At first glance, an eye patching treatment seems simple enough: You cover the eye a couple hours a day and done! In reality however, it turns out it’s not so simple. Here’s why:
55% of children refuse to comply with the treatment!
Many good parents persist through cries and desobeidence for days and even weeks… But most of us begin to think it would be much easier to give up the treatment and get back to a normal life – even though rationnaly we know how important our kid’s eyes are important, emotionnaly and becomes difficult to deal with.
Why is compliance so low?
Well, let’s be real… Traditional eye-patches are ‘broken’.
- They are uncomfortable
- They don’t look good
- They attract stares
- They hurt our children’s self-esteem
Here’s what J. Carlton and E. Kaltenthaler found running a complete study on Amblyopia and quality of life:
Feelings of low self-esteem and negative self-image were reported as a result of amblyopia and/or its treatment. Other psychosocial implications included feelings of depression, frustration, and embarrassment.
It’s no wonder children don’t want to wear eye patches and why parents give in…
When my son Zacharie was diagnosed with strabismus, I was devastated.
The one thing that matters most to a mother is without a doubt, the health and the well being of our child.
And there I was, being told my son would have to be where a pirate eye for the next several months or else his eye wouldn’t get better.
I felt powerless, frustrated and angry.
However I had no other options – an eye patch for a couple months or a lazy eye for ever… And so I took what felt like the right choice, what any mother would have decided to do:
I chose to put my emotions aside and bought eye patches for Zacharie.
I quickly realised this would be harder than I thought it would be
Even when he finally gave in and agreed to wear it, he would have such sad look in his face it was tearing my heart.
All I really wanted was to see him happy again – to see him smile.
I knew I had to do something, I just didn’t know what.
And that’s when it occurred to me…
As a designer, I had to come up with a better solution
With the help of Zacharie of course – I began drawing eye patch designs that perhaps he would enjoy wearing.
And that’s how it all started.
With the help of a simple sticker, Zacharie was now smiling again.
Obviously, those colorful eye-patches got noticed and people started asking questions… And being fully aware of the reality of those who deal with eye patches, I felt obliged to push this even further.
How could we revolutionize the entire patching experience?
Since 2008, I have been meeting with specialists, parents and children order to create, test and improve what is about to change everything we know about eye-patching.
This is what we came up with:
Full occlusion eye patches
This medical eye patch blocks vision completely, giving the eye the experience of total occlusion. The patch is attached to the inside of the eyeglass frame with a suction cup,
- Intended to be discreet and aesthetic
- Reusable for the entire treatment
- Safe: latex free and glue free
- Soft and light to maximize comfort
- Made of ultra durable silicone
- Equipped small holes for air circulation
- Easy to adjust
Combining efficiency, beauty and comfort, DrPatch’s partial occlusion eye patches positively transform the experience of orthoptic treatment.
- Reusable
- Easy to use
- No glue residue
- Fun and motivating for children
The secret of patching success…
The secret relies in combining the comfort and efficacy of the full occlusion silicone eye patch AND the good looking finish of the partial occlusion.
Here’s what people have to say about them:
“DrPatch eye patches have significant advantages over other types of patches. They’re smaller and are not placed on the skin, but rather on the glasses, without damaging them. Furthermore, they’re attractive. For these reasons, I plan to recommend them to my patients.”
Dr Patrick Hamel, Ophthalmologist
Sainte Justine Hospital, Montreal
“Following our meeting, I had Annabel start wearing a DrPatch eyepatch on her eyeglasses. She accepts it much more readily than one directly on the eye. As Annabel was only 20 months old when diagnosed with the rare CHARGE Syndrome, sticking anything on her face was such a hassle. She tore everything off and developed irritations and infections regularly. Since she started using your eyepatch, it’s been so much easier for the both of us. I realize that her weaker eye is strengthening even though I know that the iris malformation is always present. Here is Annabel’s website address (www.annabelrobitaille.com) as you had asked me. Any help to our family is especially welcome in our current situation … Thank you very much for your helping hand. I appreciate it each and every day! Have a good day!”
Mélanie Wilcott, mother of Annabel Robitaille
Granby, Québec
Click here and try our solutions!
With these allies, your kid will be happy, you will feel relieved and patching will become easy!