Anyone take their preemies to the eye Dr?

cara-n-steve

We have an eye Dr. appointment tomorrow morning and I was just wondering what to expect.  She's a pediatric eye Dr. that specializes in preemies.  Will their eyes have to be dilated?

BostonLove11

My son has had two rountine check-ups since his first exam in the NICU.  At the first check up (at 3 months old) they had to put drops in his eyes then wait 10 minutes before a quick exam.  The second check-up (at 9 months) they didn't need to do those drops and she just did a quick exam.  Of course it is torture for them and not fun to hear them cry/scream:-(  But it is really quick.  Good luck!

str8ota

My DD had ROP and had to have surgery after she was released from the hospital. We saw the ophthalmologist twice a week and the routine was we go there, they would put drops in her eyes to dilate them, then 15 minutes later they would put more drops in her eyes then we would see the dr 15 minutes after that.  During the appointment there will be a lot of forcing eyes open to examine them, it's always good to have a pacifier or bottle handy so if necessary you can soothe them during the examine.  Another thing, if there are older children in there I would request to be put in an examine room as soon as I got there if they can accommodate you.  The other thing, considering how far you are from the office and how often you will see the dr I would request drops to take home.  I would give DD the drops in her eyes right before we left for our appointments and then once we got there they would give her her second dose of drops, really made things go faster.  GL!

CBJmommy

we've gone twice. Once right after being released from the NICU (it was actually the second followup that should've been done in the hospital but she went home sooner than expected!) and then at 6 months. She was dialated both times and it was very uneventful!

sail123

We did. Their eyes were dilated and then the doc checked for ROP as well as alignment issues. It was a really easy appointment as they were fine. 

One thing though, there were lots of kids in the waiting room when we went. THe doctor put us in an exam room right away so that our guys wouldn't be in contact with any other kids. Make sure your doctor does the same. Apparently eye docs are sometimes less vigilant about this than pediatricians.  

ShannonSky

We did twice, DD had a blocked tear duct. They put some drops in to see if the eye was draining properly. The first time, it wasn't, that eye doc gave us some massage techniques to do on her cheek. The second time, it was fine. We saw the first doc through the Infant See program and the second one through a referral by our pedi.

TriciaJoy

Robbie didn't have to go until he was 1 (He managed to escape ROP) but yes, they did dilate his eyes then. It wasn't too bad. Robbie hated the drops but was over it quickly. They mostly just looked at his eyes a bit. There's not real test to speak of.

I thought it was a lot easier than the eye exams they did in the NICU, which were awful, IMO.

Kate621

Jack has seen a pedi opthamologist twice since he's been home and has to follow up every 6 months. Since this will be there first visit I'd say they will have to have their eyes dilated. It never sesms to bother Jack too much. Just some eye drops and then waiting an hour. Usually the exams are pretty painless as long as Jack cooperates and isn't interrupted during nap time. GL!