Worried about eyes being dilated so long

[lay37892]

I took my daughter to the eye doctor yesterday and she had her eyes dilated about 4:00.  It is now 9:30 am and they are still dilated.  She has blue eyes, is this normal for her and should she still have to wear sunglasses?

[tarambauer]

My daughter's eyes (which are brown) were dilated yesterday morning at around 8:30am, it is almost 2:00pm the next day and they are still dilated.  Is there something I should be concerned about? Her eye doctor asked me to put these drops in here left eye once a day, every day, because she is only using her left eye, she isn't using the left one.  Therefore, he wants us to dilate the good eye on a daily basis to force her to use the bad eye.  I have not put the drops in today because they are still dilated from yesterday.  Again, is there something I should be concerned about?  The type drops she is using is Atropine Sulf 1% OPH SOLN 15ml by Falcon Pharmaceuticals.
Thank you in advance for your advice.

[JohnHaganMD]

the drops that numb the eye do have a drying effect and the dilating drops can last a lot longer in some than other people.

To clear eyes of the debris use warm water and artifical tears. Next time you have your eyes examined tell the staff that the drops last a long time, often they will use half the regualr amount, to help the drying effect blink frequently and start artifical tears every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours after your next examination.

JCH Eye MD

[Ramsus85]

Three days ago I had my eyes dialated three times to ensure they were fully dialated. They then used the bright lights and such to see into the back of my eye. Ever since, my eyes have been acting up. Mainly.. decreased night vision, slowness in processing images, etc. Should this get better?

Also.. either the dialating or numbing fluid dried up and left a lot of .. chunks of itself, in my right eye. It's caught inbetween me eyelids and eyeball, continuisly scraping the eye and hurting.. a lot. Any suggestions on getting it out? I've tried soaking my eye in water and letting it drip out, but it seems to prefer sticking to my eyeball.

[John C Hagan]

One more comment. Sunglasses are for comfort and to help adults drive home safely. If you daughter is comfortable without sunglasses it is not mandatory to wear them.

Next check up at your ophthalmologist tell them about how sensitive to dilation she is, often only half the regular does or some very short action drops can be used.

JCH MD

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Blue, gray and green eyes remain dilated longer than dark brown eyes. Also the type of drop will make a difference. If cyclogel was used a very sensitive individual may remain dilated as long as 48-72 hours.
JCH MD