BikeBookBread Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 ...and her prescription has changed again since February 9. She is pretty nearsighted, and could only be corrected to 20/30 in both eyes back in February. She had a checkup 3 months ago and was progressing, but today, it sounds like the vision in her left eye has reverted back to the February level, and is not seeing even close 20/30 (...it's not a physical problem...the Dr. explained it as a brain-misreading issue. I don't completely understand.) So, she has to wear a patch on her strong eye for two hours daily, while doing something eye-intensive like trying to read, color, or watch TV. I know it's not going to be comfortable or fun for her. Her weak eye is already really tired, and she is miserable. I know this will pass. I bought a pack of stickers for her, and she puts stickers on her patch before I place it on her eye. Any other ideas to make this go well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty Social Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Maybe a reward chart ? She wears her patch for so many days and gets a treat of some kind? We had to patch my son as a toddler (different reason). I feel your pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 My son wore an eye patch for over a year. Does your doctor sell the fun eye patches for kids? After a couple of hours my son had no problems walking around, reading, watching tv. The first day he was wearing the eye patch we went shopping and he kept walking into things. It was so funny and awful at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 What your ophthalmologist described is called amblyopia. Wikipedia has a good description here. The commonly used term is "lazy eye," but not all kids with amblyopia have an eye that wanders noticeably. In a nutshell, one eye (or both eyes, as in my daughter's case) is not able to give the brain very good data about what it sees. Over time, the brain may begin to ignore the input from that eye, because it has decided that the input from that eye isn't trustworthy. The eye with better vision then becomes the "dominant" eye. If the brain doesn't start using the weaker eye, eventually the vision loss will be not be correctable with lenses; in other words, use it or lose it. Now that she has the right prescription, you can use patching to force her brain to wake up and realize that the information coming from that eye is good. If the patching becomes a problem, you can ask about atropine eye drops instead. Rather than patching the eye, you administer eye drops which temporarily blur the dominant eye. Some believe the drops don't work as well as patching though, so hopefully she'll adjust after a while. Good luck! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabeline Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I don't know what kind of patch you are using, but we have had better success at daily use with a fabric patch. At first I was using the band aid type patches and after a few days of use the skin around my ds eye was very raw. Then I found fabric patches online. There are many different kinds that you can buy or make. I have had luck at using fleece double thickness under the lens with a small strap one one side to hold onto the glasses side and a small hole cut out for the nose peice part to come through. Maybe something more comfortable might be easier to use. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) I don't know what kind of patch you are using, but we have had better success at daily use with a fabric patch. At first I was using the band aid type patches and after a few days of use the skin around my ds eye was very raw. Then I found fabric patches online. There are many different kinds that you can buy or make. I have had luck at using fleece double thickness under the lens with a small strap one one side to hold onto the glasses side and a small hole cut out for the nose peice part to come through. Maybe something more comfortable might be easier to use. HTH Oh thanks! Part of the problem I discovered today is that her glasses slide right off of her nose while wearing the patch, and so she took them off -- defeating the purpose of the eye training :glare: Thanks again!!! ETA: I just ordered a patch from this online ebay retailer: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Munchkins-eye-Patches Edited October 6, 2009 by BikeBookBread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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