anyone's kid have to use an eye patch?

[lucysmom]

My 3 year old daughter was just diagnosed with amblyopia (lazy eye, essentially). She has almost no vision in one eye because the brain is not "looking" to that eye for sight. The course of treatment is to use a patch on the good eye, so that the lazy eye is relied on & strengthens.

I dread introducing this to her. Does anyone have experience with this & have any tips on how to make it as OK for the child as possible?

Thanks ...

[BiscuitBaby]

.Here is a DVD with characters called The Eye Patch Kids.
http://www.bjortandcompany.com

.

[sophiekat]

my 2 year old has a lazy eye. we got the fun sticker patches and she gets to pick which design to wear each day. we watched the backyardigans and little einsteins pirate episodes and play pirate (lots of saying "arrrrrrrr" ). the first few times i wore one too. hth!

[kate~mom]

pirates and cool patches here too. she didn't seem to care about it until last year, right before she started kindergarten.

[LilyGrace]

My oldest wore one for a long while. What helped was a variety of patches and special toys he could use ONLY when the patch was on:
Paint by numbers
Puzzles
Mazes
Lego kits
Magnetic pictures

anything that worked on hand/eye coordination.

[tamagotchi]

I had amblyopia and had to wear an eye patch when I was a child. I didn't have good enough vision in my "lazy eye" to see small things clearly (like bugs in the yard, or letters and numbers on a page), so my mother got me a magnifying glass that I used when I had to wear the patch.

[miss_nikki]

I had to wear an eye patch when I was little too. I only have peripheral (sp?) vision in my left eye due to having PHPV as well as a lazy eye. I didn't do well with the patch so the only help I have is make sure to make it fun to wear. I didn't like the patch and would cry or go to sleep everytime I had to wear one which defeated the purpose.

[sunnmama]

Dd has worn an eye patch off and on for strabismus.

The Patch is a great book.

When dd was wearing a patch, we talked about the different kinds of extra help people need (big and small). Maybe we know someone with crutches....in a wheelchair....at the time my grandma used a breathing tube. We put her patching in that category, and she felt less "different".

Also, the most difficult thing about patching, for her, was the sensation of wearing and removing the patch. So she invented "patch glasses", with her opthalmologist's approval! We took a pair of cute, sparkly sunglasses, blacked out the lens on her "good" eye with electrical tape, and popped out the lens from her "weak" eye. She had an easier time wearing those, even though she got tons and tons of comments from strangers about "missing a lens" (like she hadn't noticed! )

[lucysmom]

Some great ideas on here so far. Thank you! I have already (since the original post last night) learned a lot more with on-line research & thought of how I will explain it to her. Today I am most concerned that she has so little vision in her "lazy" eye that she will be unable to do much of anything while patched, until/unless there is improvement.

For those with current experience with fun patches -- where do you get the character ones? And did any of you use the felt patches (patchpal.com) and what was your experience?

And for those who patched when little -- did you also use vision therapy exercises? and what degree of improvement in your did you experience?

Thanks!

[Kushali]

I had to wear one when I was little as well. You've gotten a lot of good ideas already. Once I got glasses I got a cloth patch that slipped over the frames. It was soooooo much more comfortable than the stick on kind, especially in summer.

[Sharon, RN]

I just wanted to share my experience with you:

I had to wear a patch on my "good eye" for about a year or so when I was a child. Honestly, I hated it. It wasn't so much the patch, but the vision in my amblyopic ("lazy") eye was so bad that I literally hurt myself. Not on purpose, but I'd walk into doors/walls, fell off my bike, things like that. I had no central vision acuity, and lost the best part of my periph vision. Imagine staring into the sun for a while, then looking straight ahead. You know that "black spot" left there by the sun? The vision in my bad eye is alot like that. My good eye was 20/20. I didn't wear the patch until right before I started K, so I'd had a good 5 years to compensate with my good eye.

I quickly learned how to "cheat" and position the patch just so that I could still see with my good eye, but it looked like I was wearing the patch correctly. I took the patch off at every opportunity. I did this because I just couldn't stand being basically blind. I would get horrible headaches.

