Anyone's DC have strabismus?

blueLu25 · August 2011

I think ds has this, and we will go see the dr (again) about it, but just wondering what people's personal experiences were as far as treatment etc. When he was a baby we were told it was "pseudo" and he would outgrow it when his face/ head grows, but it seems worse now.

cmcmillan · August 2011

I have no idea what it is <-- off to google

blueLu25 · August 2011

Its kind of like lazy eye.

cmcmillan · August 2011

Has he been to an eye doctor? Might be a good next step.

keri1013 · August 2011

Max is monitored for this as he had some symptoms but they are mostly gone now. My advice is to see a pediatric opthamologist. My pediatrician referred us to the one we see: Dr. Werner Cadera at Eye Surgeons Northwest. He has offices in Mount Vernon and Seattle, we go to Mount Vernon. I think you can self-refer, I would make an appointment with him or ask your pedi to refer if your insurance requires that. It is very treatable but it needs to be treated early (it runs in my family so I have some experience with it). Let me know if you have any questions!

blueLu25 · August 2011

Ok, thanks Keri! We are going to the pedi on Fri to hopefully get a referral, but not sure we want to go back to Group Health (where they sent us last time) as they took forever, and then didnt give us much info. My sister has pretty severe lazy eye so I know it runs in our family too.

koosh ball · August 2011

My husband had this surgery as an adult. I would highly suggest getting it taken care of early. It has had an impact on his driving (depth perception) and he is unable to see 3D. His was pretty bad and he should probably get it corrected again but I know I won't be able to convince him.

My niece had the surgery as a child and she is fine also. It wasn't a huge problem for her though.

kar5162 · August 2011

DS has it (had it) and had surgery to correct both eyes at 14 months. They may try glasses, patching, surgery or just monitoring depending on your child's age, degree of severity and whether the problem is in one or both eyes. DH has it in one eye and never had it corrected (but probably should soon). DS had it in both eyes and it was beginning to impact his ability to see from one eye - at 22 months, his eye alignment continues to look great and his vision is good.

DS dr is at Children's and we've been really happy with her. I'm not sure what your options are through Group Health, but I'd definitely insist on a pediatric ophthalmologist for a full evaluation. From the research we did, early correction can really help ensure 3D vision which is necessary for developing proper depth perception.

blueLu25 · August 2011

Thanks! Its so tough to tell b/c his eyes only do it when he is focusing on something (I think). Like if you hold something in front of him and ask him to look at it, his one eye will go into the center and he looks sort of cross-eyed. But the majority of the day you wouldnt really notice it. I have a lot of pictures of him where it is really obvious, maybe because he is looking at the camera? I am curious to see what the dr. has to say. I have read that it impacts depth perception, and I have noticed that he runs into stuff and falls down a lot compared to me friend's kids, but not sure how much of that is b/c he is a 3 yr old boy, etc. Anyway, thanks so much for the input!

kar5162 · August 2011

DS's was only noticable in one eye the majority of the time and not noticable at all until in pictures starting somewhere between 4 and 6 months. It was an issue in both eyes though, even though we still only saw it in the second eye rarely once his doctor pointed it out. Anyway, the pediatric opthamologist should have the tools to determine whether his eyes just look like they are crossing or whether they actually are. If you are seeing it while he's trying to focus though, it definitely sounds like he needs a closer look. Good luck. At least in our experience, even the surgery was relatively quick and easy - DS seemed to be feeling quite well again 24 hours after surgery and his eyes looked great within 2 weeks...not nearly as bad as I had been expecting.

keri1013 · August 2011

blueLu25:
Thanks! Its so tough to tell b/c his eyes only do it when he is focusing on something (I think). Like if you hold something in front of him and ask him to look at it, his one eye will go into the center and he looks sort of cross-eyed. But the majority of the day you wouldnt really notice it. I have a lot of pictures of him where it is really obvious, maybe because he is looking at the camera? I am curious to see what the dr. has to say. I have read that it impacts depth perception, and I have noticed that he runs into stuff and falls down a lot compared to me friend's kids, but not sure how much of that is b/c he is a 3 yr old boy, etc. Anyway, thanks so much for the input!

They will definitely have the tools to assess this, and they will ask you lots of questions too about when/what you notice. I would bring some pictures in as well to show them. Ditto pp, definitely insist on a pediatric opthamologist referral! I have been very happy with Dr. Cadera and his office, if he is covered under your plan.

picksthemusic · August 2011

I personally had strabismus as a baby, and had to have surgery on my eye muscles and wear a patch, and glasses. I think it really depends on the severity of it, but I definitely had to see a specialist and get it all worked out. I've had to wear glasses my entire life, and now have prisms in them to make my eyes work together, otherwise I see double. It's not fun, but it's definitely not a life sentence.

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