I took my 8 yr. old son to the doctors about 2 days ago because he's been having this excessive winking in his right eye for awhile now. At first, I thought it was allergies (which he has, bad), but the winking got worse. My son says it only hurts sometimes, and it doesn't itch. His CHIEF complaint is that he feels like something is in his eye. While at the doctor, they looked at his retina, and said everything looked fine. The doctor thought it may just be a "tic" he was having, but the doctor decided to put an orange dye on the center of both eyeballs to see if it would adhere to anything abnormal. Then, he turned the light off and shined a black light to his eyes. Immediately, we saw a line about the size of a rice grain going down his eyeball, on the sclera(white part of the eyeball). The line was right next to the dark part of his eye, since his eyes are brown. The doctor said it's not a scratch. He said my son needs to see an opthalmalogist because it may be scar tissue or a growth. I don't know what the scar tissue may come from...the only thing I can think of is when, about 3yrs. ago, he ran into the corner of my dresser. As a result, he needed stitches on the eyelid near the brow, and the brow itself. Even then, he didn't blink or wink excessively. He's only been doing this winking for about a month or so, but complaining that something's in his eye for months. This past summer, he was outside playing, and one of the other boys picked up some mulch and threw it at him and it got into my son's eye. After I rinsed his eye out, he was okay.
Everyday, for months, especially at night, he has to sleep with a cold rag on his eye, because he feels better with it. Lately, he's doing this winking with that eye in his sleep. He's been to the nurse's office at school numerous times getting his eye washed out and a cold pack applied.
His eyes aren't red, there's no discharge or puss, nor watering of the eyes. He's tearing up normally. But it's that mark I saw at the doctor's office that bothers me. You can't see it with the naked eye unless using the dye and black light.
I Googled some things and I kept reading about eyeballs collapsing due to corneal ulceration or abrasion. I Googled info on the sclera, and the web said the same thing! I am so worried that my son will go blind, or his eye will collapse. His eyesight is TERRIBLE, and he needs glasses, which is also what I just found out during his physical. He could only read about 2 or 3 lines down from the big "E", but beyond that, he couldn't see. Does this also have anything to do with this problem?? I'm 34 yrs. old, and I'm near-sighted, and need glasses, and his father has been wearing glasses for about 8 yrs. now, and he's 35. Is the vision problem hereditary, or is it because of his eye? PLEASE HELP ME! I'm a wreck about my son. He's my only child, and I want and need to protect him any way I can.
What signs should I look for with this problem? Is there anything I can do? Could this be some sort of dry eye condition?