SPECS SHOP which do you recommend to take my 4year old to ??? ............

[briggsy's girl]

at that age, any optometrist will be able to do an assessment - personally, i would be asking for a referal to a paed opthamologist for a treatment plan. lazy eye doesn't necessarily need glasses - it may be that she needs patch therapy moreso than glasses. my niece was treated by a local optometrist (a couple of them actually) and given glasses for a lazy eye but should have been doing intensive patch training. because it wasn't treated properly, she ended up needing surgery to correct the problem when she was 10 or 11. i'm not trying to scare you or anything, just looking at what is in your DD's best interests kwim? the paed opthamologists at RCH have both a private and public clinic - so if you get a referral you may be able to get in to the public clinic for minimal expense

good luck either way - and if she needs glasses, i'm sure she'll look gorgeous!

[smiles4u]

at that age, any optometrist will be able to do an assessment - personally, i would be asking for a referal to a paed opthamologist for a treatment plan. lazy eye doesn't necessarily need glasses - it may be that she needs patch therapy moreso than glasses. my niece was treated by a local optometrist (a couple of them actually) and given glasses for a lazy eye but should have been doing intensive patch training. because it wasn't treated properly, she ended up needing surgery to correct the problem when she was 10 or 11. i'm not trying to scare you or anything, just looking at what is in your DD's best interests kwim? the paed opthamologists at RCH have both a private and public clinic - so if you get a referral you may be able to get in to the public clinic for minimal expense

good luck either way - and if she needs glasses, i'm sure she'll look gorgeous!

.... Thanks heaps BG, yeh that was what i was thinking BG is it glasses she needs cause it was the MHN that picked up on it from the eye tests and she said she was only guessing it might be lazy eye that was why she wants me to find out what it actual is and she said to just go to any specs place but i wasn't sure if well i know this is gonna sounds strange would i get talked into glasses she may not need when there might be an alternative way to treat it (like a patch ??? i have no idea but that's what my Mum said they did in the early 70's ... not me that is someone else she knew) !!

Does anyone have any idea how much a consultation would be roughly for a paed opt ?? (i have health insurance but DD's doesn't ) ... and would it take long to get in for an appt ?? ... Who can i get a referral from, is it only my GP as it can take 2-3weeks to get into her or could i get a referral from a specs shop ??

(THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP LADIES as i wanna get this fixed sooner rather than later ... poor little mite !!)

[~me~]

You would need a referral to see one. They may charge up $100 I wouldn't think any more than $200 for the initial consult. You would also get a rebate from Medicare. You can get the initial consultation item number from the Opthalmologist and then look up MBS online to check the Medicare rebate. The Optometrist can write the referral.
If you go to an Optom, they are would not prescribe glasses if she didn't need them, they may even do both, glasses and patch depending on the severity of the lazy eye.
Ask the Optom if he knows what the local Opthal charges.
Just one thing you may need to think about, it would be worth looking into PHI for DD just in case she needs the turn operated on for correction and check that she would be covered for the operation, as in incase they turn around and say it is a pre existing condition and would not be covered. You can go public and be on the wait list if PHI is too much.

[briggsy's girl]

we had DD's initial consultation in the PRIVATE clinic at RCH - was 180 and we got 80 back. the public clinic would be very different. there may be a paed opthamologist more local to you than RCH - i went to that one due to recommendation of both another patient, and my optometrist i've been seeing for several years myself

an optometrist is highly unlikely to suggest glasses for a lazy/turned eye (they will usually call it a squint) - if there are other factors that may require glasses at a later time, it might be done earlier though because of the squint (does that make sense??). for instance, my DD has astigmatisms as well as a slight turn in her eye. it is possible that, by 2.5, we will be needing to get her glasses on top of patching. but that is more due to the astigmatisms than the tutn...