Eye Patch

Jennyy - posted on 11/21/2012

My son who is almost 3 was born with a cataract but drs didn't notice it until he was 4 months he's had 1 surgery to remove the cataract.. I was putting in contacts but that got difficult so I'm doing patching 3 hrs a day now his vision is not improving and his opthamologists wants to do another surgery to implant a lense I'm scared of that cause I heard it can travel .. idk what to do continue patching with glasses and hopefully it improves or the lense?

Angela - posted on 02/25/2009

Quoting Lauren:

Eye Patch

I have to patch my 6 yr old son's eye for 4 hours/night and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to keep the patch on him for the whole 4 hours. Last night he cried so much that the patch kept coming off. Help!

Aww bless I know how you feel.  I had to do the same for my son and all I can say is difficult as it is just try to keep him occupied and he will hopefully forget he has it on.  My son was great with his but I know the majority of children don't like it.  I tried putting one on as well so he didn't feel left out! All I would say though is that it really helps to persevere...my son is now 18 and his eyesight has improved because of the patching so hang in there.

Angela.......and Adam

Wendy - posted on 02/25/2009

Hi,
I have two daughter who have worn glasses since they were 2 years old and I worked 10 years for a pediatric ophthalmologist and this is one of the hardest things to do... Patching is something that frustrates the children especially because its difficult for them to use their non dominating eye. We always recommended a small amount of cornstarch baby powder around the eye enough for the tears to be absorbed but not too much where you wont be able to stick the patch on. It worked for most patients. Does your child wear glasses?? If so, you can place the patch on the glasses instead of directly on the skin.
Hope this works! Good luck!

Heather - posted on 02/25/2009

My son who is now 3 has had to patch for the last couple of years off and on. He is unfortunately allergic to the tape so the sticky eye patches didn't work for him. Try going to a dollar store or kids party store and buying pirate eye patches. My son loves wearing his pirate eye patch and he doesn't even know that while he's wearing it it's helping his eyes. GOOD LUCK! Keep trying because it is much better than needing surgery (which my son had last year.)

Heather - posted on 02/25/2009

My son who is now 3 has had to patch for the last couple of years off and on. He is unfortunately allergic to the tape so the sticky eye patches didn't work for him. Try going to a dollar store or kids party store and buying pirate eye patches. My son loves wearing his pirate eye patch and he doesn't even know that while he's wearing it it's helping his eyes. GOOD LUCK! Keep trying because it is much better than needing surgery (which my son had last year.)

Heather - posted on 02/25/2009

My son who is now 3 has had to patch for the last couple of years off and on. He is unfortunately allergic to the tape so the sticky eye patches didn't work for him. Try going to a dollar store or kids party store and buying pirate eye patches. My son loves wearing his pirate eye patch and he doesn't even know that while he's wearing it it's helping his eyes. GOOD LUCK! Keep trying because it is much better than needing surgery (which my son had last year.)

Amanda - posted on 02/25/2009

Trying playing pirates. I had to wear a patch on my eye for a time and my nieces did not like that at all so to ease them on it, we played pirates. Might not be much help and I am sure you tried it before. Sorry and good luck!

Me - posted on 02/25/2009

I know how it is my daughter had to wear them for 8 hours a day. We were always trying to make it fun. Have you tried get the ones that have patterns on them. Or you could come up with games to include the patch. Or you can ask if it would help if you did it ONE time to do it with him. My kids calm down on things if they see I can do it. I am sorry you are having troubles...GOOD LUCK!

Elaine - posted on 02/25/2009

Have you tried patching him after he goes to sleep? Good Luck

Kathy - posted on 02/25/2009

my granddaughter is 6 months old and has to wear an eye patch on one eye and a contact in the other. she is really good about it. the problem we have is that the patch won't stay stuck. maybe your son could help us out and tell us how it feels and why it doesn't stick sometimes. maybe if he knows he is helping a baby who can't tell us what it feels he will feel more in charge of what he has too do. she will have to wear the patch for a long time-maybe 10 years- so we would really appreciate any help.

Lisa - posted on 02/25/2009

i had the same problem with my son who is now 10 he has a sqint and had to have a patch and good old fashioned bribary works every time there must be some new toy or game that hes asked for give it a go

Louise - posted on 02/25/2009

i have a 10 yr old who also had to wear a eye patch, he wasnt impressed, at his next appointment we asked 4 a box of fancy eye patches, also try saying if u dont wear the patch the dr wont b happy and u'll have to wear it longer, it worked for us wen my son started wearing them at age 7. good luck

Adele - posted on 02/25/2009

My 7 yr old son has amblyopia which is a slightly crossed eye and we have to patch his eye two hours a night... I have read several material and as long as you patch it for two hours that is just as good as 4 hours. I buy the patches at walmart that are self adhesive in the eye care area. I try to keep him busy while he is wearing the patch. You could try small rewards if he leaves the patch on for you.. Good luck

Adele - posted on 02/25/2009

Quoting Lauren:

Eye Patch

I have to patch my 6 yr old son's eye for 4 hours/night and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to keep the patch on him for the whole 4 hours. Last night he cried so much that the patch kept coming off. Help!

