Son has always seen dots around everything

My son is now 5 years old.  He recently mentioned that he sees dots all over and all around everything he sees, all the time.  It reminded me of when he was 2 years old, and at night he would say "Wow!  Look at the patterns!  The dots!  The lights!" while looking into the darkness.  He hasn't mentioned it for years but says it has always been the same.  Does he have an eye problem?   Or a brain tumour?  I need to know!

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

Very difficult to tell based on a 5 year old's description.  You need to take him to a pediatric ophthalmologist to perform a full exam and make sure everything is OK.

HV

[Sarah2929]

Thank you.  I took him to my GP today and he said the same.  He could see no obvious problem e.g. bleed behind the eye, growth behind the eye, problem in only one eye but sais to take it seriously and ask an optician to take a better look.  We are booked in for tomorrow.  Thanks for your reply.

[skimordiegirl]

I get this too. Mine started right before I got pregnant after stopping an anti depressant.  Some people have it natully from young age, I am not sure what causes it, But it's been almost 2 years for me. Does he also see afterimages for longer than normal? Like you look at the tv and look away and still see the out line?

My best advice would be to let him know that everyone is different and we all see differently. So many people go through life seeing weird things and they never mention it to anyone because to them it's normal.  I wish mine had started young so I would know more about it instead of getting it late in life. I have a thyroid disorder and have found that a lot of others with this has it too so you might want to look into that. What family history of health conditions are in your family? It's good to look at everything. I wish you the best of luck and your daughter!

Candi

[Sarah2929]

Thank you so much for your reply!  I would love to hear from other people who have experienced this too.  I'm not sure about the afterimages - he finds it hard to explain completely.  I took him to the optician and he has glasses now, although she said he doesn't desperately need them.  They made no difference to the dots though, sadly.  Next stop - back to the doctors, and probably a referral to an eye specialist. No family history of such things, although we all wear specs!!

Thanks again for your reply.

All the best to you and yours too!

Sarah