5 year old's vision

My 5 year old was recently diagnosed with mild myopia (-.50, -.75 with
cycloplegia) and intermittent exotropia (or exophoria) with 20 prism
diopters and 25 prism diopters, which she seems to have fairly good
control over. She sees 20/25, but favors one eye for distance and the
other for near. Would glasses help is this situation? They weren't
prescribed because of her age - should we expect her to need them in
the future? I'm a bit concerned that this could develop into something
worse. Also, is it common for a 5 year old to be nearsighted? Should
we expect this to get worse? The autorefraction without dilation was
actually -1.25.

On Feb 3, 4:01 pm, jfbu...@syd.eastlink.ca wrote:
> My 5 year old was recently diagnosed with mild myopia (-.50, -.75 with
> cycloplegia) and intermittent exotropia (or exophoria) with 20 prism
> diopters and 25 prism diopters, which she seems to have fairly good
> control over. She sees 20/25, but favors one eye for distance and the
> other for near. Would glasses help is this situation? They weren't
> prescribed because of her age - should we expect her to need them in
> the future? I'm a bit concerned that this could develop into something
> worse. Also, is it common for a 5 year old to be nearsighted? Should
> we expect this to get worse? The autorefraction without dilation was
> actually -1.25.

By the way, according to the worth 4 test, she is suppressing.

On Feb 3, 3:01*pm, jfbu...@syd.eastlink.ca wrote:
> My 5 year old was recently diagnosed with mild myopia (-.50, -.75 with
> cycloplegia) and intermittent exotropia (or exophoria) with 20 prism
> diopters and 25 prism diopters, which she seems to have fairly good
> control over. She sees 20/25, but favors one eye for distance and the
> other for near. Would glasses help is this situation? They weren't
> prescribed because of her age - should we expect her to need them in
> the future? I'm a bit concerned that this could develop into something
> worse. Also, is it common for a 5 year old to be nearsighted? Should
> we expect this to get worse? The autorefraction without dilation was
> actually -1.25.


It's very common for for kids her age and even younger to be
nearsighted. She'll need glasses to read the blackboard in school
eventually. Whether glasses will help her right now is a judgement
call by her doc and you. Her myopia will probably progress (get worse
isn't exactly the phrase for this), but it's not the end of the world.
Millions of kids are myopic.

On Feb 4, 12:36 am, spammer <sereb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Feb 3, 3:01 pm, jfbu...@syd.eastlink.ca wrote:
>
> > My 5 year old was recently diagnosed with mild myopia (-.50, -.75 with
> > cycloplegia) and intermittent exotropia (or exophoria) with 20 prism
> > diopters and 25 prism diopters, which she seems to have fairly good
> > control over. She sees 20/25, but favors one eye for distance and the
> > other for near. Would glasses help is this situation? They weren't
> > prescribed because of her age - should we expect her to need them in
> > the future? I'm a bit concerned that this could develop into something
> > worse. Also, is it common for a 5 year old to be nearsighted? Should
> > we expect this to get worse? The autorefraction without dilation was
> > actually -1.25.
>
> It's very common for for kids her age and even younger to be
> nearsighted. She'll need glasses to read the blackboard in school
> eventually. Whether glasses will help her right now is a judgement
> call by her doc and you. Her myopia will probably progress (get worse
> isn't exactly the phrase for this), but it's not the end of the world.
> Millions of kids are myopic.

What about the exotropia and the fact that she is suppressing at a
distance? Should an attempt be made to correct this?

On Feb 6, 7:41 am, concerned <jfbu...@syd.eastlink.ca> wrote:
> On Feb 4, 12:36 am, spammer <sereb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Feb 3, 3:01 pm, jfbu...@syd.eastlink.ca wrote:
>
> > > My 5 year old was recently diagnosed with mild myopia (-.50, -.75 with
> > > cycloplegia) and intermittent exotropia (or exophoria) with 20 prism
> > > diopters and 25 prism diopters, which she seems to have fairly good
> > > control over. She sees 20/25, but favors one eye for distance and the
> > > other for near. Would glasses help is this situation? They weren't
> > > prescribed because of her age - should we expect her to need them in
> > > the future? I'm a bit concerned that this could develop into something
> > > worse. Also, is it common for a 5 year old to be nearsighted? Should
> > > we expect this to get worse? The autorefraction without dilation was
> > > actually -1.25.
>
> > It's very common for for kids her age and even younger to be
> > nearsighted. She'll need glasses to read the blackboard in school
> > eventually. Whether glasses will help her right now is a judgement
> > call by her doc and you. Her myopia will probably progress (get worse
> > isn't exactly the phrase for this), but it's not the end of the world.
> > Millions of kids are myopic.
>
> What about the exotropia and the fact that she is suppressing at a
> distance? Should an attempt be made to correct this?

at her age, her visual visual acuity and stereopsis are still
developing. I am a bit concerned that she is suppressing. Is it just
one eye that turns out or does she alternate between the two eyes?
What stereo abilities does she have? What percentage of the time are
her eyes aligned properly?

in young children where vision is still developing, proper alignment
of the eyes is critical to normal development of vision. the time to
take effective action is when children are young. now is a strategic
moment to be sure the correct actions are being taken. Perhaps a
second opinion is the best idea.