3 year old with severe astigmatism

[Suzie Valenzuela]

My 3 year old son was recently diagnosed with a severe astigmatism in his left eye. He has 20/30 vision in his right eye and 20/400 in his left. He also has a slight lazy eye, according to the doctor. The doctor said that because his prescription is so severe, he won't want to wear them and that they may make him sick to his stomach because he will feel like he is floating when he first wears them. How do I get my son to wear them and do you think it is too early for an astigmatism to be detected? Will his vision benefit from the glasses? Any advice on how to get him used to them? Also, should he wear them all the time?
Thank you,
A concerned parent

[Forum-OD-MP]

it is never 'too early for an astigmatism to be detected?'.  astigmatism can easily be 'detected' in infants as well as toddlers and children and adults.  age is not a factor when determining whether or not astigmatism is present.  the doctor does not need your son to answer any questions about 'which lens is better' in order to figure out whether or not he has astigmatism.

yes he will benefit greatly from wearing the glasses...assumedly if you make him wear the glasses like he's supposed to he could avoid developing 'refractive amblyopia', a condition often associated with and frequently caused by 'severe' astigmatism which goes uncorrected.

no real advice on how to get him to wear them.  just force him to.  its up to you to make sure he does it.  dont give him an option.  yes, assumedly he should wear them all the time.  i tell the parents of my toddler patients with severe astigmatism that 'if he is not bathing or sleeping, he should have them on'.

[aimee37]

Bene.
What about occlusion?

[aimee37]

My son has the exact same problem in the same eye.  He was 20/200 and 20/20 when he was 3 years old.  Put the patch on and don't stop.  He is going to hate it at first because he can't see much out of that eye.  My son ran into things and hurt himself a lot at first.  It really didn't take much time at all for that eye to develop.  Once he is able to see out of that eye, things will get better.  my son is now 9 years old and he has TWO good eyes!  success!  He is 20/20 in both eyes now!   In fact, the doctor said his vision is so good that glasses will be optional when he turns 10 (eye development is finished at that age).  You are soooooooo lucky this was caught at an early age.  If this wasn't caught he could have remained blind in that eye for the rest of his life.  Eventually the eye would stop moving.  Good luck!

[Fuz]

A related discussion, Eye patches cure astigmatism in children? was started.

[DIMPU]

A related discussion, astigmatism was started.