Glasses for 11 Month Old

Updated on May 15, 2007
K.C. asks from Franklin, TN
13 answers

My daughter had to have surgery at 8 months to correct a condition called ptosis. Basically, she could not open her eyes more than a crack. We taped them open for short intervals at the advise of the doctor starting at 3 months. After she had the surgery the world really opened up for her and she has been doing really well. Now the opthamologist says that she needs glasses. I don't know how he could tell, since she can't communicate that way yet, but he put a lense in front of her eye and told me she was nearsighted with astigmatism. He then wrote a perscription, which I took and got her a pair of tiny glasses. Here's the thing: My husband and I have no way of knowing if they are helping or hurting her vision. The doctor said she would not want to take them off once she saw clearly, but she will only keep them on for a half hour at the most. I fashioned a tie on strap for them and that seems to help keep them on her face, but we are a bit skeptical about the whole thing. I don't want to ignore a vision problem, but at the same time I'd hate to think she has these things on her face that may or may not be helping. When we look through them they are very strong. I am at a loss. Any thoughts?

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So What Happened?

First off, I want to thank everyone for their helpful information. When I wrote the request, she had only had them for one day. Now she is doing much better and leaves them on most of the time. I have ordered her a new pair online though, a plastic pair with a soft band instead of the metal earpieces and I think they will be a lot better for her. The dr that we are seeing is a specialized pediatric opthamologist. It's not that I didn't trust him, I just didn't understand how the whole thing worked. I always mean to ask lots of questions when I go in, but then my mind goes blank, and when I get home I realize all the things I should have asked. I am more confident now that they are working, cause she seems to see fine when they are on, and doesn't fuss or complain about them. Thanks again for all the info.

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J.J.

answers from Jackson on

K.,
My dad has been an optometrist for 27 years and has had to put glasses on many babies. There is nothing wrong with going to another doc. and getting a 2nd opinion. The glasses are training her eyes to see better. It might help if you put them on in intervals of 30 min. until she is used to them. I don't know where you are from, but my dad might know of a couple of ped. opthamologist in the MS and LA area. PM if you would like me to ask him.

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D.A.

answers from Nashville on

I respect your guardedness about just believing the doctor and I think if you truly don't trust his diagnosis you should have her eyes tested again (for your piece of mind) but an ophthalmologist can test an infant’s eyesight... here's how

http://www.uic.edu/com/eye/LearningAboutVision/EyeFacts/B...

Your baby is most likely going to resist wearing the glasses but you must be persistent for her sake. If her eyesight is off her development will slow and she will probably get headaches too....and she won't be able to tell you (that's just speaking from adult experience)
There are some accessories for infant eyewear that you may want to take advantage of if you haven't already.
Here are some links that might help you and your daughter face and conquer the world of little people eyewear.

http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_I...

http://www.allaboutvision.com/parents/infants.htm

http://www.firstvisionmedia.com/uww/2005_children/dispen_...

Hope some of this helps you and your little girl.

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C.L.

answers from Nashville on

I am not sure which Ophthalmologist did your daughter's surgery for her ptosis, but there are some excellent pediatric Ophthalmologists here in Nashville. Also, by putting the lens in front of your daughter's eye they are able to determine the visual axis of her eye - this says if she is nearsighted or farsighted and whether there is astigmatism or not. She may need to wear the glasses only for a couple years, if that long, until her eyes strengthen and start working together. She is behind a bit since she was not able to develop her eye sight at a young age due to the ptosis. Please continue to have her wear them, in the long run it will be worth all the hastles.
Make sure that you question her doctor until you understand everything that they are trying to accomplish. They may also be exercises available to her that you can do at home.
Best of luck.

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D.F.

answers from Chattanooga on

K.,
I know it's hard to understand how the doctor can make a diagnosis like that without your daughter being able to tell him anything. But trust me, they can. Farsightedness has to do with the shape of the eyeball itself and where the light hits the back of the retina. That is something that the doc. can see just by looking in her eye. My nephew is about 9 mos, and wears glasses. They say that the prescription for a child that small isn't and doesn't have to be exact. Where an adult can say which prescription looks clearer, a child can't. But it does not hurt the child's eyes. It's very important that her eyes are trained to focus the light properly. As for the lenses being very thick, they will be if she has astigmatism. I don't know a whole lot about astigmatism, but my mom, sister, and best friend have it. My sister and friend have great vision (neither farsighted or nearsighted) besides the astigmatism and their glasses are pretty thick. I'm not sure why, but very small children seem to have very thick glasses too. My nephew's are unbelievably thick. But it has to do with training the muscles that hold the eye straight and training the ones that are in the eye to function correctly so that they focus right.
I know it can be intimidating to ask a doctor questions sometimes. But don't be afraid to do it. You are the only one that can voice concerns about your daughter's well-being. If you don't understand how a doc. came to a conclusion or doubt how true it is, ask. Ask him/her how she can tell that she needs glasses or how the glasses are going to help or why their so thick. Your doctor is there to diagnose and treat problems, but they're also there to help you understand they body and what it's doing and why.

