Lazy Eye

I had a lazy eye as a kid. The doctor had my mom do eye exercises with me each day. For example, hold two pencils directly in front of the eyes, at different distances, and have the child focus from one to the other. Then hold the pencils on opposite sides of the face and do the same. Granted, this was a long time ago. :) This may also be difficult with a two year old.
Good luck!

They put glasses on my brother when he was little for his lazy eye. He only had to wear them about a year and a half and has never worn glasses since. He has perfect eye sight.

It could actually be accomodative esotropia (google it). My daughter has it. One day I noticed one of her eyes was crossed when she was watching tv. It was usually her left eye but sometimes her right eye did it to. She had to get glasses when she was 3, but she does great with them. I took her to the peditrician and they couldnt really do anything for her and told me to go to an opthamologist, so I would see if you could get an appointment withthem without a refferral. I was told if left untreated she could have lost vision in the eye that was crossing a lot, so I would def. get it checked out asap.

My daughter did not pass the vision test at her school. They recommended that we go to get her eyes checked at the eye Dr. When they examined her they discovered that she has a lazy eye. She has to wear glasses. They said that with the glasses it will correct itself. The eye that is lazy has a stronger prescription so that it will train that eye to work. I would recommend taking them to the eye Dr. You don't need a referral. The appointment is not usually the costly part, just the glasses. Good luck

My two children both have a lazy eye, and I didn't know this before I took them to get their eyes checked. I wasn't thinking it was much even after I found out, but I have heard that they can actually have a lot of problems because of it. I would recommend taking them to an eye doctor. But make sure he comes recommended by someone you know. I have been to some who don't do much. I take both my kids to Dr. Wasserman in Largo. He is really good with kids and was very attentive to their lazy eyes. He is also very considerate if you don't have insurance (which I don't). I don't know where you live, but I would definately take them to someone. The eye appointment is around $100 and you can get 2 pairs of glasses at Vision works for $100. Don't get drawn into getting glasses at the eye doctor as they are costly without insurance. The doctor will give you a prescription and you take it somewhere to get filled. But definately don't take them to an eye doctor at the eye glasses store, they are not attentive to problems, only getting you in and out. Good Luck.

Hi! Has a doctor diagnosed this?

I had a concerned parent in a store tell me that my daughter's eyes were wrong--his daughter had been through it and nearly had some serious consequences. My pediatrician said that when they're little, the bridge of their nose is so small that it makes an optical illusion of lazy eyes. He told me to check it out at night, when she's near a strong light. If the reflections are in the same place on both eyes, then she's okay.

But that part was just so I could check and feel better. He checked himself and said it was fine.

Nothing you can do but see a doctor and yes, you need to do it as soon as you can. The earlier they start treatment, the more likely they can correct it. If not corrected, they will definately need glasses, so either way, you need to get the insurance. I have a very mild lazy eye that doesn't affect me much anymore and I don't wear contacts or glasses. When i was 4, I had to wear a patch over my good eye for hours a day to help strenghten the lazy one. My brothers was more severe and he had to wear glasses his entire childhood before it corrected. Sorry!

We do not have health insurance. My 13 year old daughter has a lazy eye. We went to a regular eye Dr. when it was discovered. We were then refered to a pediatric eye specialist. It was not as expensive as you would imagine. If you tell them up front when you make the appointment that you do not have health insurance they will let you know how much it will be, and if you pay the day of the appointment most of the time they will give you a discount. My 13 year old was diagnosed when she was 10. Hers was very severe and the Dr. sad she probably had it at a very young age and was not diagnosed and it progressively got worse as the strong eye over compensated for the weak eye. She actually patched the strong eye 8 hours a day the whole summer to try to improve the vision in the weak eye. I would highly recomend that you get to an eye doctor asap. Prolonging the treatment can make the lazy eye worse. Good Luck!

My daughter has it, but slight. You can only really tell in pictures. I took her to the eye doctor that All Children's recommended and he said that he didn't recommend doing anything because she was young and it wasn't serious. She was 2 at the time of the appt. and he said to come back at 3 to decide then if we should do an eye patch or drops. But hers is slight, so it really is based on how bad the lazy eye is.

My daughter who is also 2 has had what is called strabismus (a form of amblyopia) since birth - which is basically misaligned or crossed eyes. She had surgery at 6 months which corrected most of it, but she is still having to wear glasses and we patch as well. She might have to have a 2nd surgery, but the doctor is hopeful that glasses and patching will work. The younger you combat this problem the better your results. Dr. Nancy Williams with the Guggino Family Eye Center is wonderful - she is great with kids - the staff is great as well. I would suggest seeing a eye doctor soon - if at minimum to get questions answered. I agree with letting them know up front you have no insurance - alot of places are willing to work with you or charge lower fees. Good Luck:)