Is this common?

Question

My 9 month old has one eye that drifts in a little. They are sending me to an optomologist in a couple of months. Should i be worried. Or does this kind of thing fix itself?

Answer 1

He might have a lazy eye.They might be able to do surgery.

Answer 2

My first daughter was diagnosed with strabismus (exotropia or lazy eye drifts out) when she was about 1. It's not usually a big deal. The odds of it getting worse is very very low. They will most likely just keep an eye(pardon the pun) on it for a few months and wait to see if it does go away if not then they'll wait...till he's around 18mo. (because you may have a fighting chance of keeping the patch on) and most likely patch the stronger eye to strengthen the weak eye. If there is still a subtle deviation they will do a vision test and if there is a vision problem possibly do glasses and then bring you back for another look....that's as far as we are right now and my girls 4 1/2. It's not a big deal if they have to have surgery to fix it. It's very non invasive my friend had it and once they do that it's usually fixed for good. Best news is that it does usually go away. Children with severe lazy eye usually show obviously from birth....surprisingly lazy eye effects MOST infants at one point or another as they develop and then it just goes away.

Answer 3

Don't worry, but do research. There are eye exercises to do to strenghten muscles. And if it does end up being something that requires surgery, It will fix the problem. I had a friend who had a lazy eye until he was 30. He finally had the surgery, and it was perfect. Also there are glasses that make the eye muscle work harder to correct it
I searched lazy eye and came up with this.
Amblyopia. can be caused from lesser vision in one eye developes between birth and 6 years old and completely reversible. It also says to do an informal test by getting childs attention with a favorite toy to follow while you hold the toy. then cover the babies stronger eye, and see if the child crys or strains to use the covered or stronger eye. See a ped's opthamologist.

Answer 4

My daughter had a lazy eye as an infant. Her doctor felt it would correct itself - it did not. An exam showed that she could actually pull her eye back in when she tried. We began doing "pencil pushups". We actually started with a toy. You hold it about a foot away from your child's face and slowly move it toward the bridge of the nose. As the child's eyes follow the toy the muscles are exercised and strengthened. My daughter's eye will still drift a little when she is tired, but she is aware of the drift and she can correct it.

Answer 5

No, you should not be worried. This is quite common. Often it does not require any sort of intervention, but you and the child are being referred just in case it does in your child. The usual intervention is glasses at a later age. There are also some simple eye exercises that you can guide the child through a couple times a day that will help overcome the lazy eye Yes, that's what it's really called - lazy eye. That dosen't sound so scary, does it?

Answer 6

Does the eye drift more when he/she's tired?

No matter when it drifts (I'm just curious because my son's eye does that when he's tired) it's nothing to be worried about. Sometimes the eye muscles are a little weak and the problem can be fixed by patching the 'good' eye, so the drifting one can work on becoming stronger (when the 'good' one's patched, the weaker one must compensate)

Don't worry, Mama! It's OK!

Answer 7

Amblyopia (also called lazy eye) develops when the brain shuts off or suppresses vision in one eye. This can happen if your baby's eyes are misaligned or if he can't see as well with one eye because of nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or something that's blocking clear vision in that eye, like a cataract or a drooping eyelid.

About 3 to 6 percent of children under the age of 6 develop amblyopia. Treatment is most successful before age 5 or 6, although recent research shows that even older children may recover their vision. If ignored, though, amblyopia can result in permanent vision loss.

How to recognize amblyopia
Identifying the problem isn't easy because children can get along fine using only one eye. The less-used eye may look perfectly normal, even though your baby isn't using it to see.

Your child's doctor should routinely test for amblyopia (as well as strabismus) by checking the eyes independently and together. But pediatric ophthalmologist James Ruben, a member of the AAP section on ophthalmology, says it's also a good idea for you to occasionally test the vision in your child's eyes at home.

Testing for amblyopia at home
Here's a simple way to get an idea of whether your baby's eyes are both pulling their weight:

While your baby is interested in an object — a toy bear that you dance in front of him, for example — cover one of his eyes (it helps to have a partner for this). See if he follows the object with his uncovered eye as you move it. Then cover the other eye and see if he follows the object just as well — and as far.

It's a little tricky to test a baby, who may lose interest or become distracted before your informal test is over. But if one eye seems weaker, try testing it again another time — maybe starting with the other eye first.

If your baby seems to be able to see better with one eye than the other, schedule an appointment with either your child's doctor for a vision screening test or an ophthalmologist, who can diagnose and treat the problem


My husband had this as a child it wasnt caught in time to save his vision 100%. Good Luck and make sure they do something to fix it

Answer 8

i was born with a lazy eye...and so was my godsister...however, i had to go for surgery but til today (12 years later) i have good eyesight and never needed glasses, while she didn't need surgery and just needs glasses....there are different ways to fix it, and your optomologist should know better...it may not be serious, so your baby might not need to go for anything....i was 4 when I had my surgery, and i remember all the eye checkups I had to go to...they didn't hurt or leave any traumatic experience...the surgery didn't hurt, and i could see perfectly afterwards...my mom took pictures, and my eyes were red for the next couple days or so....i'm sure your baby will be fine...and if your baby has to go for surgery, it won't hurt your baby....hope everything goes well =)

Answer 9

A lot of babies are a little cross-eyed. If you are being sent to an ophthalmologist, then it may be a little more than normal. If it isn't severe, they'll probably try putting a patch over the normal eye, to strengthen the muscles that control the "lazy eye." If it is deemed too severe to be treated that way, then surgery may be recommended. Good luck!

Answer 10

It's fairly normal. Your opthomologist will likely patch the good eye for awhile, that will force the "lazy eye" muscles to strengthen. Your child may have to wear glasses alittle later, but it likely will correct itself. I know 2 little girls who have had this condition. Both were severe cases, one had a patch on and off for about 4 years, the other now wears a special contact lense and glasses. They are perfectly healthy, well adjusted children. My brother also had the condition 40 years ago.
Ask your opthomologist how best to talk to your child about it (as he/she grows up) so that they feel confident and reasured, if you are uneasy. You will also have to prepare yourself with answers for questions people will ask. The best approach of course, is honesty.

Answer 11

when i was a baby mine did the same thing. I had corrective surgery on one eye when i was 3 and then the other started to do the same thing, so i had surgery again when i was 4. The muscles in my eyes were too relaxed. Today i have 20/20 vision. I did miss the window to develop depth perception but since i've never known it, i've never missed it. I just do not find any fascination in 3D movies, and i suck at tennis. lol i wouldn't worry too much.