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C.L.

answers from Jackson on

Hi K.,

I am C., I have three children ages 8, 9, and 13. I wear glasses and have since 2nd grade. I really believe that you should get a second opinion on your daughters eyes. My daughter SB who is now 8 had to have ear surgery three times and we got three different opinions before we had the surgery done. Thankfully the surgery worked, but we had to make sure that she really needed it before they put her under the knife. As far as your daughters eyes, eye doctors can tell if a person has an astigmatism just by looking into her eyes with a special eye thing. It deals with the curvature of the eye. (I have a really bad astigmatism). As far as knowing if she needs glasses or not, I have no idea how they can tell. But, get that second opinion. See if you can find a doctor that deals with pediatrics only so that you know that they are trained to deal with little ones. I wish you good luck and keep us posted on what happens. C.

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L.N.

answers from Nashville on

There is definitely nothing wrong with getting a second opinion if you have doubts.

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T.

answers from Chattanooga on

I have heard that most kids are farsighted when they are young. The astigmatism is another matter though. I started wearing glasses when I was two. My Mom says I would have worn them earlier if the dr. would have let me. Apparently, 40 years ago they wouldn't put them on anyone younger than 2. I am extremely nearsighted and have an astigmatism. When I was little, I had amblyopia (sp?) or lazy eye and had to wear a patch over my good eye to strengthen my bad eye. I now wear contacts and do fine. However, I am legally blind without my glasses or contacts. Everything is really blurry. My Mom said I didn't want to take my glasses off because I could finally see. Maybe her prescription just needs to be adjusted. Hope this helps. Good luck.

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D.M.

answers from Biloxi on

Dear K., oh my gosh, please don't make her wear them again until you take her to another Dr.!!!! does she not want to wear them??? Remember this always, wearing glasses that you don't need will hurt your eyesight, make your eyes burn and/or itch and also will give her a headache!! Do you have to make her wear them the times that she does wear them?? I have bad astigmatisms,and more then one and I'm farsighted plus I now have mild by-focales(sp) but as a child, I was giving glasses to wear during just reading but when I was at school....no way did I wear them!!! Please take her to another Dr.!! Please just give it a chance!! Don't make her wear them if she complains!! Please let me know what happens, I do care. D.

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M.A.

answers from Jackson on

Hey girl...I would listen to the doctor. I had to have an eye exam a couple months ago and didn't get to tell the doc that last time I had seen an eye doctor that I was slightly far sighted and had a slight astigmatism. They put this lens thingy up to my eyes and could tell. Then they did the regular vision test. Since it has been about 4 years since I last had an exam, my eyes have gotten worse. It is really amazing what they can tell now days just from some special lens they use. Anyway, I hope this puts your mind at ease a little. Good luck. I am 28, sahm/full time student and have 3 kids here with us and 2 in texas, and 2 living with my parents.

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B.P.

answers from Hattiesburg on

i have an eye problem that i was born with (lazey eye) one dr. wanted me to wear glasses before i was one and then my mom found a GREAT dr. in Mobile, AL. I was from Pascagoula and to this day i still see this Dr. I would not force the glasses but i would get a second opin. and i would see a dr. that deals with more children than adults. my dr. use to see just children but now he sees both. if you would like to travel to mobile or he has an office in north LA. I'm not sure where you are from but if you let me know i can e-mail him and ask if he has any friends that you could see close to you.

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J.B.

answers from Knoxville on

you could always take her for a 2nd opinion from another trusted family optomitrist.

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C.P.

answers from Huntsville on

In response to what happened... I'm glad you were able to get the situation handled and glad things are going well. As far as forgetting your questions once you get there, I had the same problem myself and started making a list of my questions every time one came to mind and brought the list in with me. That might help.

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H.M.

answers from Birmingham on

Have you gotten a second opinion? I have a friend (not sure if she sees peds) I can refer you to.

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