anyone's kid have to use an eye patch? - Page 2

[minsch1]

Your experience sounds exactly like my son, except he had just turned 5 when he was diagnosed. I am happy to report that less than a year later, he now has 20/40 vision in the "bad" eye, and his depth perception is now within normal limits. So I'll share a couple things that worked for us:

First of all, he hated hated hated it when we called it his pirate patch. Originally, I thought he would love it, but he actually preferred us to simply call it what it was - his patch. I'm sure every child is different, but the pirate theme did not work for us.

Second, I read several studies that determined that the patching could be splint into smaller chunks of time and be just as effective as one big chunk. We ran it by his eye doctor, and ended up doing 30 minutes on/30 minutes off in the beginning, to sort of ease him into wearing it. Eventually, he preferred to just wear it all at once to make the patch time pass quicker and get it over with, but I think easing him into it increased compliance.

Third, try to distract her during patch time. Puzzles, a special art box that can be used only during patch time, board games, catch - it can be anything, but keeping your child occupied really helps in my opinion.

Also, my son complained that having the patch in the same spot hurt, and I could see the red marks, so I got a bunch of fabric in fun kid prints and made him some in different shapes and sizes. Its really easy to do - take some craft foam (looks sortof like thick felt, not sure what its really called) and shape it. Make some really big patches, make some like masks, you can make hearts, stars, whatever - just make sure it covers her eye - and then sew or glue on the fabric. I used swimsuit elastic for the band.

Originally Posted by lucysmom

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.

For the first few weeks, expect her to be clumsy, and keep her away from stairs and other similar hazards. But you'll be surprised how quickly the brain starts to recognize that eye again. It's amazing!! My son was pretty much blind, but it came back so fast. It may be hard to watch her struggle, but you need to understand how very, very important this is. If you do not treat her now, it's more than just not having vision in one eye. She will have no depth perception, necessary for playing sports, riding a bike, driving, countless other things. She will most likely be clumsy and uncoordinated. She will have no peripheral vision on that side. She will probably have headaches. And as she gets older, you will be able to see a difference in the way that eye looks - vacant, unfocused. I'm sure she will find that this affects her ability to communicate effectively with people.

I don't want to scare you or sound harsh, but it's so wonderful that you caught it early. The prospects are so good for your daughter. Give it a little time, and trust in the amazing power of her brain. Connections form so fast when they are little. It will be okay!

Best wishes!

[lucysmom]

Kushali & Misnsch1 -- and all the others who have shared their own stories and those of their kids -- thank you so much. You are really helping me undertake this with appropriate expectations. This is a great example of why I love MDC ...