My Son Crosses

Hi, my 3 year old daughter has the same problem. She got her glasses about a year ago. Her left eye crosses. We moved here last fall and I just took her to the new pediatric opthomologist. Where we lived before they had us using a patch for two hours a day to strengthen the eye that was turning in.
The doctor we just saw is trying a stronger prescription and says if it doesn't work then we'll have to do surgery. If that's the case then we'll have to get a few other opinions before doing the surgery. It was hard at first getting her to wear glasses and getting used to it but now its as if she always has worn them. Best of luck to you.

Hi,
I wish I had found out that my son had a serious eye problem when he was that young. I noticed that sometimes his eyes looked crossed but most of the time he was fine. I thought it was just me seeing things b/c no one else noticed it. Until he was in preschool, when he was reluctant to read and pulled books close to his face. We found out too late and now my son will need glasses for the rest of his life most likely. He doesn't mind but my husband did at first. My husband refused to believe he needed glasses at first. I have two suggestions for you. One is that if you are not seeing a specialist by now you should take him to a good one...we went to Will's Eye Hospital in Philadelphia to see Dr Reinecke. The other is to let your husband know that if your son doesn't wear the glasses it will get worse and he will suffer. My son compensated with one eye to make up for the other which only made the other worse. If we hadn't caught it when we did his eye would have drifted and it would have been alot harder to correct. Hang in there...my son's eyes got better within the year. If you have any questions get a second opinion. I'm so glad we did b/c the first doctor we took my son too didn't even catch the problem and the strength of the lense wasn't enough. Just remember, things could be so much worse...at least he can see and his health isn't in danger. Good luck.

Hi N., My five year old daughter crosses in both of her eyes. She has been wearing bifocals since she was 2. She was borderline on having surgery, but her ped. ophthalmologist decided to try the glasses first. She still crosses when her glasses aren't on, but no where nearly as bad. she started on a very strong pres. and is slowly lowering her pres. every 6 months to a year. the key to his success in my opinion is making sure you have a really good pediatric ophthalmologist. we had to go to a few docs before we found a great one for our daughter. We moved when she was 4 and decided to keep going to her, even though she is 6 hours away from our home. we only see her 2-3 times a year so we just make a trip out of it to visit with family also. be patient with his eyes though. it takes a while. my daughter may be out of her glasses here in the next year or two.

Hi,
I am 37 and have strabismus and amblyopia (spelling?) I wasn't diagnosed until I was 5 and by then it was too late. They patched my eye for a while, but it did no good. My eyes do not focus together, therefore, I have no depth perception. This is a problem with many things, such as learning to drive, etc. I also have headaches from the left eye doing all the work.
So, although there have been many advances since 1975...I highly recommend that you get a second and third opinion. Go to a specialist, eyes are not something to take lightly.
Good Luck.

My sister was born with it too. She had surgery when she was 12 or so and it really didn't take. However, she just had it again a few years ago. This one took very well and she looks great! I think it's a case of medicine catching up with the need. More people show this now than before. My sister in law also had this. She had the surgery about ten years ago. It took and I'd never know either of them had this to begin with.

NOT having the surgery is not truly an option. Kids are mean! I mean, terribly mean. Something as simple as crossed eyes is reason enough to give a child a serious complex. Take care of it. convince your husband that it IS highly important. When kids are 'different' they don't make the friends that they would have made otherwise.

Wishing your son the best.
D.

While I have NOT gone through this, I have been married for 13 1/2 years now. I have to say that one of the most important things to have in a marriage is honest communication. Talk to you husband about it. Tell him you wanted to see how he was doing with it and where he thinks you should go from here. Although you are okay with what the doctor has told you and think he is doing a pretty good job with you son, perhaps your husband isn't. Tell him that's okay and see if he wants you to get a second opinion. He may be okay with what's going on and may be dealing well with it. Perhaps he is worried about how you are dealing with it. The important thing is to talk about it so that you can both agree on how to proceed with your son even if proceeding is simply waiting it out.

I wish you the best of luck with your sons condition and I hope yo and your husband can talk through this making your marriage stronger in the process.

My three year old has strabismus and i noticed a little difference now after she has been wearing glasses for 8 months. it takes time and it is also hard to keep the glasses on a child to make there eyes better. just be patient