After one has been given the diagnosis amblyopia it is usually at the same outpatient visit that he or she has already been provided with the detailed instructions for treatment. The treatment somewhat varies on the etiology of amblyopia and consists of patching, penalization, corrective glasses, or vision training. Whilst corrective spectacles may sometimes be enough in certain types of amblyopia, and vision training is becoming more and more effective and more widely used, the gold standard for treatment is, and remains, patching. Having previously discussed exactly how important compliance to the prescribed treatment is, many parents experience genuine nightmares when their kids do not want to wear patches at all. Here are some tips on how to overcome that rebellion.
Interesting patches and preferred activities
You should get the patches that are made with a colorful design, preferably with motives that are close to your child. They should see it as a play not a sort of therapy. Make sure that the sound eye is completely covered and that there is no way for the child to peek around the patch, otherwise everything might be for nothing. Use those that are not too adhesive, otherwise, the kid will start to identify the patch with the pain when you remove it. If your kid also wears glasses encourage them to wear them during patching – that way they will have slightly better visual acuity on the amblyopic eye when the sound eye is covered. Finally, offer them a preferred activity during patching – believe me, it is just impossible than to do the homework at the same time!
Consider AmbyoPlay as a supplemental treatment
When your kid is done with patching for the day, though, offer them to play some interesting games available in our AmblyoPlay product to have some good time and simultaneously train their eyes an extra bit more.
