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Original poster

anyones kid wear en eye patch?

110 replies

nitfreecod · 08/02/2006 15:59

not a pirate one!

ds3 has mild ptosis and will ahev surgety eventually. he has gone today and they did an eye test and said that his bad eye is not developing as fast as his good one ( altho si stil pretty good and is not deteriorating)

anyway to try and make him use t he bad one he has to wear patches.

UI feel realy sad abotu this for no real reason but feelt hat in the grandcale fo things it coudl eb a lot worse
it sfor 6 weeks at first 4 hours aday

am going to get " the borhters" to ge on board and we are watching spongebont h e movie tonight to have a close look at pirates.

OP posts:
Seona1973 · 08/02/2006 19:38

my dd has had glasses since about 19 months (now 27 months) She started patching treatment a few months after that and has been really good with them. We started using the cartoon stickers that came with them but now we also buy stickers from woolworths e.g. stars, love hearts, bunnies, etc and she gets to decorate her patch in the morning before it gets put on. She has been brilliant with them although she was only doing 2 hours (sometimes 3 if we forgot the time!!) per day and now that has dropped to 1 hour per day as her eyesight has now improved a bit. The patches we have go over the eye, not the glasses and is like a big sticking plaster so the only thing that bothers her is getting it taken off when the time is up.

Original poster
nitfreecod · 09/02/2006 07:22

ok day one
eye patch put on
brothers walked the plank
then afetr 5 mins he took it off
its now back on andhis dog ( cuddly) has one on too) dog keeps trying to take it off s we keep shouting no at him
ds3 loves this

OP posts:
Original poster
nitfreecod · 09/02/2006 12:58

he did it ! he di dhte 4 hours!

OP posts:
Seona1973 · 09/02/2006 12:59

well done!! Try putting it on at roughly the same time each day and it will become another part of his daily routine. We often forget about dd's patch as she is so used to wearing it now.

Original poster
nitfreecod · 09/02/2006 13:00

yes have decided at breakfast is a good tiem otherwise well start endless negotiation

ta !

OP posts:
Jennypog · 09/02/2006 13:02

What we found with patching was that her eyes got better after wearing the patches for around 2 months, then when she stopped wearing them, the eyesight deteriorated again. So expect to be wearing them on and off for a few years. After the age of 7/8 apparently there is nothing that can be done about a lazy eye, so it needs to be done early.

Good luck with it all. If he is only little he should be okay, but my little girl had to wear them on and off until she was about 6 or 7. It gets harder, but the soft patches that don't stick onto the skin were much better.

She has worn glasses since she was 12 months old and now she is 10 she says how much she likes her squint! She can move her eyes independently (must have been practising) and can make everyone laugh with it. I was very sad too when my baby had to wear specs, particularly the thick ones that she needed. Now we are looking forward to contact lenses.

Furball · 09/02/2006 13:17

My ds (4)has had glasses and a patch for comming up to a year. Again it's four hours a day. Which now ds is at school is difficult, I have said that he doesn't have to wear it at school so we try for 1 hour in the morning and 3 when he gets home. He has now started saying it hurts blah blah blah. But there is no let up. He HAS to wear it and thats that. He does become part your routine.

Furball · 09/02/2006 13:18

I meant IT becomes a part of your routine.

Jennypog · 09/02/2006 13:21

It is worth sticking at as now my little girl has really good eyesight in both of her eyes. She sees double with no glasses on as they straighten her eyes. She sees double because she can see so well out of both of her eyes, and not just one.

I wonder what age they can wear contact lenses.

Miaou · 09/02/2006 16:54

well done cod!!!

Jenny we were told come back when dd is 12 and they'll re-assess for contacts

Original poster
nitfreecod · 09/02/2006 17:31

gosh that is young for contacts isnt it
am nto sure in day two if hell thingk " oh god not this again"
ahev mad e bug fuss of himadn his dog fro being patched today

OP posts:
Tinker · 09/02/2006 17:57

Mine did from abot 3. And has a squint. In fact squint came after the patching.

Tinker · 09/02/2006 17:57

Glasses correct the squint though

jabberwocky · 09/02/2006 18:03

3 is an excellent age to work on this, cod. Good for you for getting him to do it. I'm surprised they immediately went for 4 hours, but if he will do it, that's great! Just don't worry too much if you get in less than that on some days. It's the consistency that pays off. I have my patients use things like activity/coloring books and so forth (even video games!) to provide as much visual stimulation as possible during the time they are patched. You will be amazed at the improvement in vision in just a few months time.

Original poster
nitfreecod · 09/02/2006 18:45

ooh
i love it that poeple are being so nice to me

jabber are you really suprised?
hmm yes he is doing more detailed stuff itneh a mornign s o thats why we say 7 am onwards.

tomorrow we are going on a car hourney - if he is a sleep fro part of ti do we add ont he time he was a sleep>

OP posts:
jabberwocky · 09/02/2006 20:33

Yes, for a 3 year old, 4 hours is excellent!

As far as the car ride, just take it off if he falls asleep and either make up the time later or not, whatever works out.

Original poster
nitfreecod · 10/02/2006 21:48

day two

7 oclock
me to ds3 " ok ds3 time for your eye patch"
ds3 sits puts eye pathc on

11 am eye patch off

he is as star

OP posts:
chipmonkey · 10/02/2006 22:54

4 hours sounds about right this side of the Atlantic, jabberwocky! One ophthalmologist I know gets the kiddies to wear the patch consistently for 4 days at a stretch, then gives the "good" eye a go for the other 3 days of the week. Don't know if he gets full compliance though!
Good on your ds, cod. Wearing his patch AND nit-free! Good going!

jabberwocky · 11/02/2006 16:08

interesting, chipmonkey. There's a study done - about 2 years ago I think? - showing 2 - 3 hours is just as effective. It's such a relief to parents not to have to fight with the kids for longer time periods of patching and not to have to do it at school is great imo. A bit of teasing has caused many kids to balk at patching.

rather different approach by the ophthalmologist, I haven't heard of anyone doing that.

chipmonkey · 11/02/2006 19:54

That would be my thinking too, jabberwocky, but this guy is old school! I was patched at the ripe old age of 11, for one hour a day only and it worked! I still don't "like" using my left eye alone but I have good acuity in it.

k74 · 11/02/2006 20:37

yup

I have 6 year old, ballet going, long haired, pink wearing, really pretty ( she really is, people always commenting) with.... a patch.

I was GUTTED when she needed glasses. How shallow am I, I didn't like the way she looked in them! But I got over it, and she was fine about it. Then she needed a patch, which although she is really good about it, was not as glamourous as the specs. Leaves a big mark.

We do the pirate thing too. There is a book out called pirate boy. Would really suit a 3 year old.

k74 · 11/02/2006 20:39

Pirate Boy by JOhn Wallace

jabberwocky · 11/02/2006 21:35

Wow, cm, patched at 11 and it worked! Congratulations!!!! I have tried some older kids with some success but will have to rethink my attitude about kids over 9.

chipmonkey · 11/02/2006 22:32

Probably worked because I was immature in most respects, jabberwocky. Probably had the brain of a 6 year old!

chipmonkey · 11/02/2006 22:34

Tbh I have noticed so many kids who regressed when patching was stopped that I do think patching older kids should be tried at least. If you can get an older child to wear a patch while doing homework etc, where they are away from their peers, you have a better chance of compliance.

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