Light sensitivity in toddler

snoopy29

My 19 mth appears to react very strongly to bright light particularly if its a very bright sunny day. He's always been like this since he was born. He does have food allergies but otherwise he's a happy, healthy little boy and meeting all development milestones. Just wondering if its something I should be concerned about and should I bring him to the doctor or opticians to get checked out?

Brussels Sprout

Does it affect his vision or are you saying that his skin can't take the sun and that he burns very easily?

snoopy29

He seems to squint a lot and be clearly annoyed by it. His vision seems to be fine though. my husband is worried that if you kick a ball to him his visual tracking isnt good, as in, when the ball appears at his feet he seems surprised. Im not sure if this is a developmental thing or if its connected to the light sensitivity.

jlm29

snoopy29 wrote: »

He seems to squint a lot and be clearly annoyed by it. His vision seems to be fine though. my husband is worried that if you kick a ball to him his visual tracking isnt good, as in, when the ball appears at his feet he seems surprised. Im not sure if this is a developmental thing or if its connected to the light sensitivity.

I would bring him to be checked out, if you can, to put your mind at ease. I brought my eldest to an ordinary ophthalmologist a few years ago, just made the appointment myself for his eye test, didn’t need a referral or anything. There was no significant wait time and it cost around €40. I would go to an ophthalmologist rather than an optician though. If they feel he needs to be seen by someone else, they will possibly be able to organise that too (the one I went to sent us to an orthoptist). I didn’t have the same concerns as you, but we were waiting ages for a public appointment to rule out lazy eye, and didn’t want it to be missed as there is a narrow timeframe to fix it.

poppies2

My son had this. He eventually grew out of it. In school he would stop dead in the playground and just cover his eyes until it was time to go back in. In the car he would be nearly hysterical when it was very sunny so always had sunglasses for him in both cars. He's ten now and while he still complains a bit about it he is no where near as bad with it as he used to be.

snoopy29

did you ever get him seen by anyone?

poppies2

snoopy29 wrote: »

did you ever get him seen by anyone?

No, not for that but he is currently waiting to be assessed for an asd diagnosis and was diagnosed with ADHD and SPD when he was six. Now he also had aversion to sound and while in the classroom or at home would put his hands over his ears to try and block out noise.

If I were you, for now, I would maybe make an appointment with your PHN just for reassurance sake more than anything.

shesty

Yes I know of a child with issues, around tracking and the like.She's doing great, but she has been monitored since birth as it was very clearly apparent since she was born (your son doesn't sound as serious).Do get him looked at, they will check his sight at the two year check and tell you to watch for squints etc, so it may come up then.

catrionanic

Could be something and could be nothing! Some people are more sensitive than others, particularly if they are pale-skinned and light-eyed. How does he seem in poor lighting conditions, like in a dim room? Often when people have eye problems which cause them to be very light-sensitive, they also have extremely poor night vision and can hardly navigate around a dimly light room at all.

If you're concerned enough to post about this though, it's probably worth just getting it checked out. Some opticians will see kids as young as 2, although you may need to try a few different places. If not, your GP can refer you onwards to an ophthalmologist.

snoopy29

He's grand in dim light and ok in brightly lit shopping centres etc. I had noticed it but didnt think it was a big deal, my husband is worried about it really. He can see planes high in the sky no problem and diggers (his favourite thing) really far away so have no issues with his sight I dont think.