The Patch Challenge

· by · in Patch Challenge, toddlers with glasses. ·

I have decided to take this patching challenge on in full force.  At the last visit PO that my daughters vision was worse (they did tell me this could happen and it was ok, but I am still worried) and that we needed to use atropine drops AND patch at least 2 hours a day.  We have tried several adhesive patches from 2 different brands, only to go through 20-50 patches a week.  CRAZY.  She has eaten them, thrown them away, hid them, crumpled them, cut them into many pieces and much more.  We’ve tried the patching princess, a patching tree, even bribing for candy and toy rewards.  Needless to say, we have been very unsuccessful at patching.

 

This site has been a great form of encouragement for us.  Last week, Corrie had made a comment, “Yes!!! I think we as mothers of toddlers in glasses should go into the researching business!” And that got me thinking.  This week I wrote to all the companies that offer patches to young children.  Elly and I are going to try each one for 1 week.  We are going to take pictures and report back to you of our successes.  So far, 7 companies will be participating and I am very excited to find the “dream” patch that will stay on and occlude her vision and help us reach our vision goals.

 

In addition to the length of time that we are able to keep these patches on, what other aspects of each patch would you like to know more about?

20 responses to “The Patch Challenge”

  2. I’d love to know if you or your husband or Elly have any comments about how they look, since I think it’s important for kids that they look good.

    Information on how to order, pricing, and reusability would be great.

    Is there any way you could figure out if Elly can peek around the patches? I’ve heard that can be a problem, too, but I’m not sure how easy it would be to accurately test that.

    I can’t wait to hear more about how this goes – I think it’s a great idea!

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  3. I agree! Belle’s big.. real BIG about how they look. “I look ridiculous” is pretty much her standard.

    She loves the kitty kat patch pal but I know she can cheat with it so I have to double patch and put an adhesive under, which irritates her skin. Even the allure of the “Patch tree” idea that you guys use with Elly can’t make up for the hurting/boo-boos. Its like it rips her skin off. Any tips????

    When we went to the eye doctor last time she was wearing “The perfect patch” which is the one that goes UNDER the glasses and he said it was a good style so I’m having a friend make more like that and continuing to search and try out the “holy grail” of a patch… Is there one? I’m sure for different kids, its a different style!!!

    A friend of mine has a boy who has to patch and she has no issues. He likes to be “patches the pirate” and has never fought her once. My experience is so different than hers!!!!!

    I’m looking fw to seeing which patch works best for Belle and comparing notes!!!!

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    • MT, when we first got the patch information from our PO, they recommended that if the patches irritate her skin, to use milk of magnesia. Simply apply this to the skin before putting on the patch and let it dry to prevent irritation and pain when you pull it off. I have not tried this, but it does seem to make sense. Maybe it will help Belle.

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      • We tried to use milk of magnesia too. It did help with the irritation, but be forewarned, it also makes the patches easier to come off =)

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    • Hellokittymama, although I would love to take credit for the patch tree- Corrie came up with that (Her daughter is Ellie also) If your friend comes up with a pattern and wants to share it – I’d love to try make one too.

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  4. We use Fresnelprism patches and love them. We’ve tried Ortopad, Nexcare, and have over the glasses patch that I’ve never used because it would be easy to peak. The adhesive patches are expensive though so would love to hear of other options, but will probably stick with what is working. In June we will have been patching for a whole year…can’t believe we’ve made it. Ten hours a week for a 2-3 year old. It took a lot of work to find a system. We call it, ‘sucker patch’ and he gets a sucker when he wears his patch. He could care less about what it looks like, fresnelprism patches are easy to take off and stay on–he just cares about the sucker and actually asks to wear it so that he can have the candy.
    Can’t wait to read your results! And find out what works for you!

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  5. Amomofelly, great idea! We are still using up the rest of the ortopad patches I ordered, but I will try the fresnelprism patches next. My biggest concern is that our Ellie sweats very easily, and in the summer it is very hard to keep a patch on because of it. Last summer I just gave up, but I am not going to do that this summer. If you have a chance to see how it stays on while you are patching and it is hot, I would love to know how the patches performed. I know ortopad doesn’t stay on when Ellie is sweating. Thanks for a great effort! I will also update your activities while patching soon…. just have been extremely busy… but I have some great new ideas from my VT. 🙂

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  6. Sorry I got the Elly and Ellies confused!!!!

    I love the patch tree idea. Belle and I made one (kinda scary looking) together.

    But boy are those adhesives rough on her.

    Unfortunately her skin broke out from the Milk of Magnesia too.

    I think I could just look at this kid and she’ll get a rash or hives. Sensitive Sensitive.

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      • I haven’t tried that yet. I was going to ask if anyone else had tried it before spending that kind of $$. Since the single use swabs are $2.50 a piece. OUCH! Plus, I’d really want to look at the ingredients first and examine what’s in it because they can say non-toxic all they want, I want to see what’s in it!!!!

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  7. I’m wondering if we shouldn’t set up some kind of Patch swap or something for ones we can’t use?

    For example – I have some Junior boxes that are too small adhesive wise, I needed to move Belle up to “regular”. They would be good for 3 and under, I’d say.

    My friend is making ones that are “in between” the Peek-A-Boo patch size and the “The Perfect Eye Patch” size. She is using her sewing room scraps! When I showed her the prices of a lot of these patches she almost fell out of her chair.

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  8. I love the idea of a patch swap. I actually have left over adhesive patches (ortopad?) from when Zoe patched very briefly a year and a half ago.

    What would be the best way to do that? Just write a post and let people comment with what they have available?

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  9. Ha ha ha… when I saw your post, I laughed. We are trying the MYI (aka Fresnel Prism) patches this week and will post more about them on Friday. Elly likes them more than the other peel and stick patches and we’ve almost made our patching goal this week!

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  10. Hi,

    We recently started patching my daughter’s right eye and, at the recommendation of her PO, ordered one for over her glasses from http://www.framehuggers.com. They are $20/each, but perhaps worth it in the long run? It’s soft and easy to slide onto her frames – maybe it’s worth a try?

    Amy

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  11. Thanks Amy for the info! We have a cute blue one from framehuggers to try and I’ll second that it is super soft. In all fairness, I am trying the patches in the order they came to me. There are some great styles out there to choose from!

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  12. Thank you SO MUCH for writing up your patching challenge results! My daughter is 3.5 years old and I learned today that she’ll need to wear a patch over her right eye for an hour a day. We bought a cute fabric patch from her pediatric opthamologist, but she hates it. I figure we’ll try this one for a bit before branching out and trying other patches, but I’m so grateful to know there are different options for her. Thanks again!

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