Do I need to see an ophthalmologist at age 30 if I had lazy eye as a child?
SEP 16, 2017
Question:
I had a lazy eye as a child but no vision problems. I wore glasses from age 3 to 14. When I realized my eye was no longer turning in when I wasn't wearing my glasses, I stopped wearing them. That was almost 15 years ago and I haven't had any problems with my eye wandering since. Should I still see an ophthalmologist to be sure everything is OK?
Answer:
This is an excellent question. Since you are getting close to 30 it is time to have a comprehensive eye exam with an ophthalmologist to evaluate you for silent conditions (or diseases that sometimes have no symptoms early on) such as glaucoma and to make sure you are truly seeing your very best.
Since you had crossing from the age of 3, you most likely had accommodative esotropia. This is caused by being excessively farsighted. This causes one eye to pull in or cross when focusing. Just like in your case, this usually goes away in teenage years. One caution, however, is that many patients like you begin to have problems with farsightedness in their mid- to late-thirties.
It would be good for you to have a comprehensive examination with an ophthalmologist to determine if you have any underlying or "latent" farsightedness. This will make sure you have your best vision for distance and near and that your eyes remain healthy.