OT: Toddler Glasses

[magicwishes]

Our 2yo needs his first pair of glasses. I'm feeling sad about that and I have lots of questions. Does private health insurance cover any of the cost? If it matters, his diagnosis is accommodative esotropia or strabismus. Any recommendations on what brand or type of glasses for a very adventurous child? Any other tips? How do you get kids to keep them on? Any stories of how the child you love with strabismus has done over time?

Update Post 19

 

[lanejudy]

My DD was 4 when she got her first glasses, so a little older than your son, but the same diagnoses. We had been through one surgery and multiple periods of trying patching or eye drops. I hear your concern -- I cried over "missing her beautiful cute face" hidden behind the glasses.

As to insurance...that depends. Do you have a vision rider on your medical insurance? Or a separate vision policy coverage? If not glasses are likely not covered by your medical insurance. I believe both Pearle Vision and LensCrafters have specials for kids -- we haven't used it for a few years because I now have vision coverage through my employer -- but I recall something like free lenses with purchase of frames for kids. Pearle (and probably LensCrafters) also offers a replacement plan that covers any reason (sat on, stepped on, left on the floor, couch, etc.). Check around to see what is offered. Even ask your son's ophthalmologist for recommendations. A good eyeglass place will give you proper options for a young child. I've seen toddlers locally with what almost looks like rubbery frames that wrap well around the ears.

We've never had much problem getting her to wear her glasses. She tells me she can see better with them. We even get her prescription sunglasses because bright sun bothers her. She has been very responsible -- some kids maybe not so much. We've never had a broken pair (knock on wood -- her father breaks his routinely!). Once in a while she asks to "take a break from my glasses" and she's so good about wearing them regularly that we allow it. Usually a weekend or vacation day, not for school.

DD is nearly 10 now. She still wears glasses but the prescription has been adjusted yearly. At her most recent visit her doctor indicated the strabismus was improving and she is expected to grow out of it. Her vision is very good in each eye individually, so she eventually may not need the glasses.

Good luck! I'm sure he'll do fine!

 

[MSSANDRA]

DS now 22 got his first pair at 6 mo old so by two we were pros. Our insurance did cover his glasses. We had vision insurance. Picking where you get your child's glasses is as important as what kind to pick. You will be going in for a LOT of adjustments so you want somewhere close to home and people you are comfortable with. DS saw a super specialist about an hour away at a large teaching hospital, but we got his glasses at a family clinic about 10 minutes from home. The staff was fantastic with DS and helped us choose good sturdy frames. There have been sooo many improvements in kids frames since we got them , and I'm sure that the staff will have lots of suggestions. We started out with the super flexible rubber frames that can be teethed on, but changed to flexible wire frames with the plastic lenses by two. They had the ear pieces to help keep them in place.

What helps to get them used to wearing them is to get them engaged in an activity and then walk up behind and put them on them. hopefully they will notice they can see better and leave them on. You will have to put them back on MANY MANY times a day. At two he may be old enough that you can use rewards to motivate him. "We will play with your legos as long as you leave your glasses on." If you can leave your glasses on all the way to the store, we can get ice cream." I'm not familiar with your child's condition but if the glasses help to improve his vision and not just correct a pulled muscle, hopefully he will see a difference when he has the glasses on and that will be the best motivation. Are you going to have to patch?

 

[magicwishes]

Thank you. The Miraflex glasses were recommended to us, so we're going to try to go to a place tomorrow. We have the option of separate vision insurance, but right now we only have health insurance for our child.

For now we are starting with glasses. We may have to patch, but he wanted us to start out with the glasses first.

 

[laughinplace199]

DS now 22 got his first pair at 6 mo old so by two we were pros. Our insurance did cover his glasses. We had vision insurance. Picking where you get your child's glasses is as important as what kind to pick. You will be going in for a LOT of adjustments so you want somewhere close to home and people you are comfortable with. DS saw a super specialist about an hour away at a large teaching hospital, but we got his glasses at a family clinic about 10 minutes from home. The staff was fantastic with DS and helped us choose good sturdy frames. There have been sooo many improvements in kids frames since we got them , and I'm sure that the staff will have lots of suggestions. We started out with the super flexible rubber frames that can be teethed on, but changed to flexible wire frames with the plastic lenses by two. They had the ear pieces to help keep them in place.

