I took my son to a vision center today after realizing he was looking closely at a book or the television to see. He is 3 years old. I was told he was extremely far sighted and given the following prescription:

+7 -1.00 cylinder 180 axis

I am being referred to a pediatric opthamologist. I do not know what this means as far as his visual acuity is concerned. The dr. at the vision center said it was bad enough it would effect his vision near and far and that I shouldn't get the rx filled until I see the specailist in case he changes it.

I would appreciate any information concerning how bad my son's vision is to need the above prescription and any information on this condition in children. I or my husband does not wear glasses but it sounded like +7 was pretty strong and he said that it would magnify the size of his eyes. He also suggested investing in a thinner lens. I never noticed anything wrong until yesterday and got him in this afternoon.
Thanks for any information anyone could provide.

Very good that your son will be under the care of a PO.
In addition to the hyperopia he has an astigmatism, but it is slight. That is the -1.00 in the prescription.
All children are born hyperopic, so there could be a slight improvement in your son's acuity as he ages. You/he are fortunate if the acuity in both eyes is the same (you didn't say). You/he are also fortunate if there has been no sign of esotropia (crossed eyes). At that degree of hyperopia trying to focus up close is hard on the eyes and they can turn in. If the acuity is not the same in both eyes, amblyopia can develop. That is the brain shutting off the image from one eye because the data it gets from each eye is so different. The treatment for amblyopia is patching.
It will be important that he wear his glasses.
Make a list of questions for the PO.
Hope this helps.

Thank you for your response. He did say that he thought both eyes were equally as bad. I haven't noticed any crossing of his eyes. It's also good to know there is a possibility of improvement as he ages but at this degree will he most likely always have the need for glasses? It's strange how you'd never know by watching him he has any problem. He chases little bugs flying by...picks up small objects......does everything normally.....except watch tv so close. I was in shock that he even needed glasses much less that he was so far-sighted. I am hoping to get in w/ the specialist next week so we can make sure this is the rx he wants him to have so we can go ahead and get his glasses filled.

it is VERY important for him to wear glasses all the time! ive seen what a plus 7 sees and its not good trust me! of course this isnt the end of the world and his eyes will be magnified in his new glasses but there could be much worse things also when he is older he can wear contacts at about 10 or so if he really wants and then once his vision has somewhat stopped changing he can get laser surgery. but +7 is a very very high Rx and isnt that common and it will prob go higher as he ages, the reason he wants u to see a specialist is ods are he wants to put drops in his eyes to dilate his pupils to make sure his Rx is correct as he can get a better reading, you are a good mom for having it checked out so soon!

Young children are very good at accomodating close vision but it takes effort. Here's something interesting:
A child may be farsighted because the eye is shorter than average, because the lens or cornea bends light less than average, or because the lens is farther backward in the eye than average.

When farsigtedness is caused by the first reason--a short eyeball--there is hope of improvement because the eye lengthens with growth. That will be a question for the PO.

My daughter got glasses for extreme nearsightedness when she was 4 years old (she's now 28). The good thing about needing glasses with a strong prescription when children are so young is that they willingly wear them because they recognize the great improvement in vision and don't have so many preconceived notions about fashion and appearance.

We went to the specialist today........and the rx did change....it's stronger than before. New rx is +8.5/+1.75/090 for both eyes. The -1.00 changed to +1.75 I don't understand that.....but he did say that he had an astigmatism. He has to go back in two months. Neither eye turns inward or another way which he said is good but that his degree of far sightedness can cause that so I hope that means the glasses will keep that from happening. Does anyone know what his visual acuity is with such a stong rx? I forgot to ask today. His glasses will be ready in a week or less and I am dreading trying to keep them on a three year old.......but hopefully he will adjust to wearing them...especially when he realizes how much better he can see. His eyes apparently looked healthy which I was worried about after reading about different eye diseases in children. I still wonder how they have been so bad and us not notice......and especially since mine and his father's eyes are fine.... I have a two year old and will have his checked soon as well just to be sure we don't miss something with him. Thanks for all responses. :)

Hi leigha,
I understand how u feel because my son was diagnosed with +7 too, and they prescribed +5 eyeglasses 3 months back. Now he got used to it he wears them. Make suer to take the kid when you buy the eyeglasses allow them to choose the frame and the'll wear it.
Its painful to see wearing eyeglasses when they are so young. But good thing is they were diagnosed .