eye drops or patch ?

[nikkihancock]

which one really is best? the traditional way or the easy way is the eye drops really safe to put in are childrens eyes for a long period of time this is what i worry about.has any one got any views on this.thanks

DD used the patch. I think the drops might be traumatic if you have to put them in every day (I think back to the days dd had to get eye drops in after an eye op and it wasnt pretty!!)

Ds2 and ds3 used eye patches. Ds2 was allergic to the sticky ones and we discussed drops but he was happy to wear a cloth one attached to his glasses. Ds3 wore the sticky ones without problem. They have both had great results!

is anyone else out their using eye drops to correct lazy eye?

Hi nikki,

Im an orthotpist, one of the mean people that prescribe patching or drops. Basically patching is the gold standard treatment as its the most effective. It blocks out all light compared with the drops which blurs the vision of the good eye therefore only partial occlusion. Since the patching blocks out all light it will tend to be quicker at improving the vision.
There is pretty much no scientific evidence to say that atropine (eye drops) when used long term for treating amblyopia (lazy eye) causes any longterm damage to the eye. Its such a small number of children that undergo this treatment that it doesnt justify carrying out a large trial. Our department policy is a maximum of 6 month for the drops.
So basically its up to you!!!

I would recomend to try conventional patching first. And then if your LO wasnt complying you have the drops up your sleeve as a back up. Good luck