What helps to get them used to wearing them is to get them engaged in an activity and then walk up behind and put them on them. hopefully they will notice they can see better and leave them on. You will have to put them back on MANY MANY times a day. At two he may be old enough that you can use rewards to motivate him. "We will play with your legos as long as you leave your glasses on." If you can leave your glasses on all the way to the store, we can get ice cream." I'm not familiar with your child's condition but if the glasses help to improve his vision and not just correct a pulled muscle, hopefully he will see a difference when he has the glasses on and that will be the best motivation. Are you going to have to patch?

I agree, definitely find a place close to home to purchase the glasses. DS13 has been wearing glasses since he was 5. Being a typical boy, I'm sure you can imagine how many times they've been broken or bent or the little plastic things that sit on your nose (don't know what they're called) have broken off.

We get his glasses at a place that's 5 minutes down the road and they're open on weekends.

 

[28weekermom]

I definitely second the Miraflex!!! They have new shapes too so you're not limited to the round ones anymore. Our health insurance has covered our son's eye appts - but that may be because of his prematurity issues. He started glasses when he was 2 (he's almost 3.5 now) and we still have issues with him wearing them full time. He has to wear them to watch cartoons, play his leappad, or any other electronic type stuff where we know he will sit still. He actually wore them out to a nicu reunion since he saw other kids there were wearing them. Hopefully starting "school" in another couple weeks will reinforce the issue of wearing them.

 

[magicwishes]

Thanks. We went to a couple of places today. The first was a bad experience. I felt more depressed after that. They could have cared less and were trying to add a bunch of extras that cost more with no good explanation. The second was closer to home and so much better. They were so child friendly and kind. We went to the first place because it will be covered, once we have our child on our vision insurance. Now I'm not sure whether to pay to add him to the vision insurance or not. The second place doesn't take the vision insurance we can get.

We're going to get rectangular, dark blue miraflex frames. Do you guys have any recommendations on anti-reflective coating and/or transition lenses?

I never thought I'd be buying glasses this early for our little guy.

 

[CantWaitToGoAgain]

Hello, my son had just turned 4 when we found out he needed glasses. He went in for his annual exam and they ended up referring us to a specialist. Although, they sold various designer frames and lenses there, they too suggested to seek somewhere based on convenience due to quick fixes, repairs, and adjustments. We got children's Ray Bans with the transitional lenses at Target.

My sons prescription is strong and the plastic lenses are light weight but still pretty thick But I so love the transition lenses Especially since he has to wear his glasses ALL the time.

Rest assured he will eventually get used to them and choose to wear them on his own.

By the way my medical insurance covered all exams, appointments and rechecks. Just not the glasses or lenses. Had to use my Flex Spending Account for that. Now knowing his vision will likely change year to year, I will bank more funds in my FSA.

Good luck! Denise

 

[amym2]

I can relate! DS was diagnosed with strabismus and amblyopia at age 3 and started wearing glasses. He really never fought us on the glasses, but then he was basically blind in one eye, so I'm sure it was like a whole new world to him when they were on. The patching at age 4 was a different story- lots and lots of bribery! He's now almost 13 and still has the conditions but compensates VERY well. He's very athletic, intelligent, and no one notices the strabismus. Just within the last year has he realized what his eye turn actually looks like. It has always been part of him, and honestly it has never bothered him. I feel for you because I remember what it felt like when we got the diagnosis, but I can assure you it will be fine!!!

I agree with the others who recommended getting glasses close to home. We used Ossip Optical in IN for years but then their customer service went kaput and we switched to Target. He wore RayBans for years, and there was typically a kids package that ended up being cheaper than going through our vision insurance (which pays some but not all). He's now at that no longer a kid but not yet an adult stage and we looked every place imaginable for his latest pair and ended up back at Target. It's just so quick to pop in there and have them adjust the glasses.

 

[BlueHippo]

DS and DD both were in glasses at 3 for the same condition. At first we were sad too but years later the glasses are really a part of them. I can't imagine either of them without them now. It gets easier! Our DS had a strong prescription so we've never really even needed to remind him...his glasses are on the first thing when he wakes up. Never had an issue with putting or keeping them on because I think he truly can't see without them. DD on the other hand has never been terrible but needs to be reminded to put them on most days. Overall though not really an issue to keep them on since it helps them.

I concur with others that Target has been the best bet for us. It's convenient when glasses break but especially for adjustments. Eye care insurance never has been worth it for us when we've crunched the numbers. Seems to be cheaper for us (especially because we usually buy at least 2 pairs for each every year bc of back ups and the optional eye insurance only covers 2 pair) to just put the amount we'll need in a health savings account.

