Sometime in December, we noticed that Y had a mild squint. Her eyes have always been perfectly focussed, so it was a surprise. Ads had an apparent squint when he was a baby, a condition caused by his eye being too tiny for his eyeballs (he could easily pass as a Thai or Singaporean baby!), which gave the impression that he was squinting when in fact he was not. We thought (and hoped) that Y might have the same condition, and the opthamologist that we took her to in Chennai agreed that it might be the case. She said the bridge of Y's nose was unusually broad, and if we took the trouble to press it gently several times a day, we might see an improvement (and I always thought this treatment was just something the paatis made up!)
There hasn't been any improvement since we got back to Noida, and in fact it's more noticeable now, so I fixed an appointment with a pediatric opthamologist and off Y and I went for the consultation. She dismissed the apparent squint theory. Y has a squint, period. The doc suspects her eyes may be weak as well. I'm to go back in a few days after commencing a 3-day course of ointments to dilate her eyes. Her number will be checked, and then we'll discuss options.
S was travelling when all this happened and when I updated him, he was very upset. A far cry from my reaction which was anxious but definitely not upset/worried. I tend to look at the bright side. Yes, obviously it would have been better if, (as the doc predicts may be the case) she didn't have weak eyes and didn't have to wear glasses etc. However, I am relieved we detected this issue at an early stage and let's go ahead and correct it. We are lucky to live in an age where almost anything can be treated. We are even luckier to have the resources to get the necessary treatment done. I was remarking to S about one of the didis at Y's school, who has a very pronounced squint and extremely weak eyes. The poor lady does not have the money to get her eyes fixed. So, really, what have we to complain about?
S retorted "But she's only 2!!" That brought me up short. Yes, indeed she's a shade over 2. ONLY. It's always a little astonishing when I face this fact. The thing with Y is, we've always treated her as though she's a couple of years older than her actual age. At 3 months, she was lying on my lap as I sat on a sidewalk in freezing SFO, watching the Chinese New Year parade. At 5 months, she was on a road trip along California's Big Sur, the first of many road trips in 2010. She crawled at 6 months, walked at 9 months, dropped her Anna off to school everyday, went grocery shopping, play-dating, and was present at most of Anna's swimming and gym lessons. Somewhere down the line, I started thinking she was just a year or so younger than Ads :)
So we wait with fingers crossed for Tuesday, and we'll see what the doc has to say. Hope it's nothing serious!!
Hey, in a way its good that its been diagnosed early on. One of my relatives child had this problem and they did not diagnose this till he was 11 or 12! it became so bad that the child had no vision on one eye coz he had simply stopped using it! Despite the late discovery, they fixed his problem completely and now he does not even wear glasses! Having discovered any issue this early doctors, I hope should fix this in a jiffy.
ReplyDeleteBTW , my ophthalmologist said that everyone has a squint to some extent. Its the degree that matters she said. Its a natural flaw in all human beings like our posture, walk etc.,
So, good luck to Yukta and get well soon girl!!
Hey Aparna,
ReplyDeleteThat's really amazing to have identified the problem so early.
In our days I remember stories of my cousins squinting at the blackboard and requesting to be seated in the front row before an eye problem was even thought of! Nowadays we are all hopefully much more aware of these things.
Since hubby(and family) all wear glasses I am very prepared that atleast one of my children will probably have to. That's interesting what you said about a 3-day gradual medication for dilation. I took my 5 & 2 year olds last year and the 1 hour dilation was really difficult for them. Will ask about this for sure the next time I go - thanks!
@life_refactored: thanks! will update on what the doc says on tuesday.
ReplyDelete@aparna: this dilation thing seems easy. you put in a grain-sized drop, once in the morning and once at night for 3 days, and on the 4th day u see the doc again. She said that's what they recommend for children since it's much easier. On the other hand, I have seen in the US a 15-min dilation, when my husband went to get his eyes checked. I don't have much experience of visiting eye docs myself so have no idea of what they do out here.
Heyy Aparna,
ReplyDeletesorry missed reading this post earlier. My dear, please don't worry about it. As Apster says, it's good that you've detected any possible problem early on.
Yes, we all ache to know that something might me troubling our little ones. We all freak out when they so much as sneeze, so your being anxious and hubby being upset is justified.
But be positive and things will turn out to be so. Will be praying for you and Yukta.
Take much care and all the best for Tuesday.