little four eyes

For all you parents who lovingly patch your little ones.  Make these, give them away, but just don’t sell them!  These are inexpensive, light weight, covering, re-usable, and have a smooth texture.  They can be personalized to fit your child’s personality and the shape of their glasses. The idea came to me late one night from trying all the patches on the market and they have worked well for Elly and hopefully may work for you.  It was designed for those of you in Miraflex in mind – hopefully it will work!  It can and should be adapted to best fit your child’s needs and glasses.  I can make each patch in less than 3 minutes and could make at least 50 of them for less than $5.00.  If you can tie a knot and push a needle back and forth, you can make these!

Materials

craft foam, needle, thread, scissors, knife, tape, and the pattern

The following tutorial will demonstrate how to make a right left eye patch.

1. First cut out your foam pieces, add any extra fun pieces that you may want.  Remember, the more you add, the heavier your patch will be.  Linked here (Patch Pattern) is a pdf pattern of the main patch pieces.

2.  Assemble the pieces and hold them together with your fingers to make sure you are making your patch go the right way.  Sew your embellishments on to the rectangular section first.

3. Then, using a simple knot and a straight stitch, attach the rectangular piece to the main patch on the bottom.

4.  Fold the V in until the edges are touching and stitch through all 3 layers; top, front, and over the glasses pieces. (see, your stitches don’t have to be pretty!)

5.  Then place a square piece of tape on the triangular side.  This is to make the opening where the temples go through just a little sturdier.

6.  Using a knife or other sharp object, make a hole large enough for the temples to fit through.

And you are done =)    Well, with the patch part… here is how they go on the glasses.  I told Elliana that it was my job to put them on and off for the safety of the glasses.  These patches will fit snugly and I put them on slowly.  I made 2 patches and they each lasted me over a month when put on by a parent.

First slide the temples in between the main patch and the rectangular piece.  If you have cables, making sure the ends get in the smaller hole is a little tricky.  Those with Miraflex, I think you can take the band off.  If not, e-mail me and I will think of something.

Then pull through until the patch sits comfortably on the glasses.  I trimmed with my scissors around the nose piece so the patch sits inside of the plastic and a bit from the top so it rests comfortably on their forehead (thats why it is easier to make the pattern bigger and cut to fit).  If you have the regular nosepiece, then you could make a vertical slit for the nosepiece to fit into

.

Last and not least, have your child try their glasses with the patch on.  Make sure it is not rubbing or irritating, trim with a scizzors to make it a perfect patch for your child.

Almost forgot… we learned the hard way… DON”T use red or dark pink like my pictures.  When they sweat the color comes off and turns the skin pink.  I would use light pink, blue, white, yellow and other light colors.  If you do make a patch, please send me a picture to post.  I have a couple more that we have been using daily – pictures of them to come later!

There are benefits to being awake nursing a baby at 3:00 in the morning, one of which that I have time to think by myself (well, without a chatty 3 year old)  This is the patch that I came up the other night / morning.  It is light weight, covers 98% of all light, easy to make and inexpensive.   All you need is the pattern, some craft foam, scotch tape, a needle and thread.  Would anyone be interested if I made you a tutorial?

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.

http://www.ortopadusa.com/

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

Welcome to our patch challenge- WEEK 6.  My daughter is 2 ½ and has Amblyiopia.  We are currently trying to help her brain recognize her right eye.  She has perfect vision in her left eye and -7.75 in her right.  We have stepped up the patching since her vision has actually decreased the last 2 visits.

This week (last 3 weeks) I tried FrameHuggers

http://www.framehuggers.com/

Cost: 1 patch = $19.99 each + Free 1st class shipping

2 patches = $19.99 each + Free PRIORITY UPGRADE (SAVE $8.00)

3 patches = $19.99 each + Free 4^th patch (see details below) + FREE PRIORITY UPGRADE(SAVE 27.95)

Ratings given 1-5 for the following criteria.

1 Doesn’t meet my expectations, 5 Exceeds my expectations

Cuteness Factor           5

Durability                      5

Full Eye Occlusion        5

Performs with sweat     5

Patching Support          5

Reusable                      Yes

Total patching hours for the week (As many hours as we can), Actual = around 70 hours YIPPEEEEEE!!!!

Elly’s response: We started trying a new patch yesterday and mid-day she took her glasses off and said, “Can I have my soft blue patch now?”  Also, about a week ago 2 different moms stopped us at Subway and asked where I found the patch.   They said their young kids at home are patching without success with the sticky patches.  I sent them to FrameHuggers and Elly started telling them that this patch was much better and that she can wear it all day to make her eyes stronger.  It was very touching.

