Okay, all of you eye patching experts... we need HELP! Keith took Andrew to his follow-up eye appointment this morning and we now need to patch his left eye for one hour a day. We lasted, ummm... about 1 second.
Back in September, Andrew was given glasses to help correct the slight crossing of his left eye. Well, turns out his left eye is very strong and his right eye is weak and near sighted. The doctor wants us to patch the left to help strengthen the muscles in the right. We go back again in a month where my guess is that he'll tell us we need to patch even longer then an hour a day. Joy, oh, joy!!
I thought that patching during dinner and Mickey Mouse time each night would be our best bet since he would be distracted, but strike one! I know it will take time, but I'd love to hear your tricks. What worked for you? What time of day did you patch? Are there certain patches that are better than others?
Thanks in advance!
Becky
9 comments:
I have absolutely no expertise in this department, so I resorted to google as I am sure you probably already did as well. Here is what I found:
http://www.framehuggers.com/
It sticks on so he can't remove it. But not sure if it will hurt him after taking it off.
This might help peak his interest too, and possibly WANT to wear it?!? Heck, you might have to buy one for yourself and you can be a part of the eye patch club ;-):
http://www.bjortandcompany.com/products.html
I concur...mommy and daddy should wear them too (and talking like pirates wouldn't hurt either...so long as you get it on video for the rest of us!). Sorry I'm no help. Just in it for the personal enjoyment! LOL!
Cannot help with the patches, but wanted to check in. I have been reading your last few posts tonight and love your finger painting photos. And he's writing too, genius!!!
I love the idea of you all wearing them. You could play some great pirate games or have a pirate movie night (is he old enough for those yet - I'm thinking Pirates of the Carribean?!) Please post pictures soon!! Is Mickey Mouse time in front of the TV? Maybe the patch isn't allowing him to see the show very well...okay I'm rambling - obviously I've never worn an eyepatch!! Good luck!
My son had to wear a patch when he was 3-for 2 hours a day. It was hard to get him used to wearing it. What I found worked in getting him used to it is working up to the 2 hours (or in your case the 1 hour). I set the microwave timer for 15 minutes, told him he had to wear the patch until the timer sounded. Then, the next day we would do 25 minutes then 30, etc. The microwave timer also helped me to remember to take the patch off. If you can distract him with T.V., the computer, a game, etc. then that certainly helps. Just watch him though-my son figured out how to 'rest' the patch on his nose so he could see out of the corner of it. You can decorate the patch with stickers-or get several patches and rotate them. Make it a fun but necessary thing for him.
Oh-we couldn't use the sticky ones because they irritated his skin. Plus, they were hard to get off and would leave a red line around his eye.
Good luck.
I have no personal experience with this but some people were discussing this recently on FRUA.
1. Bribe (M&Ms for each xx minutes it stays on)
2. Make it a game (talk it up like it's gonna be fun)
3. Be ready to go through about 60 patches per hour, if needed, for the first couple of weeks until he gets used to it. Buy 'em online (said to be less than $6 a box at anyotc.com)
Good luck!
Hi Becky,
Like the others, I have no knowledge to pass along to you.
Good luck with the eye patch battle! If we need to get there, I will know who to turn to for advice!
Adrian
My 8 yr old has been patching for the last 9 months. We use the Ortopad Eye Patches. They seem to be comfotable. I would go with the bribes for compliance! Even with an 8 yr old that is what I have to do. Good Luck!
Hi There,
I have been following your blog on and off as I found in it doing a search on Russian Blogs. We brought our 3 year old daughter home from Russia in January. We also just started patching about 3 weeks ago. She has to patch 3-4 horus a day. We found the jr. size patches at a medical supply store. They are kind of plain and ugly, so I let her put some stickers on them before she put them on. She really seemed to like this. Also, our doctor recommended putting Milk of Magnesia (weird--but it works) around the eye where you put the patch and it helps from irritating their skin. I just put it on with a Q-tip. Hope these tips help. :)
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