Eye Examination

I brought the kids to Optimax for their (long overdue) eye examination on Tuesday. Although XY didn't show any symptoms, I thought it'd be good to just check and make sure there's really nothing to be concerned about. They watch too much tv since young and both parents are "four-eyed", so I'm a little bit paranoid. :D

I made appointment for both kids although I'm not sure how the boy would react at the clinic. But surprisingly, he was very eager to get his eyes checked when he saw jie jie with those "special gadgets". He must be fascinated with the equipments. When the ophthalmologist (Dr Y) was checking jie jie with the eye chart, he read out the alphabets on the wall. What a busybody! hehehe Then he can't wait to climb onto the chair to "read the alphabets".

When jie jie was being checked, it was very difficult to keep him out of the room. He didn't want to stay outside with Kakak. Even snacks didn't help so I had to carry him near the door, at an angle where he can't see the projection on the wall. Sigh... it was quite chaotic, especially when Dr Y was trying to explain the results to me. The kids were touching the lenses, the slit lamp machine, climbing up and down the chair. It was really hard to concentrate on the conversation when you're worried the kids may break something. Arrrgh!

The results :
XY ~ She's got myopia (shortsightedness) of 25 degrees for each eye and astigmatism (left -0.75 and right -1.00). Her myopia's quite mild but because of her astigmatism, she cannot see the smaller prints very clearly. It can be corrected with glasses. But Dr Y said I can still wait and continue to monitor her. If she has problems seeing the white board in class, then she'll probably have to wear glasses. Not wearing glasses now will not cause further damage so we'll just wait and see.

CE ~ His right eye is weaker than his left. Dr Y commented that at his age (when the eyes are not fully developed yet), both eyes should be EQUALLY good or bad. She's worried the weaker eye will become a lazy eye. But it's still too early to tell. Will have to bring him in for a follow-up examination 6 months later. I'm wondering if it's a good idea to use an eye patch (if the boy allows it). Dr Y didn't suggest that and I forgot to ask her.

At the meantime, I'm definitely not allowing close range activities for too long without any break like playing computer games and electronic games. And when they watch tv, have to make sure they don't go too near. I really hope they won't have serious vision problems later on.

This will be my last post for the year. And I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very...

H a p p y N e w Y e a r !