Many our younger patients have a lazy eye. A lazy eye comes about when sight in one eye is suppressed. Vision might be suppressed if someone can't see well through one eye because of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, or something that may be limiting clear vision in that eye. In addition to eye glasses, one of the treatment options is putting an eye patch on your child's eye for a number of hours per day to stimulate vision in the lazy eye. Patching.
Often, moms and dads have trouble fitting their children with eye patches, especially if they're on the younger side. Their more active eye is patched, which infringes on their ability to see. It's a frustrating conundrum- your child needs to wear the patch to help the eyesight in their weaker eye, but not being able to see well is just what makes patches so difficult. There are quite a few methods that make eyepatches a bit less challenging for kids to wear. With preschool-aged kids, perhaps you can use a reward chart with stickers. Eye patch manufacturers sympathize with your plight; patches are made in loads of kid-friendly colors and patterns. Make it fun by allowing them to choose their patch each day and then putting a sticker on the chart when the patch stays on. Kids who are a little older will be able to understand the patching process, so it's worthwhile to have a talk about it.
For very young children, you can use flotation wings to stop them from unsticking their patches.
A positive outcome needs your child's assistance and your ability to stay focused on the long-term goal of recovering good vision in your child's lazy eye.