Welcome to our patch challenge- WEEK 7. My daughter is 3 and has Amblyiopia. We are currently trying to help her brain recognize her right eye. She has -1.5 in her left eye and -8.5 in her right. We have stepped up the patching since her vision has actually decreased the last 2 visits. For the first year of patching we were using only Ortopad patches and had some resistance in keeping them on. Elly would fold them, cut them, flush them, eat them, anything and everything so that we could not re-stick them back on.
This week we tried Ortopad patches again.
Ortopad
Cost: Price: $14.80 per box 50 individually wrapped patches per box plus shipping
Ratings given 1-5 for the following criteria.
1 Doesn’t meet my expectations, 5 Exceeds my expectations
Cuteness Factor 4
Durability 2
Full Eye Occlusion 5
Performs with sweat 2
Patching Support 5
Reusable No
Total patching hours for the week, maybe 5 minutes.
There was NO way Elly was going to keep these on. Before we found the reusable Framehugger patches, she would keep these on around 45 minutes at a time, up to 2 hours if she was very distracted.
Elly’s response: Can I take it off now? I like it much better on my glasses like this…
ortopad Elly's way
Mom’s response; When we first started patching, I was given a sample packet of the Ortopad patches and a recommendation from the Opthamologist that these are the best at blocking vision. I will have to agree that they are light- weight and fully block the child’s vision in that eye. She did not have any skin sensitivity and only got a little pink irritation around her eye a couple times from ripping the patch off so quickly. I personally, was not a big fan of the color choices and liked the MYI Patches options better. We also had tons of problems with keeping them on for the required time. As stated before Elly did everything imaginable to make sure the patch was not re-usable after she removed it. The second we turned our heads, the patch would be off and they are not made to be re-used. The cost of patching was atrocious. My husband and I took turns wearing these patches and it was hard. They got itchy and sweaty and we wanted to take them off right away.
Additionally, our family and another patching family in town, have found it very difficult to keep the patch on in hot and humid weather. As soon as the kids sweat, the patch slides off. This limits the patching time to when you are inside and not being active.
Don’t get me wrong, there are quite a few great things about these patches and I would highly recommend you to try them, especially if you are just starting out or do not have to patch for a long time. They do have some great patching support. We really enjoyed the patching princess poster as a way to keep track and celebrate our patching time and as I was visiting their website today, I noticed that they offer stuffed animal patching pals as well. Additionally, they are one of the few places that offer patches small enough for infants and small toddlers.
If you have not tried out Ortopad yet and would like to, send me an e-mail. I have a box of Girls Medium patches that I can split up and send to some families that are interested. They are sitting in my pantry and I would rather see them be used! ajrenchin@yahoo.com
For Little Eyes 
I love that Elly demonstrated how she likes her patches to work!
We used the ortopads for the few weeks that Zoe patched, way back before she got glasses. She was willing to leave them on, but she was 13 months old, and it was in Nov. in MN, so there was absolutely no heat or humidity to deal with. And we were only patching for 2 hours a day.
I also have some left over Girls Junior Size (the small size that fit Zoe at 13 months), that I am happy to pass along. I kept forgetting to mention that, so thanks for the reminder.
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Ann,
Good evening. I am writing re: your post from September 2009. You wrote that your lil one had to patch beginning at age 13 months. We just found out today that we are going to have to patch our lil one (granddaughter) and I was wondering how things went with your daughter and how successful you were at keeping the patch on. Also, I am interested in purchasing the patches from you if they are still avaialble. Thank you for your courtesies and I look forward to hearing from you.
Kim Dixon
Chattanooga, Tennessee
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Hi Kim,
We patched for 4 weeks, 2 hrs per day. It was tough at first, and Zoe always cried when we first put them on, but she would usually settle down a few minutes after, and would leave it alone at that point. We were extremely lucky in that regard, I think.
I’ll email you about the patches.
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I sent you an e-mail too, If you want to try any Ortopad, I have some girls junior size I would send you free of charge =)
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We used Ortopad patches pretty much exclusively for the first 2 1/2 months Emma started patching. Like Ann we were patching in early Spring when we didn’t have to deal with heat or sweating. She liked the designs and we did a lot of matching to outfits!
