Contacts

Get a second opinion. I took my son to see Dr Simons , his number is ###-###-####. He has an office in Jupiter and Port St Lucie. He is a Pediatric Opthalmologist.

Hi A.,

I've been wearing glasses since 3 and i have seen 3 yr olds with verybad thick lenses glasses but today you can get them high index which they come out very thin. I also have high index lenses. Personally i would get a 2nd opinion. I can't see a 6 year old be responsible to take care of contacts. Do you feel she would be able to take care of them and her eye so she doesnt get an infection/ Also if her eye is that bad dr.s usally say glasses are safer since they protect the eye from objects that could hit her eye in an accident. My dr'sactually told me not to get contacts for that reason.
It could be worth a trip to N.Y to the eye instute. They have fantastic drs.
If I hear of any drs I will let you know.
Good luck and I wish your daughter only the best.
J.
www.J..myarbonne.com

Hi, I am in the eye care field. It does not sound crazy to me to put contacts on a six year old. However, wearing contacts does pose some risks like infections and a lack of eye protection. If an object flies into your daughter's good eye and she loses it, this would be a big problem. So you do have to weigh the risks. If the doctor thinks her vision is unrecoverable, they can always prescribe glasses which have what's called a "balance lens" for the lazy eye. Basically, it's to make the lens for the bad eye about the same thickness as the one for the good eye so the glasses are balanced as well as to provide eye protection rather than to correct the prescription in the bad eye. An optometrist is as equally qualified as an ophthalmologist to treat amblyopia. But, you want to make sure whoever you use specializes in pediatrics, especially amblyopia/strabismus. I personally, would suggest getting a second opinion. With patching and vision therapy, your daughter might be able to gain some more sight in her lazy eye. I think it's worth pursuing. It's also possible a second doctor may agree with your current doctor's assessment, so at least you will have the benefit of another opinion. I have heard good things about Dr. Bruce Miller (he's a pediatric ophthalmologist). I would also suggest getting a second opinion with the Nova Southeastern University Eye Clinic. They have several locations. But very importantly, they have a pediatric department and are used to dealing with amblyopia and offer vision therapy if it's needed. Good luck! I'm sure it must be difficult getting such a diagnosis so suddenly.

Hi A.,

I can't imagine trying to get contacts in my son! I think that you should decide what will work best for you. I think other posts raise good points to think about in terms of care and cleaning, getting them in and out, what if a problem occurs at school, etc. I'm sure it would be very hard at first, but I find kids are very resiliant and most adjust. So, probably with time, your daughter would get used to the contact. At any rate, if you feel better with glasses, then I would just say so to the doctor. Maybe he's thinking about other kids who get teased at school?? Not sure why else he would push contacts over glasses...

If you were looking for a 2nd opinion, we live down in Kendall and my son failed his eye exam at preschool when he was 4 years old. We took him to Dr. Simon, a ped opthamologist, that was highly recommended by people down here. He is located at the medical arts building at Baptist Hospital. He told us that my son was basically blind in one eye because of the lazy eye. He explained that the brain stops recognizing the eye because young children stop using it when they realize they can't see out of it. He prescribed glasses (yes, the one side had a very thick lens and the other was just glass) and after 3 weeks with glasses, my son was to begin patching 8 hours a day! I would say it took those first 3 weeks for him to realize, wow, I can see out of both eyes now. The Dr. said the patching was very, very important and was the only way to force the brain to start using the bad eye again and forming the neural pathways between the eye and the brain. Otherwise, he would remain blind. (I hope I'm remembering this stuff correctly!)

We were very diligent about the patching and put up with the tantrums and acting out because we knew this was it or blindness. Anyway, his eye sight has improved dramatically. In the end, we patched for 4 years. It was 8 hours for about 1 1/2 years, then 6 hours for 1 year, 4 hours for the remaining amount of time. My son hated every minute of it, but eventually, he would forget he had the patch on because the bad eye was seeing.

Today his eye sight is "within normal limits" although not 20/20. His glasses perscription is a little better and less thick, but the Dr. said glasses only correct a lens problem and not the lazy eye so he may always have a strong prescription.