Mom’s response;  This patch comes about as close as a mom could hope for to a perfect patch.  Camille at FrameHuggers is a great resource as she has experience working with children in an ophthalmologists office.  She custom makes each patch for your child’s glasses to ensure a good fit.  You can tell that she genuinely wants kids to improve their vision and is passionate about what she does. We actually were wearing the patch and it kept sliding down, so I called her and figured out we were putting it on the glasses wrong. (Guess I should have watched the video first)  http://www.framehuggers.com/instruction%20for%20use.htm That solved our drooping problem and there is literally no way that Elly can see.  The patch is very soft and comfortable to wear.  The down side is that it is a little bulky and does get hot when you are playing outside in 100 degree weather.  We only removed the patch for bath time, bedtime, and outside playing time when it was really hot.  She did AMAZING and kept the patch on for every waking moment the last 3 weeks.  My hubbie tried it on and said it was the most comfortable of all the patches.  We did wash it in cold water as the instructions said and it held up pretty good.  I would, however, not recommend adding a character to the front as we did.  The Nemo faded in the sun and is now a shade of peach.  Lots of kids comment on the Nemo and also want to try touching it.  My next one will be just a fabric one.  Last, but not least, I will warn you that they are expensive.  BUT, if you consider that I would have spent at least $7.00 a week on sticky patches, the cost for patching would be close to $28 per month, then this patch would pay for itself in 1 month.

Welcome to our patch challenge- WEEK 5.  My daughter is 2 ½ and has Amblyiopia.  We are currently trying to help her brain recognize her right eye.  She has perfect vision in her left eye and -7.75 in her right.  Right before her last visit we made sure to put the atropine drops in and she was still able to see 20/30 with her strong eye.  To me, that doesn’t blur her vision much, so we have stepped up the patching since it is more effective.

This week we tried  I Patch

http://www.goipatch.com/

Cost: $7.00 per patch shipping for 1-6 patches is $4.95

Ratings given 1-5 for the following criteria. 

1 Doesn’t meet my expectations, 5 Exceeds my expectations

Cuteness Factor           5

Durability                      5

Full Eye Occlusion        5 * With adding a cut to the center of the patch for the nose piece

Performs with sweat     5         

Patching Support          2

Reusable                      Yes

Total patching hours for the week (Goal 28), Actual = 28 hours with this patch

Elly’s response: Take it off.  (Ok, so she is not a big fan of patching this week)

Mom’s response: I am very excited that she kept this patch on 4 hours a day!!!! It is lightweight and soft.  I did have to make my own adjustments by adding a cut for the nose piece so that it would not slip and occur her vision.  I am not sure why most companies only put the temple slit or the nose piece slit, but I have found that the re-usable patches stay on and block vision better when both are present.  

There are 3 kids of eye patches that they offer.  Elly like putting the pirate style patches on her dolls, because they were not useful or effective with glasses.  The 2^nd kind of patch is one that is an INTERIOR patch that slips over the glasses.  It has a “pocket” on the inside of the patch.  We tried this first (it is the purple patch) and were EXTREEMLY disappointed and not looking forward to writing another bad review.  It did not stay on the glasses at all and kept slipping off.  We tried both the small (available on request) and the large and both did the same thing.  Due to the way it is made, I couldn’t make any adjustments to keep it on her.

The 3^rd kind of patch is the EXTERIOR patch which has the pocket on the outside of the patch.  We had the same slipping issue, but were able to cut the fabric so that it slipped over the nose piece.  Now, I was worried that this patch would not work because it is so lightweight and the bottom of the patch ended up folding under.  (See the nose shot)   I thought it may irritate her, but she actually has put up the least amount of fight with this patch.  If you have a young child, I would make sure to request the small size.  I think the larger would be more effective for older children and adults.  In conclusion; I will definitely be ordering a couple more!

Welcome to our patch challenge- WEEK 4. My daughter is 2 ½ and has Amblyiopia. We are currently trying to help her brain recognize her right eye. She has perfect vision in her left eye and -7.75 in her right. Right before her last visit we made sure to put the atropine drops in and she was still able to see 20/30 with her strong eye. To me, that doesn’t blur her vision much, so we have stepped up the patching since it is more effective.

 This week we tried DRPATCH INC. © All Rights Reserved.