We actually switched to Patchpals and the Anissa patches when summertime kicked it and now that she hasn’t worn the Ortopads in a while she does not like them!
I did like the picture of of Elly’s glasses with the patch – quite creative!!
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I have to say guys, the all time best patch has to be Framehuggers! Anyone having trouble with sticky patches, you have to give them a go. It has been a god send for Paris. we were going to have to start atropine drops but tried the framehugger as a last resort and she has no trouble with it at all. Like Elly, she much prefers something over the glasses rather than her eye and I cant blame them really! The beauty of the framehugger is that although it is super comfy it is also 100 per cent occlusion. There is no way Paris can peep. What an ingenious yet simple idea that has made the world of difference to our little girls patching experience. Just my two cents worth!!
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These don’t stay on my twins for more than 20 minutes. Not worth the money (especially patching two at once and sometimes using four a day).
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These don't stay on my twins for more than 20 minutes. Not worth the money (especially patching two at once and sometimes using four a day)….
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My daughter switched from the regular decorated Ortopad patches because they were itchy, didn’t stick well (she patched full time for a while), and she could see through the mesh holes.
However, she switched to the Ortopad Plus patches and they are much better. None of the issues I listed above. They’re plain so we decorate them with jewel bling stickers from craft stores.
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My biggest concern is the “rash” that is on my baby’s little face. We use the Ortopad. We have no problem with him wearing them. He’s been wearing them since Saturday. 4 hours a day for 3 months. At first, we would take it off, it would be a little red around the edge but it would go away. Now after 4 days, the redness seems to stay. Someone told me to try antibiotic ointment on it. I have ordered the Anissa’s fun patches and waiting for them to come in. But if he keeps wanting to take his glasses off, I afraid I might have to go back to the sticky patches. Anyone have a suggestion as to how to get rid of the redness or make it so it is not as bad.
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I have an 8 month old who has been patching for 8 hours a day for the last 2 weeks using Ortopad. He only pulled at it for the first couple of times and since then he has been great! He doesn’t wear glasses (yet) and so sticking it to his face is my only option.
My complaint is they are not sticking on for very long. We are doing the recommended have your face clean and dry but they are coming off right in the nose area. I threw away the box so maybe we were using the wrong size? We also took them on an airplane in our checked bags and so maybe the cold affected the stickyness.
We live in a very dry climate and so he has had red cheeks off and on all winter. We are using a heavy moisturizer ointment (aquaphor) and it seems to help with the redness on his skin. I also always take the patch off when he sleeps so it gives his skin a chance to rest/ breathe.
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Hi there guys,
I am late in following this up but if either amomofelly or Ann have any orthopad patches left, would they be so kind as to post me one or two before I buy them! I am also hoping to trial the MYI patches as well.
many many thanks,
Ingrid
email daveandingrid@netspace.net.au
I can’t get my hands on any as I live in Australia!
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Hi Ingrid, I’m so sorry, I sent mine on to another family a few months ago. I’ll keep my ears open for anyone else that has patches to pass along.
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I really enjoy hearing all of these stories. My daughter has to patch 8 hours a day, and we have done this now for many months, her eye sight improved so much we were able to only use the drops for her as she is in Kindergarten and was quite distressed over wearing the patch at school and being made fun of, she has glasses as well.. poor baby girl! However, the drops were not as effective, so now we are back to the patch.. The Ortopads.. My little one is a pink princess, and these patches are really hard to match her clothes with so she feels pretty! So if anyone out there has any ideas of where else I can find softer pink not so bold colored patches I would love to know.. She feels like a PIRATE! ;-( Thank you Susan from Santa Cruz, CA.
