Question
MY 5 YEAR OLD SON HAS TO PATCH
ON A DAILY BASIS FOR UP TO 6
HOURS A DAY , I WAS WONDERING
IF THERE ANY TIPS OR ADVICE YOU
CAN GIVE, TO HELP WITH THIS DAILY
BATTLE ,
(ROBERT MCINNES)
Answer:
Dear Robert,
As a matter of fact, we are right in the process of measuring compliance in wearing the
patch electronically in a series of patients, in collaboration with Professor Allistair Fielder
and Merrick Moseley at the Southern Eye Hospital in London. We find many children
that are actually patched hardly at all because of what you refer to as 'this daily battle'.
My advice: reduce the patch time to a time that either of the parents is 100 % available to
monitor the patch being on the eye. This can be two hours, one hour, or even as short as
half an hour. But in this fixed period, every day at the same time, the patch is on the eye
no matter what. Do no start a discussion with your son at an adult level, the patch is one
hour on the eye no matter what, every day at the same time. Some opthalmologists or
orthoptists tend to tell the parents in such situations: Patch as much as possible. But I
disagree, because the battle will start instantaneously. Professor Fielder is examining the
relation between the duration of patching and its effect on vision, I don't know the exact
outcome, but I suspect that patching for two hours could well have almost the same effect
as patching for fours hours, and if that 's the goal your are sure you could reach, that 's
where you should go for.
Yours truly,
(Herb Simonsz, MD, PhD)
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