4 year old with sever myopia

[ich715]

My 4 year old has been wearing Gas permeable lenses since she was 18 months old.  She has gone up and down with the ease of putting them in, however lately the un-cooperativeness has strengthened to the point I can't fight her anymore.  She screams, kicks, shakes her head, everything she can do to stop me from getting them in.  Even with two people I have trouble and even then when I do finally get them in, I feel as though they will never be comfortable for her.  She has always been stubborn but I just feel like I will hurt her.  Do you have any tricks in helping this process or is this just a learning curve.  I've talked to her doctor and he gives me great tips, however they usually never work.  At the doctor's office...she sits like a statue and is MARVELOUS.  With me....MONSTER!  I'm just at a loss!  I know this is good for her and benefits her eyes, but I feel like I'm going to traumatize her for life if I keep going like this!!!

HELP!
Irene

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

Wow, if know that must be very difficult for you.  Kids are easier to deal with when very litte and then older - but this time around 3-4-5 could be very, very challenging.  I suspect it would get a lot easier after 6-7-8.  This is uncharted territory for me and I have absolutely nothing of use to add.  I hope you are seeing a very good, board-certified pediatric ophthalmologist who has lots of experience with this.  If not, we need to talk, seriously.  Talk to your doctor about all the options on the table.  If there was ever a need for the best and most experienced specialist - this would be it.

I invite anyone else to join in if any other advice

MJK MD

[kg17]

I am not a medical doctor.  However, I am a -17 in both eyes and had early severe myopia (at age 4 years) and have had numerous difficulties with getting adequate correction throughout my life.  I do believe that glasses that correct approximately -10 diopters or more tend to distort the visual image and can reduce color vision as well.  Most opticians/optometrists I've consulted tend to agree with that approximation and this is consistent with my own experience.  I experienced various difficulties with contact lens wear as a child as well as an adult.  My own solution as a child was to discard gas permeables in favor of soft contact lens.  I have never been able to tolerate gas permeables, although gas permeables do provide crisper vision.  If your daughter can tolerate soft contact lenses that would be better than glasses, IMO, for her amount of correction.  There are numerous soft contact lenses to try.  Maybe when she is older you could go back to trying gas permeables.  

[ich715]

She is -14 in both eyes.

[kg17]

What is your daughter's prescription?

[ich715]

My daughter is seeing both a pediatric ophthalmologist and a pediatric optometrist.  I spoke with my ophthalmologist today and she is happy to see her wear her glasses for awhile.  She said putting the contacts in her right now is like putting a pair of new shoes on blistered feet.  This makes sense considering her contacts just seem to bother her so terribly!!!  Her vision testing was weaker than ever this time around however this seems to be stemming from her soreness.  So in a couple weeks time she will go back for another try when she's been out of contacts.  The optometrist wants me to try soft contacts with her.  He says they aren't as good as gas permeable however there is a new material that will allow enough oxygen to get to the eyes and be better for her vision than glasses.  I'm confused!  One is telling me glasses is fine and the other is telling me contacts are better.  So this is where it stands now!

Thanks for the comment and taking the time to answer!

Irene