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Hi Susan. I can imagine it is very tough for your daughter to have to wear the patch to school. Honestly, that is one of the biggest things that makes me sad about my daughter having to patch until she is ten (she has been patching since she is two months old). But it is very much worth it! Good for you for pushing through it and making her feel like a princess in spite of the patch! I don’t know if it is much softer of a pink, but you could try the myipatches.com. They even have patches that you can color yourself. There was another mom on here that went so far to send off patches to family and friends all over the country and let them decorate the patches and mail them back to make the patch challenge a little easier and more fun. Amomofelly reviewed the MYIpatches here: http://littlefoureyes.com/category/patch-challenge/ I am getting ready to order some more of these today as our daughter is constantly looking over her patch that attaches to her glasses. I don’t want her to regress after we worked so hard to get her to where she is. If you are interested in a couple of samples before you order a big box, I will be glad to send you some. You can email me at caekoenig at yahoo dot com. All the best to you and your daughter!
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Hi,
We have been patching using ortopad elite for about a month. So far they are working great. It has been extremely hot this summer and our 3 yr. old son is very active. Despite sweat and swimming in the pool the patch has stayed on. Perhaps the adhesive on the elite pads has been improved. He has to keep them on for 4 hrs. a day and despite some tears the first day, he has adjusted to the patch.
We patched my daughter from the time she was five to nine yrs. old and it was a nightmare. She used the cloth patches due to sensitivity to the adhesive patches (we were not aware of latex free ones at the time) and she was a terrible “cheater” with them. She made an art form of looking over the patch or would take it off when she was at school, which is why we decided to try the adhesive patches with our son. Based on our experience, I would recommend trying to stick with the adhesive patches if possible. The eye doctor stated that the “cheating” with the cloth ones was common and was the reason she had to be patched for so long.
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I agree that it is best to stick with the stickies if your kid allows you too. We have found several re-usable (cloth and foam) patches now on the market to be very effective and do not allow for peeking. As 6-12 hour a day patchers, the stickies do numbers on my daughters skin! Glad to hear they have made improvements!
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My son’s amblyopia was diagnosed towards the end of 1st grade. We tried a variety of patch samples but were concerned about rashes from the adhesives and the number of eyelashes & eyebrow hairs he was pulling out when he’d get impatient and rip off the patch by himself. A cloth “pirate” patch was purchased to get him through the last few weeks of round 1. He was very sly at cheating around all those patches. Not surprisingly, he showed NO improvement at his retest so the doctor upped his patching to 6 hours per day for 2 months. Talk about a challenge!
We started Round 2 with the OrtoPad Elite Plus because he was excited about the patterns and I liked the size (Regular = 3 5/8 x 2 1/4) and the notches to help fit around the nose. But around the time of his 7th birthday he decided the glitter wasn’t cool and he relegated those to “at home” use only when his friends wouldn’t see him. He has a different idea of what should be in a “fun” pack than OrtoPad. Camouflage, dragons, and Pokemon are not (current) offerings. <>
We’ve been using the plain/beige OrtoPad Plus size Regular (3 11/32 x 2 5/16) for most of round 2 and, with the initiation of a “patching contract” and tracking chart for his hours (and rewards), he’s been very cooperative. I apply the patch first thing in the morning and he wears it to summer school, then removes it after lunch. The plain patch blends with his skin tone and the other kids accepted it more easily (fewer stares and questions). At our most recent exam, his vision was 20/20 in both eyes!!!!! The doctor and I were both thrilled, to say the least!
Although our patching time has been cut back now, I’m very excited to see that they’ll be expanding the notching pattern into the other patch lines. Even though the OrtoPad Plus has been sticking well on an active 7 yr old in the middle of summer, that corner is the one spot prone to sliding off when he sweats. Can’t wait to get those next. Hope everyone finds their child’s perfect patch too!
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Thanks for sharing you and your son’s story! How wonderful to get that news at your most recent exam! Great job, you must be very proud of your son.
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Hi,
My son is 4.5 and just got his first glasses today. We were told that they’ll see him again in 3 months and he might need to try patching which I was a bit concerned about and wanted to do some reading to be prepared. I have only ever seen the stick on patches and he has really sensitive skin, sweats a lot and 3 months will be the start of summer! Good to know we’ll have lots of great options if he needs it. Thanks for sharing this!
What does your “patching support” rating mean?
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