 

[MandiC]

Hi! My 4 year old son has had glasses since he was 2. He also has accomodative esotropia. I think it is pretty normal to feel sad about it, I kind of felt like he wouldn't get to do everything any other kid would get to do but the great thing about miraflex is that he can! I too highly recommend them, I never worry about him hurting himself or his glasses, I'll be sad when he no longer wants them!
One thing about accomodative esotropia, I know it can differ for each child but for us, it took a while to get the right prescription and/or it changed often! Pay close attention to prescription change policies. Places like Walmart are usually only 30-60 days. Our opthomologist's office has a 6 month prescription change guarantee. At first I went to Walmart, and then he had a change within DAYS of the guarantee ending and hyte wouldn't honor it, so I went to our office and haven't looked back, it is more expensive but buying new lenses every 3-6 months would have been too, especially since my son got switched to bifocals (pretty common with accomodative esotropia).
I do the anti glare but I do not do the transitions. If he weren't in bifocals I would probably get a second pair with transitions but, personal preference, I don't like how any picture you take outside with transitions they are going to be dark. I take a lot of outside pictures of my kids during the summer. It would *really* bother me if I couldn't see his eyes in all our summer pictures.

Anyways, I'm in a hurry so I have to go but I love helping when someone has a toddler in glasses because of how confused/sad/worried I was when my son got his. I'll say that the first week was rough getting him to wear them but now he asks for them if they aren't on and he does everything any other 4 year old does he climbs the equipment at the playground and plays soccer and roughhouses with his brother with no issue

 

[PlutosMommy]

My son has been in Miraflex since 2 yrs of age. I definitely recommend the antiglare coating- I feel they make a big difference.

 

[magicwishes]

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate your experiences and thoughts. I had wondered about some of the things you guys mentioned such as the transitions with pictures. I also will need to figure out how much to put in our health savings account, and I hadn't even though of that yet. I had been oscillating between feeling that it could be so much worse and this is terrible. The last few days I haven't been thinking about it as much. I'll be going back to work tomorrow from maternity leave, so that's been more of the focus and feelings the last few days. I think we'll get his glasses next week.

 

[Sadie22]

Please talk with your eye care professionals about sun damage to eyes. UVA and UVB protection, antiglare coatings on lenses are just a couple of things to research. It's important for everyone to protect our eyes from the sun just as we wear sunscreen and protective clothing to protect our skin.

 

[ktlm]

My DD is 8 and she has been wearing glasses since she was 2. We also had to patch 2 hours a day for a year. She has one eye that is very farsighted and her other eye is only slightly farsighted. Since that year of patching her vision is corrected with glasses to 20/20. Her prescription has changed probably once a year over the last 6 years. Sometimes it would be longer than a year, sometimes it would change twice in a year.


We don't really care for the miraflex frames, those are the ones that are really thick wide plastic right? We went for flexible wire frames that had the hooks over the ears so they would not fall off when she was 2. The brand was flexon I'm pretty sure. They didn't hide as much of her face and she looked more like herself to us. We had no problems with them, and she wore those until they no longer fit on her head. I think it was about 4 years- she got different ones at the start of 1st grade. We never really had to have them adjusted much either. I think she lost a nose pad that had to be replaced once or twice and that was it. She wasn't easy on them either. I can remember seeing her playing with the side and bending them once when she was really little and me about having a fit- didn't hurt the glasses at all.

The anti-reflective lenses are a good idea. We did not do those the first time, and DD kept saying she was seeing rainbows and sometimes seeing double because of the glare and reflection. We got those after the first lens change and it was a huge improvement.

We did the transitions and she did not like them. She thought they were fun for the first couple of days, then started complaining that they did not turn back fast enough when she got inside. There were also times she was outside that she did not want them to turn darker, and was not happy that they did. We thought they would be great for going to amusement parks etc., but she did not like them.

You also want to get the polycarbonate lenses. They are much safer when your child gets hit in the face with a ball or something else, or falls on their face etc, which they will. There has been at least once or twice that we were really happy DD had the glasses on because they protected her eye from whatever she got hit in the face with. The lenses are also lighter than other lenses and will help keep the glasses from sliding down his nose. You really want to watch for that because if he is looking over, not through them he can backslide. We wound up having to do another 2 months of patching when DD was in 1st grade because she was looking over her glasses at school when they were sliding down and no one noticed. We didn't notice until we started seeing her eye cross a little bit again. She got right back to 20/20 and her eye staightened out with the remedial patching though. ( When she got the big kid glasses frames in 1st grade as opposed to the toddler's flexible metal that hooked over the ears, we had a whole lot more issues with sliding glasses, bent glasses etc. Now with the older kid glasses we are in for adjustments a lot which is annoying. We've switched glasses styles a couple of times and the problems are still there). The polycarbonate also has UV protection. You also want to be sure that the lenses have scratch resistant coating. They will get scratched, no matter how careful you are.