Anway, all that to say, I think the doctor is correct in saying you must correct the lens problem (with glasses or contacts) and then work on correcting the lazy eye.

Wow! Sorry I babbled on so much!!!! HTH and good luck to you!!!!!

A., I would suggest a second opinion. 6 seems a little young to prescribe contact lens. I'm not sure who your pediatric eye doctor is but may I suggest Dr. Miller in Plantation, if he's not the doctor your seeing. His office specialize in Pediatric Ophthamology. Good luck.

Hi A.,

Our 13 year old daughter has Amblyopia. She is legally blind in her right eye.
How we discovered this is, we brought her for a regular eye appointment at our famiy eye doctor. Her RX called for her to have a REALLY THICK lens on the right side. Contact lenses were NEVER suggested. She was 4 at the time.
We took her to a Retinologist as well as a pediatric eye specialist in Rochester, NY, where we were living at the time. We were told that if discovered a few years earlier, we may have been able to correct the problem by patching her left eye to try to force her right eye to focus but, at this point, it wasn't going to make any difference.
What the specialist did was give her a RX lens in her left(good) eye since she was a tiny bit nearsighted. He put a non RX plain lens in her right side(legally blind) eye. They are normal looking glasses. No thick lens.
Since moving to South Florida 3 years ago, it has not been necessary to take her to a Retinologist as well as a Pediatric Eye Specialist. We have found an eye specialist for her who has come HIGHLY Recommended! His name is Dr. Lee Friedman. I have a number in Boynton Beach ###-###-####. US Hwy 1 in Juno Beach ###-###-####. He also has an office in Wellington on the Wellington Regional Hospital Campus on Forest Hill Blvd and 441.
We are EXTREMELY happy with him!
He said that perhaps one day our daughter will be able to wear contacts. The biggest reason that she needs to wear eyeglasses is to protect her LEFT eye from injury (her good eye).
I also have to mention that our daughter was born 5 months premature and had laser surgery on her retinas while in the Pediatric ICU.

M.

A., I hope this can help. A friend of mine with bad eyesight used this exercise and over a few years she regained her sight and doesn't use glasses anymore. Its an eye exercise. Look up, to the right, then down and to the left. (It's in a circular motion stop at the top, left, bottom and right) 3 reps of 12 to the right and three reps of 12 to the left. This is an exercise used to strenghten the eye, its muscles and I suppose it also gives the eye purpose (metaphysically speaking). I believe this will help.
A thousand blessings to you and your family. m

Hi A.. Can I ask where did you take your to? I can only recomment Dr. Cardone in Weston, FL. He actually saw my daughter when she was born in November. He diagnosed her with bilateral retinal hemorraging in her eyes due to congenital cmv. Thankfully, there has been no retinal detachment and the hemoraging went away. I know he has different offices. I believe his practice is called Eye Surgery Associates. I just went on the website and it says tha he specializes in lazy eyes. Here is the website: http://www.browardeyedoctors.com/florida/scott-c-cardone-.... Also, he may recomment that you go to Bascom Palmer in Miami, FL. Bascom Palmer is the best. My daughter was also seen there several times by Audina Berrocal. She is awesome. Well, I hope this helps and I hope he' not the one you got your first opinion from. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Which pediatric ophthalmologist did you go to?

I work for Dr Lee Friedman.. he specializes in excatly what you are talking about. If everyone has told you to see this specific doctor, I'd like to assume that you saw Dr. Friedman.. he really is a great eye doctor.(and great to work for!!)If you have any further concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to call our office and leave a message for him. You can ask for me when you call. He will call you back and gladly answer you, and explain in further detail what his reason is for whatever treatment he feels is necessary. I know we get pretty busy, so if you feel you need a bit more from him, let him know!!

If you didn't see him already, let me know I can make an appointment for you!
We have offices in Wellington, Boynton, Boca Raton and Juno Beach!!

Look online for articles regarding this issue. I took the liberty of looking for my own curiosity and I found that most optometrists will not prescribe contact lenses to children younger than 12. With that said, I would strongly recommend that you get a second opinion. I would not want to be the parent stuggling to get my 6 year old to let me put a lens in her eye...they are difficult enough for adults ( I know, I used to wear them years ago.) And just because everyone you meet has recommended this doctor doesn't mean he (or she) is the right one for you. Get a second opinion...follow your husband's instincts.

