Eye Patch (Child)

Home care

Follow these guidelines when caring for your child at home:

• For older children: If the eye hurts, apply a cold pack in a thin towel over the eye patch. Do this only for a few minutes at a time, a few times a day.

• For babies and young children: A young child may try to pick at or remove the patch. To help prevent this, put mittens on your child’s hands.

• If you need to reapply a gauze patch, make sure the eyelid is closed when you apply the patch. Don’t put a patch on an open eye. This can injure the cornea.

• Remove the eye patch after 48 hours, unless your child’s provider instructs otherwise.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your child’s provider. Your child was scheduled for a follow-up appointment for patch removal and re-exam. Don't miss this appointment.

Special note to parents

To encourage your child to wear the patch, try to make it fun. For instance, suggest that they pretend to be a pirate or a monster.

When to seek medical advice

Call your child's healthcare provider right away if any of these occur:

• Pain that is getting worse

• Swelling, redness, or warmth in or around the eye

• Thick or colored fluid coming from the eye

• Fever (see Fever and children, below)

Fever and children

Use a digital thermometer to check your child’s temperature. Don’t use a mercury thermometer. There are different kinds and uses of digital thermometers. They include:

• Rectal. For children younger than 3 years, a rectal temperature is the most accurate.

• Forehead (temporal). This works for children age 3 months and older. If a child under 3 months old has signs of illness, this can be used for a first pass. The provider may want to confirm with a rectal temperature.

• Ear (tympanic). Ear temperatures are accurate after 6 months of age, but not before.

• Armpit (axillary). This is the least reliable but may be used for a first pass to check a child of any age with signs of illness. The provider may want to confirm with a rectal temperature.

• Mouth (oral). Don’t use a thermometer in your child’s mouth until they are at least 4 years old.

Use a rectal thermometer with care. Follow the product maker’s directions for correct use. Insert it gently. Label it and make sure it’s not used in the mouth. It may pass on germs from the stool. If you don’t feel OK using a rectal thermometer, ask the healthcare provider what type to use instead. When you talk with any healthcare provider about your child’s fever, tell them which type you used.

Below is when to call the healthcare provider if your child has a fever. Your child’s healthcare provider may give you different numbers. Follow their instructions.

When to call a healthcare provider about your child’s fever

For a baby under 3 months old:

• First, ask your child’s healthcare provider how you should take the temperature.

• Rectal or forehead: 100.4°F (38°C) or higher

• Armpit: 99°F (37.2°C) or higher

• A fever of ___________as advised by the provider

For a child age 3 months to 36 months (3 years):

• Rectal or forehead: 102°F (38.9°C) or higher

• Ear (only for use over age 6 months): 102°F (38.9°C) or higher

• A fever of ___________ as advised by the provider

In these cases:

• Armpit temperature of 103°F (39.4°C) or higher in a child of any age

• Temperature of 104°F (40°C) or higher in a child of any age

• A fever of ___________ as advised by the provider