I gotta wonder why pediatricians don't warn parents about things like Coats' or Retinoblastoma. The first time a parent probably even thinks about a child's eye health is when they do an eye screening in kindergarten. Why don't pediatricians suggest that toddlers get a routine eye exam? It wouldn't cost any money, nor are there any legal issues in "suggesting" it. It could be a routine thing that at when a child is 24 months, or even 3 years old, their pediatrican could simply remind parents not to neglect eye exams. (And what the heck, remind them about dental visits, too.)
I realize that there are a lot of "rare" conditions out there, and doctors can't warn parents about EVERYTHING. But eye exams seem kinda basic. I mean, they seem kinda basic to me NOW. Before we knew about Joey having Coats', it never crossed my mind. Which, I guess, is exactly my point.
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Thanks for sharing your story. My son was diagnosis at 16 months (just like your family, we noticed the white eye in photos and brought that to our doctor's attention). They really should do eye exams from birth I think.
Hi- thanks for your comment. I agree with you - at very least, Pediatricians should "suggest" to parents to have a vision test early. By the time they get to school and have vision screenings, the disease could be well advanced. When our kids our young, i think a vision test probably doesn't even cross our mind.
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