Any patching parent will tell you that there are good days and bad days when it comes to patching their child. Some days your delightful infant will happily go about their business with their patch on, while other days they’ll be a screaming mess, pulling off ten patches in an hour. But what options are there if a child just won’t patch?
First up, let’s talk about occlusion therapy.
Occlusion therapy is used for a variety of reasons but in essence it simply involves covering one eye so that the other eye can work harder to catch up. The point of occlusion therapy is to train the eye back to normal, or as close as, vision. There seems to be disagreement as to the cut off age for the effectiveness of occlusion therapy but in general, the earlier problems are treated, the better. Children reach visual maturity by the age of 10, hence why it is so important to treat as early as possible for best results.
Occlusion therapy is most often done with patches, as they are not invasive and generally not expensive – I know some parents will disagree but they’re still cheaper than surgeries. Patching can be challenging and there are kids who just won’t comply, so other options may have to be considered. These are typically ‘last resorts’ and are prescribed only after continual attempts at patching.
