Mum has been noticing for a few weeks that Mo has been sitting close to their TV at home and that sometimes Mo’s eye looks like it turns in towards his nose. Mum is taking Mo to his first eye test today at hospital as he is too young to go to the Optician. When Mo arrives at his appointment he is greeted by the friendly reception staff who check him in for his appointment and let the Orthoptist know he is here. The lovely receptionist then asks Mo and his mum to have a seat on the yellow chairs by the playroom. Mo plays in toy room while he waits for the Orthoptist, who is specially trained to look at eyes, to call him.
When the Orthoptist calls Mo, he and his mum walk to the Orthoptist’s room. It is a big and bright clinic room with a comfy black chair for Mo to sit on. It’s almost like a space man’s chair which can move up and down and make Mo taller than his mummy!
While with the Orthoptist, Mo gets to look at lots of colourful pictures and of toys that make sounds and light up. He also gets to pay the pirate game. Mo is asked to wear orange and green pirate sunglasses which cover one eye because clever pirates only have one eye! Mo then calls out all the pictures that he can see. The Orthoptist then talks to mum and tells her how well Mo can see and how clever his eyes are. The Orthoptist tells Mo that he will need to have some drops in his eyes so we can check that they are healthy and see if he needs glasses. She also tells him about the lovely nurse who will put the drops in his eyes. The Orthoptist explains to Mo that the drops will feel a little strange and funny but that they are magic drops because they are cold from living in the fridge. Mo is told that the eye drops make his eyes go big and that his vision will be blurry for a little while.
(Parent Information – The Orthoptist will discuss your child’s visual ability and the alignment of your child’s eyes. The Orthoptist will also discuss what happens during the rest of the appointment and what the doctor may find).
After all the games Mo gets a colourful sticker for being a brave and clever boy and then goes back out to the play room to play some more with mum.
Next, the nurse calls Mo and his mum through to the nurse’s room to have his eye drops. Mo has three eye drops in his eyes. Because he has the cold magic eye drop (anaesthetic) in first the eye drops don’t hurt but feel a little chilly and strange. Mo has to blink lots after each drop to warm them up. Mo gets more stickers from the friendly nurse for being really brave. Mum tells Mo she is very proud of him for letting the nurse put the eye drops In his eyes.
(Parent Information – Eye drops are used to dilate the pupil (black of the eye) in order for the ophthalmologist (eye doctor) to look inside the eye and carry out a full health check and glasses check of the eye).
The eye drops can take up to 40 minutes, some times longer, to dilate the pupil. They cause Mo’s vision to go blurry. This lasts for a few hours before slowly wearing off. Mo’s mum thinks his eyes look big and sparkly. Mo and his mum wait and play in the toy room until the nurse has checked that the drops have worked and the doctor is ready to see him.
A jolly doctor, an Ophthalmologist, then calls Mo and his mum into their doctor’s room. He has another space man chair for Mo to sit on. He explains to Mo that he is going to show him some lights and some funny windows which he can look through. He explains that it won’t hurt him or touch him.
Once the doctor is finished looking at Mo’s eyes he talks to mum and Mo about what he can see and whether Mo’s eyes are healthy and if Mo needs some glasses.
Location: Royal Eye Unit
