Advice re getting a patch on DS

[hazbaz]

I'm not sure i'm posting this in the right place but i'd really appreciate any ideas / advice if anyone has had the same problem.

My DS (2.1) has had to wear glasses for long sightedness since he was 15m. We've never had any problems with the glasses (except when he's having a toddler strop when he takes them off to show frustration / get a reaction ) but for the last 4 months or so we've been having to patch his good eye for 30 minutes a day.

To begin with this was not too much of a problem but as he gets older / more stubborn its becoming a major battle to the extent that i keep putting it off and sometimes we don't manage to wear a patch everyday which is clearly really not good for him .

I'm a SAHM so its pretty much always me that has to put the patch on and i hate resorting to holding him down which i have done recently on a couple of occasions. I also don't really like bribing him - he's enough of a chocoholic already and i don't want him getting the same messed up relationship with food i have...

Any ideas welcome, esp from those who have been through the same thing!!

There are a couple of dcs in our school who wear patches and they came with pictures that can go on the front of the patch.

Does yours have this option? If not could you invest in some really desirable stickers and allow ds to choose a sticker to put on his patch for the day?

our orthoptics department has some vey funky patches - the child gets to choose what pattern they like, which helps. Bribe with non-edible stuff too!

I sympathise massively after spending the last 7 1/2 years patching with dd. It has taken this long because until she was about 5 1/2 she just point blank refused to wear one for more than 5 minutes or so. Hospital's advice was to watch her constantly and stop her taking it off

When she was 5 one of the orthoptists mentioned in passing that some people use atropine eye drops as an alternative as it makes the sight in the 'good' eye go fuzzy and so acts like a patch (although not quite as good). I do wish they'd thought to offer it earlier as using it improved her eyesight enough so that she would then tolerate patching. Her eyesight was so terrible in the affected eye that she just couldn't help but try and remove the patch to help her see better. I really wish we'd tried it sooner.

My DS has just thrown away his glasses, much to his delight, as his lazy eye has improved so much with patching for the last 3 years that he no longer needs them or the patches (he's 8 now)!

It was really hard getting him to wear it at home so I used to let him go on the computer as a treat after he'd done it or something else like that. It did get easier as his lazy eye improved. He ended up wearing it at school most mornings instead of at home which was a lot easier as he did whatever the teacher told him, was only me that got the grief about it.

Stick with it and bribe him with whatever non-food things he likes doing, they deserve it after wearing the patch for however long.

Have you got the throw-away patches that have funky designs on? Maybe stick a patch on his favourite teddy too and you wear one too just so he thinks its not just him?

Good luck.

I bought my own stickers for the patch and dd used to decorate it before it was put on.

Thanks everyone for your replies....yes he's got the funky patches and whilst he's interested in the cars / boats etc before i put the patch on, it doesn't help in anyway in the actual putting on!!! I probably should try wearing one again myself, i did this when we first started but i'm 5months pregnant and a bit worried about falling over as i'm clumsy at the best of times and it does so mess up your distance vision.

DaisySteiner i think his sight is pretty dreadful in his lazy eye as well as he always cries for his glasses straight after the patch is on. I'll bear what you said in mind for the day he doesn't just ask to take it off but goes ahead and does takes it off without asking!!

turnipvontrapp so glad your DS has thrown away his glasses, just interested did the hospital say at the beginning that he would have to wear them for ever? We've been told DS will have to wear them for the rest of his life but its v encouraging to hear of children who end up growing out of it. I think i'll try and put the patch on before playgroups etc as he's better occupied than when its just the two of us at home.

Thanks again everyone, i do let him watch kipper dvds (his absolute fav) when i've put the patch on but will try and think of other treats.