. He absolutely refused to cooperate. Dr. Gibbons, the optometrist, was brilliant. He tried many strategies to get Ethan to cooperate. He allowed him to play, taking breaks, letting him play with his own children’s toys in his office and even allowing him eat candy during the assessment.
I was very quickly impressed with Dr. Gibbons. Especially, when he proceeded to get down on the floor to Ethan’s level, trying to get the view he needed. Every attempt was quickly shot down with tears and screaming. I’m not sure if it’s the unfamiliarity off the new situation, Dr. Gibbons or both. By the time we were leaving, he seemed pretty comfortable with the area and Dr. Gibbons.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
- Ethan has an astigmatism in his left eye. Dr. Gibbons isn’t sure if the crossing of the eyes is due to him trying to focus on things with an astigmatism.
- Once we establish his prescription, we can see if the glasses will correct it. Basically, it’s the process of elimination.
THE GOOD
- It doesn’t look serious and should cause alarm. We will follow-up regularly.
THE BAD
- We won’t know anything for sure until we can establish Ethan’s prescription.
THE UGLY
- It may take many visits, even months before Ethan cooperates enough to establish his prescription.
I’m making another appointment for next week. Lets hope that one goes better than this one. I’m not looking forward to “Months” of toddler/optometrist “playdates” before we get this figured out. Any advice?
I managed an eye doc's office before I had the child. I have been punched, kicked, slapped, and head butted by many a kid. Usually they do better the more comfortable/older they get. Good luck and hope the doc gets it figured out sooner rather than later. It def wouldn't hurt to ask about patching.
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Thea
Do I have advice? Don't I always. Okay, so you must find a highly recommended children's opthamologist. They have sneaky, crazy wonderful ways of doing things with kids without them even sitting in a chair. My daughter had what you might call lazy eye, but it went the opposite direction, it has a huge fancy name, but I would butcher it. Her eyes didn't always looked 'crossed' only when she was tired they'd kind of vere outward. We did 2 years of patching therapy and vision therapy, her vision was 20/20 even with the crossing. Last year she had corrective surgery and no more issues. But key being someone that only works with kiddos.
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So, I am interested in the patching. My husband also had this issue and he did patching, also. The Dr. Said it could be hereditary, too. I just want to make sure the “colicky” symptoms are not also caused from headaches from trying to focus when looking. IDK, I just wish it was easier said than done, lol. We are going to try bringing in our PSP with some Yo Gabba Gabba on it and see it it works. Thanks for reading!
Oh been there don't that! We only did one visit though and the doc was HORRIBLE. Glad you found what sounds like a great doc!
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I have astigmatism and I read and look at things up close cross-eyed. Didn't know that until my eye doc told me about it a few years ago. It causes headaches and problems focusing on things up close.
Good luck with his appointments. I can help out if you need me to!
I’m glad you got it checked out. You might want to record what you are seeing and take it in with you. Sometimes that helps.