My big advice is don't cheap out on the glasses because it will cost you more in the long run. Flexible frames are more expensive, but if you don't get flexible frames for a kid under 5, chances are they will break the frames and you will wind up spending more in the long run because you go through more pairs of glasses. Antireflective and scratch resistent lenses may be high priced, but this is your child's vision. Also the scratch resistent lenses generally have a warranty and we have used it more than once to have the lenses replaced. No matter how careful you are with your child's glasses, when they go to pre-school or day care or kindergarten, someone will wipe them with a paper towel instead of a cloth and they will scratch up. DD's lenses are really expensive because of her prescription and really bad eye. Hopefully your insurance will cover some amount for the glasses.

Accomodative estropia and strabismus, means that he is farsighted and his eyes are not properly aligned or working with each other and one or both are turning to try to accomodate. Is it just one eye that is turning in or out? That is what DD has- it means that basically that eye is shuting off and letting the other better one do the work for it. DD has done well over the years. The patching has gotten her to 20/20 and her eye is completely straight with the glasses. If her glasses are off and she is very tired, her eye can still turn in a little, but that is normal. If their eyes are completely straight when they are wearing glasses, it is considered successful. It is very important to make sure they wear their glasses, and if patching is recommended to follow your pediatric opthamologist's instructions of that. The good thing for you is that they caught it when he is very young. The younger the child is when it is caught, the better the outcome. That is also why it is important that you buy good glasses even if the lenses are really expensive. DD's vision improved by increments with the patching and age. You have to really work to get to that 20/20 with glasses. They say that once they hit age 7, the vision pretty much sets and the chances of improving it more or fixing the eye cross (other than just cosmetic through surgery) are not that good, so you want to really make sure you are doing things right and getting it better now.

Also, if your opthamologist wants to rush to surgery to fix any eye turn, go to a different opthamologist. Surgery should only be a last resort if patching doesn't work. Surgery is cosmetic only. What happens is the surgery does keep the eye from turning, but then the eye will just basically turn off because it has not been trained to work together with the better eye. My SIL has that problem, as does her friend's son who is DD's age because their doctors jumped immediately to surgery and did not patch.



As far as wearing glasses, we were worried DD would not keep them on, but after 1 day, she realized that she could actually see with glasses and then she never wanted to take them off. I hear this is fairly common. It is a whole new world for them. As far as patching, that is a little rougher and for us took bribery with tv time and toys etc. Actually, her opthamologist told us that TV time is good for that because if they are watching they are trying to focus, so it is okay to let them watch for 2 hours if you can get them to keep the patch on that way. The patching is a problem at first because when you put the patch over the good eye, then they can't see well at all and it is scary for them. The point of patching is to make the bad eye focus and work. I will admit to you that the first few days of that are hard- they can't see with the patch on and want to pull it off immediately. You might even have to work up to the 2 hours. It gets better as the eye starts to get stronger. They still don't like the patch, but they at least are starting to see better with the eye, so they are not as unhappy. Ortopad's are the good eye patches. They have fun designs on them. You just stick them on and throw them away after one use. Also because they stick on, the child can not cheat- by trying to see around them. The only way to cheat is to pull it off which you will catch. There are several eye patch types out there that do not completely block the eye and if the child can cheat or see around them with the good eye, they will and then progress will be slower, or not at all.

As far as seeing him in glasses, you will get used to it. It will get to the point where if the glasses are off, he won't even look like himself to you. Plus, glasses are considered pretty cool now by the kids thanks to Harry Potter. I know you are stressed out right now. I remember that feeling. Neither DH or I wear glasses, so it was a surprise that DD had bad vision at such an early age, and I was totally stressed out that she would have to wear glasses. You will get used to it and little kids really do look cute with glasses! Good luck!!!!

 

[ktlm]

Oh, I had one more thought. We do not have vision insurance and her glasses are not covered, BUT her eye appointments are covered under our standard health insurance with the pediatric opthamologist. My job has switched health ins. companies too, and it has never been an issue, they have always been paid. Not sure how they code them, but the insurance has always paid them and that is a good thing because at first she was going every 2 to 3 months. Now she goes every 6 months. Check with your pediatric opthamologist on that or just have them submit it and see what happens. I think it might be because she is a child and because it is considered an eye disorder for which she is seeing a medical doctor.