In any event, at least for me, it didn't work, my lazy eye still has the exact same vision in it, or worse. My lazy eye's pupil actually turns in slightly (towards my nose), instead of out, so most people don't even notice it. My current optho said I could have the pupil centered for cosmetic reasons, but there is nothing I can do about the vision. I declined. She told me some people whose pupil drifts towards the outside will sometimes have the cosmetic surgery. I wear glasses (sometimes ) mostly for safety reasons- if anything happens to my "good eye", I will be essentially blind. So I'm supposed to wear glasses for the same reason people wear safety goggles. LOL

As far as how my lazy eye/vision problems affect my life now- well, I can't do those 3-D mosaic puzzle things, where you stare into the pattern and a "picture" floats up. Depth perception is sometimes a problem, so I'm just really careful when I drive at night. I wear my very fashionable safety goggles (when I remember!). Otherwise, it doesn't really affect me very much.

I hope things work out well for you and your little one! At 3, hopefully it will be more successful than my experience was. You've gotten some really good ideas here! Hopefully the vision in her lazy eye isn't as bad as mine is, and it will be easier for her to tolerate.

Good luck!

[pinecone]

Looks like you got a bunch of good ideas already. My DD was diagnosed with this same thing at age 3 and had to wear the patch quite a bit. Now DD also had to wear glasses so we usually just patched the glasses rather than putting it right on her skin, which I would think is a bit uncomfortable. I can't keep track of whether it was the amblyopia or the strambismus that caused her to need eye muscle surgery at age 3.5. DD would OFTEN get asked what's wrong with her eye when she wore the eye patch, and I usually responded with a short and sweet answer: "She's making her weak eye strong." Hearing that over and over again was good for her. Eventually I heard her saying that when people asked. I think kids really know how good it feels to be able to see and not so good when they can't see. If you can reinforce how this will make seeing better over time then perhaps your child will be more willing to comply. I'll also add that my DD was in K3 when she started wearing the patch and it is especially challenging when other kids are so curious and giving attention to something you're self conscious about. I would also remind my child that as the parent it is my job to keep her healthy and safe and that patching was part of my job to keep her eyes healthy.

Good luck!
~ Denise

[sophiekat]

my dd wears these http://ortopadusa.com/sp-bin/spirit?PAGE=39&CATALOG=5
she only needs to wear it for a couple hours per day and doesn't wear glasses.

[kate~mom]

whe i patched (25 yrs ago) i just had a stick on thing and did no vision therapy. i only patched for maybe two years and had the glasses for an additional 5 after that.

[zerby]

I got the patch at 2.5 y/o. I also got glasses and "eye workouts" at that time. Honestly, I was amazed, because I had horrid vision my "good eye", so even with the deficit, I was able to see better patched with glasses. I remember that those who commented on the patch were told by my mom that some kids needed two eyes to see and some only needed one like me. Snotty, yes, but it made me feel better. It was the first time in my life I was able to see pictures on a wall. My "lazy eye" is now my good eye - I only need an astigmatism correction on it. And I still remember my eye excercises, my mom made them fun. I was able to avoid surgery for it, and was able to acclimate to wearing glasses while young enough to reap the benefits of them without fighting too much. FWIW, I did make good use of the warranty on all of my glasses...I liked to play! I still can't see the "Magic Eye pictures" because I cannot make my eyes unfocus, but I can live with that, LOL.

Best of luck to you and yours!!

[lucysmom]

Originally Posted by Sharon, RN

I just wanted to share my experience with you:

I had to wear a patch on my "good eye" for about a year or so when I was a child. Honestly, I hated it. It wasn't so much the patch, but the vision in my amblyopic ("lazy") eye was so bad that I literally hurt myself. Not on purpose, but I'd walk into doors/walls, fell off my bike, things like that. I had no central vision acuity, and lost the best part of my periph vision. Imagine staring into the sun for a while, then looking straight ahead. You know that "black spot" left there by the sun? The vision in my bad eye is alot like that. My good eye was 20/20. I didn't wear the patch until right before I started K, so I'd had a good 5 years to compensate with my good eye.

