5 Year Old Son Complaining of Seeing Spots

I have 2 kids who have had vision issues. My pedi recommended that they see an opthamologist. However I initially took them to an optometrist, who told us to see a optometrist trained in in visual therapy, which we did, and he was great! They have a different array of tests I think, so you won't get the same answer. My daughter had vision therapy, and she is great now. Costco has cheap appts.

I have seen colored spots, and sometimes wavy lines or other visual distortions before migraine headaches (very bad in my case) about 3 or 4 times in my life, the first time I was 16. I also have had occasional "specks" that moved with my vision, floaters apparently.

hello. this is happening to my daughter, and its starting to really trip me out. could you please email me and let me know the out come of your son? ____@____.com anyone else who has had simillar experiences please

I've had eye strain headaches (from age 5 on ) & ophthalmic migraines all my life. Before the migraines I always see a crescent shaped little bundle of moving lights (that blocks out vision behind it) before hand. Sometimes, when I was younger, I would just get the lights and no other symptoms. One doctor thought it was blood pressure related. But now (in my 30's) I always get the same odd feeling headache afterwards- annoying but not the end of the world. Hopefully its just floaters (as that sounds more like what your son described), but as others have said it couldn't hurt to keep a close eye on him and ask him to tell you more about them if they happen again!

Hi S. -

This happened to me when I was a child - and thought it was really weird. As I got to be an adult - it still happens - but I know now they are fairly common and normal 'floaters' - little spots that just float across my vision - and I've gotten used to it. As long as there is nothing physiologically wrong - :-)

Make sure the Opthamologist refers you to a retina specialist. Just as a precaution to rule out retina problems which come as flashing, stobe effect, black tiny spots. An opthamologist won't necessarily know about retina problems.
GOOD LUCK.

Hello! I wanted to reach out because I came across your post while doing research. I was wondering if your child's vision has improved, or if you have received a diagnosis? I ask because I had the same issues as a child and am now doing research as it seems more and more children are experiencing what I did, perhaps even stronger. By the way, I am now 39 years old and am very healthy :)
My name is S., please reach out with any feedback. Thank you!

My children have the same thing and saw a pediatric opthamalogist who said it was early evidence of migraines.

Hello
just wondering if you have found out something about your sons case my son just asked why her sister and i could not see the little white spots. i already asked him about it but he is 4 and doesnt know who to explain himself. Please reply as soons as possible. Thanks

Does he have an astigmatism?

My 4 (nearly 5) year old son has announced this morning that he sees blue dots floating down on everything. He of course thinks it is funny. Then he added, "sometimes they are red." I made light of it and said, "Maybe they are smurfs." He looked at his sister and grinned and told her, "Hey Gracie, you have smurfs all over your face. They are walking around." I've looked online and didn't find anything. In fact WebMD let me mark that symptom and said, "no known ailments or conditions." My Mom said it has happened to her before and it was always sinus headache related, but there is no pain involved. She suggested Ibuprophen and Sudafed (he has a kids prescription)

Hi, I have seen spots for many years and about 8 years ago a specialist told me that it was migraines. He said that there isn't always pain with migraine headaches. You might want to ask about that and see if that is a possiblity for your child. Good luck!!

I don't have advice really, just that I could have written your question myself, the EXACT same thing happened with my son, even what your ophthalmologist said about smart kids that notice details. I just thought it was really weird I was reading exactly what we went through and same results. My son is 6 1/2 now and he doesn't complain about spots, he says he doesn't see them as often (he's also now in 1st grade and a lot busier so maybe he just isn't noticing them??

By no means is this a professional diagnosis but I thought I would add:

Key points to ask are what color are the floaters. If they are black or clear, most likely they are floaters and since the Ophthalmologist dilated him, I assume no retinal problems have been noted and the floaters are "normal." If they are colored or white, other diagnoses may be sought. One of which is an ophthalmic migraine. These can be elicited by caffeine (too much or too little), food allergies, lights, blood pressure issues,etc.

Of course if they don't go away completely and aren't just common floaters, it's best to look into them more. I'm glad you are checking back his Primary Care doc and I hope it all resolves itself soon. Best of luck.

My family seems to have more than our share of interesting eye issues, and my mom and I both have experienced this. She was referred to one of the best opthamologists in the country at Stanford (for a different issue) and asked about it. He said that everyone has this to some extent - basically there's some kind of residue (that was not his word, I forget the exact term) that is inside your eyes even before you are born. Most of this stuff is absorbed into your body, but some of it isn't, and actually floats around inside the eye. It's normal and not harmful. If your son has had his eyes dilated and the doctor saw nothing wrong, then probably he is just noticing the spots - for most people it's like "white noise" - in other words, since we've all had this all our lives, we don't notice it. Kids always notice way more than adults; as your doctor said, he's a bright kid who notices everything!

