Eye patches sometimes are an effective and non-invasive alternative to surgery, but the therapy requires patience and endurance. With early detection, eye patch treatment is often fully successful. The prognosis is not as good for children over the age of 12, but eye patches can improve and sometimes even correct vision for older children.
Conditions
Doctors use eye patches to treat two different eye conditions---strabismus and amblyopia. Strabismus is a condition in which a child's eyes are misaligned or don't move in unison. If the condition affects only one eye, it may be the result of a weak muscle in that eye. Amblyopia, or lazy eye, may develop as your child grows. Typically, one eye has a much better quality of vision than the other, and because the weak eye sends inferior signals to the brain, the brain starts to use only the images that the stronger eye transmits. If not corrected, the brain eventually will depend completely on the stronger eye and your child will lose two-dimensional vision.
Symptoms
Lazy eye sometimes has no obvious symptoms, but you may notice your child squinting, turning his head to one side, tucking in his chin or tilting his head backwards while he looks straight ahead. He may be doing this to offset the imbalance in his eye muscle alignment. Strabismus may cause your child's eyes to look crossed, or you may notice that they don't move in unison. He may be unsteady on his feet, bump into objects or tilt his head routinely. He also may squint or rub his eyes, or he may complain of head- or stomachaches. The best way to detect lazy eye or strabismus is with a professional eye exam.
Patch Therapy
To treat lazy eye or single eye strabismus, your doctor may direct your child to wear a patch over her stronger eye to force the weaker one to work harder, which strengthens it. This also helps the brain get used to processing images from the weaker eye. Typically, your child will wear the patch all day long at first and then perhaps for shorter periods of time. The patch wearing usually continues for at least six months. Even after her weak eye has become normal, she may have to wear a patch periodically until about age 10.
Alternatives
Some doctors use an opaque contact lens to cover the good eye rather than a patch. Another option is an eye drop medication that you apply to your child's good eye to blur the vision temporarily. Some doctors also prescribe eyeglasses to treat amblyopia, either alone or in combination with an eye patch. Your doctor also may prescribe exercises or activities such as small print crossword puzzles or video games for your child to do in conjunction with the eye patch to help strengthen weak eye muscles and realign the eye. In some severe cases, surgery may be necessary.
Prevention
Early detection is critical to treating lazy eye and strabismus successfully. Make sure your baby receives a thorough eye exam in his first few days of life to check for any structural abnormalities. According to Aetna InteliHealth, your pediatrician should check your child's eyes as a part of every "well-child" check up, and you should take your child for his first full check up no later than age 3. Modern techniques allow ophthalmologists to detect lazy eye and strabismus even before a child is able to speak.
