Elisha’s eye

We took him in to his appointment this morning (yes, on a Saturday), and after a great deal of fussing, squirming and enforced immobilization, the eye doctor told us the “deformation” Jay observed a couple months ago was completely benign.

It has a name, and the fellow wrote it down for us, but somewhere between then and now I misplaced it. Along with the appointment card for his follow-up in April.

Found it. The name: Nodular Flocculus. “Prominent pupillary frill” another scrawl seems to be saying.

Dr. wants us to come back for a second look, to make sure it hasn’t changed, then we can wait until the “normal” toddler check-up, “around 3-yrs-old.”

I asked why a child needed to be seen at that age (feeling like this was asking a salesman why I needed his brand), but I really wanted to know. Doc (I honestly don’t remember who we saw– he even had to write on someone else’s business card, said he was out of his own) said the reason is to try and catch a type of one-eyed far-sightedness.

This can sometimes cause an eye to cross, because the brain shuts-off receiving from that eye. The dr. said that if this isn’t caught by about age 6 and a half the brain-induced blindness (it’s not using that eye anymore) is permanent. He said they like to do at least one appointment around age three, in case the eye didn’t cross, so they can catch it. Called it the leading form of preventable blindness.

I can remember seeing younger kids with glasses and an eye patch when I was in high school. Don’t know where I picked it up, but I told the kids I was babysitting that the patch was over the “good” eye (counter-intuitive, I know) to make the crossed eye work harder.

Putting that together with what I picked up today (seems to make sense) it’s all very interesting, and seems a compelling reason to get the kids checked as toddlers. Or, at least, as little kids. I’m beginning to tell the difference.

I signed Natasha up for an eye exam the same day Elisha gets his follow-up. She’ll be four.