Patent Pending. 783 Shefford, Bromont, QC, Canada J2L 1C4 450-919-0722 / 877-919-0722

http://www.eye-patch-info.com/

Cost: Order child eye patches at six for $19.99

Ratings given 1-5 for the following criteria. 1 Doesn’t meet my expectations, 5 Exceeds my expectations

Cuteness Factor 5

Durability 2 *

Full Eye Occlusion 1

Performs with sweat 5

Patching Support 4

 Reusable Yes

*When out and about, unless you remembered to bring their “bookmark” to keep the patch, there is really no place to put it so that you can re-use it. We tried the window of our car to hold it and the patch didn’t work afterwards. Also, when she took it off before I was able to stop her… the dirty toddler fingers did a number on the stickiness of the patch and we we’re not able to use it again.

Total patching hours for the week (Goal 14), Actual = 12 hours with this patch

Elly’s response: She loved the pictures and kept the patch on 12 hours in 2 days.

Mom’s response: I have procrastinated writing a review of this patch because I was very disappointed in how it occluded vision and knew my review was not going to be good. This patch is similar to a sticker that is placed on the outside of the child’s’ glasses. It comes with easy to read directions. It was pretty easy to make, even though I couldn’t find any scissors but kids’ scissors and it was cute. The package comes with 6 re-usable patches, but we could make 2 patches out of each (total of 12) because her glasses are so small. Although Elliana kept in on no problem for 6 hours every day, I know that it wasn’t occluding her vision. She would tilt her head up or down to see things. I tried one on my glasses and found it very easy to peek around it. After telling her a minimum of 300 times to stop peeking, I realized that this patch was not meant for us and we switched the next day to a different patch. Since the whole point of patching is to occur the vision in the strong eye in order to strengthen the vision in her weak eye, I really feel that this product does not meet my expectations and is unfortunately not a patch that is perfect for everyone as they claim. Yes it is colorful and fun, but it is definitely not effective.

Maybe this patch would be better for someone with really big glasses that cover more of their eyes???

Welcome to our patch challenge- WEEK 2.  My daughter is 2 ½ and has Amblyiopia.  We are currently trying to help her brain recognize her right eye.  She has perfect vision in her left eye and -7.75 in her right.  The patching only and Atrophine only solution is not working, so our PO has recommended a combination of patching and drops. She has struggled with patching in the past and so….

We are on a quest for a PERFECT PATCH! 
This week we tried Patch Pals

http://www.patchpals.com/patch_pals_

PO Box 26
Hiawatha,  IA  52233
Phone and Fax: 319-393-2620
Email: PatchPals@aol.com

Cost: Patches range from $7-$10, Patch Club is $25 (T-shirt and more) Puppy and Patch $30

Ratings given 1-5 for the following criteria. 
1 Doesn’t meet my expectations, 5 Exceeds my expectations

Cuteness Factor     5+
Durability   5
Full Eye Occlusion 5*
Performs with sweat 3 
Patching Support 5

Reusable  Yes

* I cut a slit in the very end so that the temples could thread through the patch because the eye patch was slipping inside her glasses and rubbing her eyes and allowing her to see around the patch. After I did this, we had no problems at all. 

Total patching hours for the week (Goal 14), Actual = 14 hours

Elly’s response: “Oooohhh the doggie has a patch too!”
Mom’s response: 
I am very impressed with this company’s “total package.”  They really are about making the patching experience easier for kids.  Elly was in love with the patch pal doggie and carried her around all week.  He is the softest, cutest little doggie.  We only let her have him when it was patch time.  She really wanted the dog, so she kept the patch on.  One day she took the patch off and we put the patch and doggie away.  She cried by the door and begged to have the patch on again.  I really can’t argue with that!  She wasn’t as into the patch club t-shirt and other goodies.  I think she is really too young to get it, but I thought they were neat! 

As for the patch, I think we made our patching goals based on the cuteness of the patch and the puppy, because Elly didn’t really like the way the patch felt on her face.  It was made out of felt and had a thin liner, but was still a little scratchy for my texture oriented girl. She seemed to get used to it as time wore on.  On the flip side, I was impressed because for the first time she actually requested me to put the patch on when we went to a play date with friends.  She wanted to show them her puppy patch.  Thankfully all my mom friends played along and oogled over how cute it was.

Welcome to our patch challenge- WEEK 2.  My daughter is 2 ½ and has Amblyiopia.  We are currently trying to help her brain recognize her right eye.  She has perfect vision in her left eye and -7.75 in her right.  The patching only and Atrophine only solution is not working, so our PO has recommended a combination of patching and drops. She has struggled with patching in the past and so….  We are on a quest for a PERFECT PATCH! 