I quickly learned how to "cheat" and position the patch just so that I could still see with my good eye, but it looked like I was wearing the patch correctly. I took the patch off at every opportunity. I did this because I just couldn't stand being basically blind. I would get horrible headaches.

In any event, at least for me, it didn't work, my lazy eye still has the exact same vision in it, or worse. My lazy eye's pupil actually turns in slightly (towards my nose), instead of out, so most people don't even notice it. My current optho said I could have the pupil centered for cosmetic reasons, but there is nothing I can do about the vision. I declined. She told me some people whose pupil drifts towards the outside will sometimes have the cosmetic surgery. I wear glasses (sometimes ) mostly for safety reasons- if anything happens to my "good eye", I will be essentially blind. So I'm supposed to wear glasses for the same reason people wear safety goggles. LOL

As far as how my lazy eye/vision problems affect my life now- well, I can't do those 3-D mosaic puzzle things, where you stare into the pattern and a "picture" floats up. Depth perception is sometimes a problem, so I'm just really careful when I drive at night. I wear my very fashionable safety goggles (when I remember!). Otherwise, it doesn't really affect me very much.

I hope things work out well for you and your little one! At 3, hopefully it will be more successful than my experience was. You've gotten some really good ideas here! Hopefully the vision in her lazy eye isn't as bad as mine is, and it will be easier for her to tolerate.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, DD currently has almost no vision in the weak eye. It was astonishing how dramatic it was at her opthamologist appt yesterday. The fact that she is going to be almost completely unable to see when patched is what really puts me off of this. I am wondering if the likely improvement is enough to justify her probable misery & possible even developmental impacts if doctors want her eventually to patch much of the time & she is missing reading, etc.

Everyone's comments have been extremely helpful. More? Any does anyone have any additional sites for patches? And did anyone have any experience with vision therapy for amblyopia?

Thanks!!

LM

[zerby]

Honestly, the earlier the better. Yes she may miss out on a bit during a develomentally important time in her life, but the flip side is losing vision in her eye permanantly. If she had diabetes, the anxiety would be less...you could help your child function by monitoring her insulin levels, which is painful to be sure but give her the chance to be a "normal" child, without the added challenges of diabetes uncontrolled as a teen and an adult. Vision is a gift, and to some it can be a challenge. I was fortunate to not have this issue with my DD, but was prepared to face this challenge should it have come up. It is hard, and frustrating, but important nevertheless! No websites, but hugs!!!

[kate~mom]

Originally Posted by zerby

I still can't see the "Magic Eye pictures" because I cannot make my eyes unfocus, but I can live with that, LOL.

Best of luck to you and yours!!

rofl! neither can i! i can't force my eyes to unfocus.

[kate~mom]

your dd is 2.5? she will probably get to near perfect vision. dd started just after 2 and was near perfect by 4/5ish. i didn't start until close to 5 and the opthomaogist told my mom if she had waited another six months i would be functionally blind in that eye - and i was fine by age 12. no glasses at all now.

your opthomologist will probablyhave her starting out on a low patch duration to get her used to it. really, it will be FINE!

[Kushali]

When I got my patch the vision in my bad eye was 20/220 or something equally ridiculous. I couldn't see the top row of the eye chart. I did a patch and vision therapy for two years. After that I was followed by my eye doctor and wore glasses till I was 15. At 15 my vision was good enough that I was allowed to stop wearing corrective lenses.

I can't guarantee your daughter will have good results too, but she's young enough that its likely. Especially if you are consistent with the patching and have a good eye doctor (one with experience with kids).

I don't remember much about being patched or doing vision therapy. My mom tells stories about my skin reacting to the patch adhesive but doesn't talk about me running into walls or being miserable because I couldn't see. In my house it was another thing we did to stay healthy, like brushing teeth and wearing coats when it was cold. I even learned to ski with my patch on.

As an adult I'm very grateful that my parents kept at it. I've met other adults who's vision wasn't corrected at an early age and they have a lot more problems than I do.