My son , saw a pediatric ophthalmologist and he said that his eyes were perfectly fine and he has seen lots of children who talk about the same - seeing spots/

Is it possible he is dehydrated? Just a thought. I get something like that myself when I don't drink enough water. It eventually leads to a headache for me. Good luck.

S.,

I am sure this is scary for you. Is it for him? I encourage you to track this and stay on top of it and not let the doctors dismiss it if it does not go away...

1. is he out in the sun..maybe try sunglasses, sorry if you mentioned that, i am going fast today.
2. Turning up side down can do that when we look up...
3. I saw the spots as a kid, was a highly gifted kiddo..remember being fascinated with those little dots, watching them float. your posts brought back memories....
4. Has he had an injury though..head? Is he fatigued, having neurological symptoms..weakness. I am thinking he is fine but encourage you to watch it and follow that gut instinct mama?

My 4 year old son has been complaining about this over the past week. He is VERY smart so that part of the post actually made me feel better. He has his 4 year check up coming so I think I will have the doctor look anyway. The spots sort of freak him out when they happen. It seems to happen about once or twice a week now for the past 3 weeks. Thank you for the information. Has your son still been seeing them?

Hello,
I have been up reading forums and trying to figure out why my daughter sees colorful spots in her vision. She says they are purple, yellow, red, green and blue. Somewhat like a rainbow. Recently she told me she started seeing them outdoors. I figured it's because of the sunlight. I have made an appointment with ophthalmologist. She has seen an optometrist who dilated her eyes and saw nothing. Do you have an update on your soon? I am worried. I have read about floaters and the ones they describe don't mention colorful spots. I am going to call the ophthalmologist tomorrow in case it's something that needs immediate attention. Please update of possible.

I also see spots, ask him if they are more like silver lines all over. If so, he just needs more iron and even then they still just appear randomly. It's from not enough blood flow to the brain. Sometimes i get so lighted that I pass out.

My 6yrs old has eye floaters, we went with the ophthalmologist, neurology, neurophtalmology, and pediatrician. Everything looks fine. We heard that could be dry eye because he takes zyrtec and singulair for allergy. Please let me know if your son still have the floaters? Or how that ends? Thank you

I see small spots floating around-usually out side. In one of my physiology classes I learned about rods and cones that are used to help us see. Now it has been a long time so I may not explain this right, but there is matter floating around in our eye and sometimes you see spots bouncing around. It is especially prominent for me when I am looking at the sky. I don't know if this is what is going on with your son. I wish you luck and hopefully all will be okay.

My 5 year old daughter has been complaining of the same thing over the past 1-2 months. She does wear a strong eyeglass prescription, and has had some health issues as a baby, but now is extremely healthy and very smart. The pediatric opthamologist thought it could be related to migrain headaches, but her vision and eye health is good. Her pediatrition thought it could be red blood cells floating around, which apparently we all have, but it's older people who usually notice it. My daughter has also developed eczema this fall, we lived in warm weather climates previously. She has no known allergies. Let me know if you find anything else out. Definately be your own (your sons) advocate. What are the risks of an MRI or CT scan? That is a concern I have, that there would be a tumor or mass in the brain - but hopefully that is far from being the problem - just a mother who wants to understand everything.

I accidentally bumped my forehead on a post at home (don't know why!) and I began to see a floater on my right eye (the side that I bumped) a few weeks or months later.

I did not know what it was before (it is a small line that looks like lint), it moves with my eye; sometimes it is annoying when I notice it; sometimes I feel like seeing a fly at the corner of my eye...

I went to an ophthalmologist who diagnosed it, then I remembered that stupid bump sometime ago that I've almost forgotten! He said that is how floater appears when the retina got loosen from the attachment to the back of the eye. The floater will eventually sinks down and would not be that noticeable, but it hasn't yet for me; takes a year or so...

Could it be that your son had a big bump earlier; being 5...!? Good luck!

I see "Floaters" too. Actually funny thing in on Family Guy they had an episode about this not too long ago...may have been a repeat. Anyways, i think he's just seeing the normal stuff that our eyes can see if you are bored enough to pay attention to it. As a kid i'd focus on one of them and watch as i'd move my eye that it'd move with it. Of course I'd definitely want to ask more questions and see if this is in fact what he's seeing or are they white flashes or spots with color..that would be something different.

Good luck but it sounds like normal kid discovery stuff. :) Take a deep breath and try and see the spots yourself...kind of fun!

Hello S.: When ever I see spots in my eyes- it means a migrain. My son used to have a chemical embalance and when the chemistry changed in his system he saw spots and often in color. I hope that you are able to connect with a doctor that will be able to help and soon. Nana G

My son complained about seeing things fly around his room one night. He had eaten a small dinner that night because he had swim lessons, and then we went to ColdStone because it was his last swim lesson. We have noticed since that if he eats sugar after not having a lot of protein he will hallucinate. Sounds crazy, but it has proven true twice already.