Sandra - posted on 02/24/2009

When my daughter finally figured out that not everyone wore a patch, I talked with our pediatric opthalmologist who finally agreed to start putting atropine drops in her good eye so that the affected eye had to work harder to see. I had to really push but my theory was that if she looks over the patch or cries it off than its not effective therapy. We put drops in her strong eye for at least a year with no bad effects. It was much easier than fighting the patch and studies show that the long term effects are the same.

Andrea - posted on 02/24/2009

hi my son has just turned two and has had to wear an eye patch and glasses for about five months now. I have gone to hell and back since that day its a nightmare. My son has to wear his patch from the minute he wakes until he goes to bed and he would not even have his glasses on never mind a patch. i was even told that his sight is so bad that if he does not wear his patch and glasses in the next twelve weeks he will go blind in his left eye and his sight will not return.

 I was also told that they would hospitalise him and tie his arms up so he could not take it off (i dont think so)

I as a mother have persivered and he now wears his patch on and off all day he does have his moments if he is upset or having a tantrum  the first thing to go is the glassed followed very soon by the patch but i just take a deep breath and start again because if i dont i will feel like i have failed him when he is two and a half and blind in one eye and not much sight in  the other  so chin up and  just keep trying

if he takes it off put it back on and just keep doing it i know who will get sick first!

Linzi - posted on 02/24/2009

hi it sounds a little daft but just thinking about it what i some times do too. is i put a patch on too the my daughter doesnt feel to bad cos i have it on too. others may think this is wrong but it helps me

Stephanie - posted on 02/24/2009

My daughter also has to wear a patch, I originally bought the stick on patches with cool designs but have since stuck two together and cut slits in them and put it on the nose piece and side arm of the glasses. That way if she cries it doesn't ruin another patch. You could also make your own fabric patches and connect them to the glasses as well. Good luck.

Linzi - posted on 02/24/2009

my little girl has to where them too. we have cool patches they have patterns and pictures on them . she had a turn in her eye and had to have an opertion on her eye when she was 2, she is now 4 and has to where patch for bout an hour at the mo a day, this is hard for only an hour, we play games like pirates (with full costume lol hey needs must) or play on computer or colour in anything you can think of beleive me the time flys when ur having fun

Cheryl - posted on 02/24/2009

I assume you are using the self-adhering type patches that are like oval bandaids and that this is new for him. He will probably get used to it and not make such a fuss in the future. He is six so you can offer him some sort of incentive to help speed the process along like getting a special treat or activity if he leaves the patch alone and doesn't cry about it. Or you can get the good ol' pirate style patch and make it special pirate time. My son thought the pirate type was great fun for a while and didn't mind the stick on kind after that. He was really young and couldn't be bargained with at the time. I had a hard time keeping the stick on type on him for the first couple of weeks. But after that, he got used to it. If he really got worked up, I tried to bring out some new toy or activity he'd never seen before and he forgot about the patch for a while. You may be able to work up to the 4 hours in incriments over the next couple of weeks if nothing else works.

Cherie - posted on 02/24/2009

(Does he wear glasses? It's a lot easier that way. Then you just cut slits to put the arms through!)



If not, one fun way is we turned our son's patch in a pirate game. We let him decorate it and "pillage" stuff. He really thought he was special because of it! Do you have to do it in one LARGE 4 hour chunk, or can you do 2 hour sets? I wish you the best of luck ... I know how hard it is ...

Jen - posted on 02/24/2009

WOW!  I have been there and still am!  I decided to try a different approach though.  We started in 1/2 hour increments with a timer.  And my son plays gameson the computer or his DS and the time seems to fly for him now.    We are now up to 45 minutes at a time.  Our Dr said anytime at all was an improvement.  My son is almost 7 and we have been doing this for a year or so and we just had an eye exam and he has improved slightly.  Does your child wear glasses?  I ordered really cool patches from this website if you are interested..http://www.patchpal.com/patch_pals_ ... I hope this helps you out!

 

Jen Clarke :)

Eye Patch

I have to patch my 6 yr old son's eye for 4 hours/night and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to keep the patch on him for the whole 4 hours. Last night he cried so much that the patch kept coming off. Help!

Lisa - posted on 02/24/2009

Have you looked into the patch which has elastic on it.  I believe you can find them in a store like Walmart in the pharmacy section.  This could be helpful!

good luck!