My 3 year old son came home from daycare on Thursday after playing with glitter. I noticed that he kept squeezing his eyes together on a constant basis. I called the doctor and he told me it is nothing to worry about. I was told to use either Visine or an eye wash.
Does anyone know when the appropriate age is to get an eye exam? He seems to squeeze his eyes at least 2 - 3 times per every 5 minutes. Should I take the doc's advice or go to someone else?
Any help will be most appreciated!
Thanks.
I would say have him examed. I know someone that my son goes to daycare... is about 4 months old and already has glasses... it is never too early if there is something not right.
My son was 4 months old when he was sent to a pediatric opthamologist. It turned ot he had a rare degenerative cataract & had to undergo surgery to save his sight. 2 of my 3 kids were preemies & were at the pediatric opthomolgist shortly after they were home from the hospital. Please consider taking your son to another Dr. I don't know where you are located but if you are in PA near Scranton I can give you the # of a great Dr. She literally has saved my son's sight & although he is now 1 year old he just underwent his second eye surgery for a lens implant. He is doing extremely well. Its better to check out the problem & it be nothing-then let it go & it can be something. After all, my son's visist was a just supposed to be a percaution & it turned out to be extremely serious. I wish you luck but a second opinion wouldn't hurt.
My eye doctor said to take them at two. I think if you notice your child squinting, you should take them. They have ways of testing to make sure they do not need glasses, without requiring them to read.
Calling the doctor was good and his advice was sound based on what he knew, but he didn't actually examine your son. You followed his instructions and rinsed however, since you have noticed him still rubbing his eyes something is irritating them. I wouldn't let it wait, call the optomatrist and get him an appointment. When it comes to your eyes it is better safe than sorry. No age is too young if you think there is an injury or problem. If you don't have insurance the Daycare should cover the cost since the problem occured when he was in there care. That's why they carry insurance.
Good morning Jenn,
My son had a exam @ 2 they r very good to the children if u r in doubt take him they will be able to find it Good Luck and God bless Esta
There are pediatric ophthalmologists that are quite good, but they are mainly focused on the anatomy of the eyes, so they may not be able to assess the reason why your child is blinking, unless he has an object in there. My child had a period of time when he did a lot of blinking. I would tell him when I observed it and it eventually stopped (several months) - stage and age. Good luck
My son did that around that age as well. He would squeeze his eyes shut really hard repeatedly for several minutes. It really scared me. I thought he had some kind of neurological tic or something! So I took him to the doctor and it turns out that he was just blinking! We think that he had just figured out that when he shuts his eyes it gets dark and when he opens them it's light. LOL It lasted for about 6 weeks or so.
But if it's concerning you, there's nothing wrong with getting his eyes checked...either by an eye doctor or your family doctor.
Take him to a pediatric opthamologist. My son is two yrs old and wears glasses. First two visits there they told me I was crazy (not really) that they did not see a problem. Well, I was persistent....took pictures and low and behold new dr and he walked out with a prescription for glasses. Extremely farsighted and a crossed eye. Email me directly for any onfo. Good luck!
I would get him evaluated. It's probably nothing, but you should have your child seen whenever there is a problem, regardless of his age. My daughter's first visit to the ophthalmologist was just after birth! She was seen every six months after that. They cope.. Also if the blinking is truly done all the time, it may be the symptom of a type of seizure that you should be aware of.
If you notice a problem with his eyes, it doesn't matter what age is recommended for an eye exam. Look up pediatric ophthalmologists and make an appointment right away. If you're in the Westwood area, Westwood Ophthalmology has an excellent pediatric doctor.
Hi J.,
My daughters first eye exam was at five years old when she was about to enter kindergarten. But if you think something is not right, then you should get it checked out. The doctors dont know our children like we do, and if you think something is wrong, then there probably is. You might want to try to flush them out with plain water. He is not going to be happy, but it might help. maybe at bath time would be the perfect time to do it. Its worth a shot if it makes him feel better. If nothing helps, then bring him to the doctors and make them examine the eye.
Hi
Yes, he can see an eye doc. My son was one when we went to the eye doc. If u are in the Brooklyn area, i have a good eye doc for kids if u want the num.
Good Luck!
If you think he has a problem with his vision you can take him for an eye exam at any age. My oldest son had eye surgery at 8 months, so that means he had several exams before that.
If you think he has glitter in his eye his regular Ped should be able to flush his eye for you without the added expense of an eye doctor that will see a 3 yr old. Also, you might consider letting the daycare know that 3 years old is a bit young to be making projects with glitter, and that you would prefer he not play with it anymore.
if you think it was happening prior to the glitter then i would take him for an exam
DO NOT USE VISINE!!!! there are chemicals in it that are bad for your eyes... for everyone! if you need to use drops, the eye dr should tell you what to use-- probably just tears to wash it out.
if you haven't taken him to the eye dr. definately do that. Especially if there may be something in his eyes. small things like that can scratch and you wouldn't even know it!!
i took my 8 month old for her first exam and plan on doing so each year. there is a governmental program for infant eye exams that is free, so take your younger son when he is 6-8 months old.
they are usually great with kids and have games they play with them. Plus you should do it early with him so that there is no resistance or fear of doctors as he grows older. my 4 year old went when he was 2.5 and he was fine-- he actually really enjoyed it.
Hi J.,
Take the doc's advice. Sometimes kids do that for attention.
N.