The best pediatric opthomologist in South Florida is Dr. Bruce Miller. If that is who you saw, then you have seen the best. He definitely knows what he is talking about. My own pediatrician uses him for his child.

Dear A.,

I have strabismus myself which can progress into a lazy eye. I had two eye surgeries in the early 70s to correct the turn and have worn glasses since I was 3. (I am 36 now.) I got my contacts when I was in the 8th grade (13 years old). Quite frankly, there is so much maintenance and responsibility (cleaning, keeping up with when to change lenses if you have disposables, etc) for wearing contacts that I don't think a six year old is ready for that. Plus, you have to put up with adjusting to the contacts at first also. I would seriously consider getting a 2nd opinion. My opthamalogist is now retired but you really need to see an opthamologist (can do eye surgery as well as evaluate for glasses/contacts) and not just an optometrist. Try calling my optemetrist and asking for a referral. He is wonderful! I've been going to him since I got my contacts in 8th grade and have flown home to see him even when I lived in Europe!!

Mark Gendel OD
Office: ###-###-####
2059 University Dr
Coral Springs 33071

If you want to email me, I'll give you my complete name so that you can use it in your conversation with him. My email is ____@____.com

C.

first i would like to say that i am from colorado and have been living in florida for a few years now so i have had experiences in two different states. second i have a daughter that wears glasses and both my husband and i have been wearing glasses/contacts for ten plus years. i want to put out there that i have never heard about a child wearing contacts and it is one of the most ridiculous things i think i have ever heard. i would get a second opinion by an actual optemetrist first and then if more is needed go see a retina doctor. most retina doctors are trained to deal with children as well as adults. i have a friend who works in a retinal office and sees kids all the time with similiar if not more severe problems. i couldnt imagine trying to put contacts on a six year old. its hard enough to get my six year old to wear her glasses. and there are other options out there. i dont beleive that this doctor has told you all the options for treatment that are out there for children. in situations like this its always best to get second opinions by people who are qualified to do so. also in my time down here my peds doctor has told me things about my children that were just plain ridiculous and were also more importantly completely wrong. and when i went and got second opinions it always turned out that i did it for the better. i would suggest looking into doctors up at joe dimaggio hospital inhollywood. i have had wonderful experiences there and the doctors actually seem to know what they are talking about. good luck and get a second opionion. always trust your motherly instinct when it comes to your kids.

My son is also a patient of Dr. Friedman at Florida Eye in Boynton. We first took him in at around 18 months because my wife thought she noticed him squinting. Sure enough, it was amblyopia (AKA lazy eye). We started with the patches and even got him glasses. Getting him to wear any of it was a real struggle, especially in the beginning. It was a long time before he would wear his glasses regularly, but he's almost 3 now and wears them at all times. At first he wore a patch for several hours a day, but now it's down to just several hours a week because they appear to be working.

Personally, I think 6 is way too young for contacts. I got them when I was around 14, I think, although things were different then (there were no disposable daily-wear contacts, so if you ripped them you were out big bucks). If you get contacts for your 6-year-old, then YOU will be the one taking care of them.

Actually, I have known people who don't wear contacts specifically because one eye is so bad that the lens would be too thick, so I'm not sure what the deal is with your daughter. It sounds like she has more than one issue, so you probably have no choice but to trust your doctor. Get a second opinion if you want -- if Dr. Friedman isn't already your doctor, then I do recommend contacting him.

Good luck!

I used to dispense contacts, and the youngest patient I ever fitted with contacts was only nine months old. He was a bi-lateral cateract patient who basically was born blind!!! It was hard getting them in and out, but it was a joy seeing that little baby have sight for the first time. Your little girl will be just fine. Just know that it may take a few visits back and forth to get the exact right fit...eyeballs have different curvatures so the contacts have to have the exact same curve otherwise the eye can either swell if the contact is "too curved" or the contact will slide off if it is "too flat". Good luck.