First time child’s eyes were dilated

[Anonymous]

At what age did you first have your child’s eyes dilated to check their eye health ?

[Anonymous]

Oldest was an early preemie, so maybe at 32 weeks gestational age in the NICU. Very traumatic.

Youngest has never had it done; always passes vision screenings. Eye dr of older one says no reason to do it now.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 9 and 13 and optometrist wants to dilate both of them at their next check up appointments. They have no eye issues and always pass their exams. I thought it was kind of strange, so I’m just wondering if I should push back and say we prefer not to do it yet — is there any downsides other than it’s just uncomfortable for them?
-OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oldest was an early preemie, so maybe at 32 weeks gestational age in the NICU. Very traumatic.

Youngest has never had it done; always passes vision screenings. Eye dr of older one says no reason to do it now.

Was the dilating traumatic, or the NICU experience.

My kid had his done before a year because of a lot of steroid use for asthma. It wasn't traumatic at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 9 and 13 and optometrist wants to dilate both of them at their next check up appointments. They have no eye issues and always pass their exams. I thought it was kind of strange, so I’m just wondering if I should push back and say we prefer not to do it yet — is there any downsides other than it’s just uncomfortable for them?
-OP

There is literally no downside other than blurry vision for a bit, so not sure why you’d reject the doctor’s advice.

If you’re really so upset about it, find a place that uses Optomap instead.

[Anonymous]

My son had his dilated at about 18 months. He couldn't really tell me otherwise, but it didn't seem to bother him at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oldest was an early preemie, so maybe at 32 weeks gestational age in the NICU. Very traumatic.

Youngest has never had it done; always passes vision screenings. Eye dr of older one says no reason to do it now.

Was the dilating traumatic, or the NICU experience.

My kid had his done before a year because of a lot of steroid use for asthma. It wasn't traumatic at that age.

The eye exams are super traumatic for the babies. They always have issues after (desat, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oldest was an early preemie, so maybe at 32 weeks gestational age in the NICU. Very traumatic.

Youngest has never had it done; always passes vision screenings. Eye dr of older one says no reason to do it now.

Was the dilating traumatic, or the NICU experience.

My kid had his done before a year because of a lot of steroid use for asthma. It wasn't traumatic at that age.

The eye exams are super traumatic for the babies. They always have issues after (desat, etc).

I just watched of video of how they look for ROP. I can see how that would be traumatic, especially for a premie who is still developing their neurological system and easily overstimulated.

I am the PP, and my kid's eyes were dilated for a different reason at about 9 months. At that age, it wasn't traumatic.

[Anonymous]

He had just had his first birthday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 9 and 13 and optometrist wants to dilate both of them at their next check up appointments. They have no eye issues and always pass their exams. I thought it was kind of strange, so I’m just wondering if I should push back and say we prefer not to do it yet — is there any downsides other than it’s just uncomfortable for them?
-OP

Why are they seeing an optometrist if no eye issues? My 17 and 14 year olds always pass their vision screening and no one has suggested they need to see an eye doctor or have their eyes dilated. And if I was concerned about eye health, as opposed to vision, I would take them to an ophthalmologist, not optometrist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 9 and 13 and optometrist wants to dilate both of them at their next check up appointments. They have no eye issues and always pass their exams. I thought it was kind of strange, so I’m just wondering if I should push back and say we prefer not to do it yet — is there any downsides other than it’s just uncomfortable for them?
-OP

Why are they seeing an optometrist if no eye issues? My 17 and 14 year olds always pass their vision screening and no one has suggested they need to see an eye doctor or have their eyes dilated. And if I was concerned about eye health, as opposed to vision, I would take them to an ophthalmologist, not optometrist.

Your kids should be seeing an optometrist. A screening is just a screening. Periodic testing is important, just like regular dental visits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oldest was an early preemie, so maybe at 32 weeks gestational age in the NICU. Very traumatic.

Youngest has never had it done; always passes vision screenings. Eye dr of older one says no reason to do it now.

Was the dilating traumatic, or the NICU experience.

My kid had his done before a year because of a lot of steroid use for asthma. It wasn't traumatic at that age.

The eye exams are super traumatic for the babies. They always have issues after (desat, etc).

How can putting drops in the eye be traumatic? There is absolutely no pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oldest was an early preemie, so maybe at 32 weeks gestational age in the NICU. Very traumatic.

Youngest has never had it done; always passes vision screenings. Eye dr of older one says no reason to do it now.

Was the dilating traumatic, or the NICU experience.

My kid had his done before a year because of a lot of steroid use for asthma. It wasn't traumatic at that age.

The eye exams are super traumatic for the babies. They always have issues after (desat, etc).

How can putting drops in the eye be traumatic? There is absolutely no pain.

It was the whole exam. It was so traumatic. This is a known thing in the NICU. My preemie was intubated, had IVs, a minor surgery, CPAP, shots, and lots of other stuff.

The eye exam was the worst and caused the most desats (which indicates stress).

[Anonymous]

5-6. Flunked the ped eye screener. Didn’t like having blurry vision but it was not traumatic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oldest was an early preemie, so maybe at 32 weeks gestational age in the NICU. Very traumatic.

Youngest has never had it done; always passes vision screenings. Eye dr of older one says no reason to do it now.

Was the dilating traumatic, or the NICU experience.

My kid had his done before a year because of a lot of steroid use for asthma. It wasn't traumatic at that age.

The eye exams are super traumatic for the babies. They always have issues after (desat, etc).

How can putting drops in the eye be traumatic? There is absolutely no pain.

It was the whole exam. It was so traumatic. This is a known thing in the NICU. My preemie was intubated, had IVs, a minor surgery, CPAP, shots, and lots of other stuff.

The eye exam was the worst and caused the most desats (which indicates stress).

Maybe for kids who've been through the NICU but a regular eye exam with dilation is not a big deal for most kids. The worst part is that it takes so long since they have to wait 45 minutes or so after the dilation to finish the exam. They can't see much so trying to keep a toddler/preschooler occupied when they can't look at books and it feels weird to do much else is the hard part.