This week we tried Anissa’s Fun Patches

P.O. Box 455  Chuckey, TN  37641

Phone: (423)234-3404

http://www.anissasfunpatches.com/index.html

email:   anissasfunpatch@mounet.com

 Cost: 1 for $5.25, 3 for $18.00, or 4 for $20.00 with $2.00 shipping and handling

 Ratings given 1-5 for the following criteria. 

1 Doesn’t meet my expectations, 5 Exceeds my expectations

 Cuteness Factor           5

Durability                      3*

Full Eye Occlusion        4

Performs with sweat     5         

Patching Support          5

 Reusable                      Yes

 *We wore the patch the first day for 1 ½ hours with no complaints.  I turned my head for a second and she ripped the patch off the glasses.  We used a little electrical tape to fix it and after moms stern warning, she let me take the patch off for the rest of the week.

 Total patching hours for the week (Goal 14), Actual = 12 hours

 Elly’s response: “I want to see a picture of Anissa!”

Mom’s response:   This patch is SO cool. It is made out of foam that is stiff, but still flexible.  Some people come up with the most creative things!!!  Elly wore it very easily because it did not irritate her skin at all and I think she actually forgot it was on a couple times.  We would have made our patching goal for the week, but the patch was lost for a day (Whoops – found it in the laundry) I was worried that she would be able to peek around it, but when the patch is worn like the directions say, “Adjust position on ear piece so that the patch fits against the face eliminating the ability to see around the patch.”  There was only one time when I think she looked under it.  I also like the patching support they offer.  On the website, there is a Photo Gallery of kids wearing the patch and we showed the pictures to Elly during patch time and talked about how other kids patch to make their eyes stronger too.  They also have a cute little activity book with coloring pages of animals patching, some activities, and a reward chart with stickers.  We only let Elly color in the book when she was patching and found it helpful to have something new and rewarding to do.  If you are patching any amount of time, I strongly recommend having at least one of these patches around for the hot summer days.  They are comfortable, reusable, and very budget friendly.

Welcome to our patch challenge- WEEK 1.  My daughter is 2 ½ and has Amblyiopia.  We are currently trying to help her brain recognize her right eye.  She has perfect vision in her left eye and -7.75 in her right.  The patching only and Atrophine only solution is not working, so our PO has recommended a combination of patching and drops.

I recently e-mailed all the companies that made patches for little kids that I could find and asked them if they wanted to participate in my patch study.  Since Elly refuses to keep a patch on and has fought “patching time” for over a year, I am now on the quest for a PERFECT PATCH! 

Most of the company’s that sell kids patches are family stores created because someone special in their life has Amblyiopia.  Every company that I have written to or spoken with on the phone has been absolutely delightful to work with and genuinely care about kids with vision issues.  No matter which patch works best for us, I would highly recommend all of them for their level for their customer service!

This week we tried the MYI patches from

The Fresnel Prism and Lens Co. 
6824 Washington Ave S.
Eden Prairie, MN 55344 USA
 
800-544-4760 toll free
952-496-0432 phone
952-403-7900 fax

www.myipatches.com

Cost: $15.00 per pack of 51 patches – you choose 3 designs per pack.Shipping in US by Priority Mail – 2-3 days for delivery – $6.75 for shipping 1-6 packs of patches

Ratings given 1-5 for the following criteria. 

1 Doesn’t meet my expectations, 5 Exceeds my expectations

Cuteness Factor           5

Durability                      4

Full Eye Occlusion        5

Performs with sweat     4 *      

Patching Support          3

Reusable                      NO

*Elly was running at the park and it was 80 degrees.  She was working up a sweat, but the patch stayed on for 90 minutes.

Total patching hours for the week (Goal 14), Actual = 13 hours

Elly’s response: “Ooooohhhhh, bright colors!”

Mom’s response:         

“They sent 10 patches of regular size and 10 of the smaller size. I laughed because Elly went through more than 100 patches in a week of a different brand of “peel and stick” patches. We made it through, but used all 20. =)   (Once undone, they don’t re-stick.)  I think it was because the designs were really bright and cute and she LOVED picking out which one she wanted to wear.  If you are using another brand of stick-on patches, I would highly recommend you try these to add some cute patching choices.  It may help motivate your child to keep the patch on longer.  I know it helped mine!  The inside of the patch is black and I know it did a really good job of occluding her vision, because there were many times during the week she would cry to take the patch off because she couldn’t see. There was only one time that her skin became irritated and red after removing the patch – maybe she pulled it off too quick?  I also really liked the smaller junior size with Elly because the glasses seemed to sit better on her face and bothered her less.  I just wish they were not so much $$$ or that our insurance would cover it.  The way we go through them, it would cost us around $30 per month at $360 per year for patches.

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?