Yesterday, I finally managed to bring the kids to their eye doctor after about two years. This visit is really long overdue. We were supposed to come back after 6 months of our last check up, and yet here we are, coming back after two years. Bad momma. :(
What prompted me to really get that appointment was my Little Man getting really red left eye because he would pluck/pick his eyelid (he said as a habit). The last one was the other day when he cried for a while, because it was annoying.
So here he is, doing the routine assessments which he passed, but barely. I don't know how this guy checking is professionally called. Maybe optometrist? I'm not sure. But he is just the one doing the tests before we get seen by the ophthalmologist himself.
The Little Man had the tests first while his big sister waited outside. When it was finally her turn, I knew this would not turn good.
She's been spending a lot of time on her devices recently and I know sooner not later, she would have problems with her eyes. So when she was being tested, asked to identify the popping objects from the screen, she already failed.
Little Man described this test as "it looks like I can put my finger under it. I need to try to grab thing that's popping out. It gets harder and harder."
Little Miss was not able to catch all of these popping objects.
"She needs to wear glasses. She is myopic," the guy said. "Do you have time this afternoon? Because they need to put eye drops on her, and that would take maybe 2 hours".
And so, Little Miss had 4 kinds of eye drops given to her until her pupils got fully dilated. At the moment, a day later, she still could not see things properly. Especially those close to her, as a side effect of this procedure.
We were not ready for that very long waiting time and I literally dozed off already while waiting. Little Man took these photos while waiting.
When Little Man got cleared from any vision problems, and was told he did not need to have eye drops like his sister, he was so glad and did his "happy dance"! Then it was finally time to see the doctor and I mentioned to him about the recurring redness on Little Man's left eye.
The doctor said Little Man has allergies and that he would prescribe drops. And whew, Little Man was prescribed to get the drops for 30 days. LOL.
The drops were pricey at $16.16 each small bottle. Good thing, these were covered by the insurance.
At least, the drops do not sting, instead, they actually provide comfort and relief as per the Little Man.
After getting Little Man's drops from the hospital pharmacy, we went to get Little Miss' prescription glasses. I decided to take the most basic lenses (without UV and all those jazz) since we need to come back for a follow up check up after four months and the power may change.
Two of my three children are now unfortunately wearing glasses. But still, I am glad that we were able to catch these conditions early on. It highlights the importance of getting routine eye check ups for children as they get on their school age. Even more for me, a reminder to get the follow up checks on time, too.
The doctor also reminded us to indulge in more outdoor activities since these are found to be helpful in delaying the onset of myopia or slow down its progression.
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