One other thing to consider if you can afford it is possibly getting a cheaper pair of back up glasses. At some point, the lenses are probably going to be scratched or something is going to happen to a pair of glasses (our puppy recently got DD's off her nightstand after she was asleep and ate them- didn't swallow but the frames were bent and the lenses were totally scratched up and ruined- thank goodness everything was still under warranty!). It can take a week or sometimes more to get new lenses, so it is good to have a back up pair at home. Once he gets used to them and can see with them, it will be very hard for him to go without them. Also, you don't want him going without them as you need to work hard to keep those eyes working together!

Also, if you get the glasses from a cheap chain, be sure to have your childs opthomologist check them to make sure the prescription is accurate. I've heard lots of stories about those glasses having the wrong prescription in them and kids having issues because of it. (We've shopped at the chains before, but we have always wound up getting DD's from the shop at her opthomologists office because while the prices are a little higher, the warranties are better and the service is great for the adjustments, etc.)

 

[SandyinMonterey]

My daughter was born very premature and has been seeing an eye doctor since she was born. She needed her first pair at about age 5. Since your child is younger, you may want to consider the frames that are bendable. And ask about the special lenses that don't shatter. We have an eye care plan that is separate from our medical. I'm pretty on top of our insurances and early on I found out that the eye doctor's office was billing our medical and never using our vision plan because my daughters condition was also considered medical. However, and this is just for us and our plan, that made no sense. So now I have to make sure they charge our vision plan and only vision. Medical and vision plans vary so greatly that you really need to read the fine print and find what works best for you. We opted for the vision plan because our daughter was (still is) young and will be wearing glasses for the long haul. I know many people opted out of the vision coverage and go to Costco and said they usually "break even." They go for the eye exam and glasses there.

 

[amym2]

Actually Accomodative Esotropia means that the eye is turning in. It's possible to have Strabismus (eye turn) without a lazy eye (Amblyopia). My DS12 has Intermittent Exotropia (eyes turn out, both eyes including the one with normal vision, intermittently) as well as Amblyopia (near sighted in one eye, normal vision in other). He patched until age 10 because vision can still change past age 7.

Because his conditions are considered medical, most of his appts are covered with our medical insurance. Vision insurance does typically not cover exams with ophthalmologists since they are MDs. We have to pay for the prescription measurement part of his appt. Now that we are past really needing an ophthalmologist, we could switch to an optometrist and our vision insurance would pay for it, but we still make the yearly trek to the ophthalmologist he has seen since age 3.

 

[magicwishes]

We got the glasses last Tuesday afternoon. So far it's gone much better than expected. He wears them almost all the time. He will occasionally take them off. Sometimes he puts them on his forehead or down on his nose, so he doesn't have to look through them. Yesterday when he was putting on his pajamas, somehow he got them around his chest. We're still not sure exactly how he managed that. On a few days at some point, he'll tell us "my eyes are sick". I'm still not sure if that's because he's getting used to them or what. He has scratched the outside of the frames a bit and has a very small scratch on one lens, but they have withstood tons of toddler craziness. One other thing we've noticed is that the strap in the back seems to be looser than when we first got them. It is ok most of the time, but it would be nice to be able to tighten them a little more to keep them from bouncing or getting displaced too easily. I think we'll get a second pair soon if these are the right prescription. I think he's doing well with them overall, and most of the day there are no issues.

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to help us. We will follow-up with the ophthalmologist in the beginning of August. I'll post an update if anything changes.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[MandiC]

Glad it is going well so far! After a while he will probably start to really notice how much better he sees with the glasses and before you know it they will be like an extension of him. My son asks for his when they are not on and tells me he can't see without them.
We do have to patch (as of last week) 2 hours a day but that is because he has developed amblyopia. We aren't terribly surprised by this as my husband had amblyopia as a child. Some kids with accomodative esotropia develop ablyopia and others don't. Accomodative esotropia is when the eye turns trying to accomodate the far/nearsitedness from my understanding. Amblyopia is thought to happen because due to the turning the brain can 'turn off' the turned eye creating a difference in vision between the two. Despite the fact that glasses keep my son's eyes mostly straight he developed amblyopia anyways. We're just hoping and praying he doesn't end up with the permanent vision loss my husband has (nothing he can do about it, glasses don't help and surgery wouldn't help because his vision loss is due to his brain, not his eyes)