An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn by people to cover a lost, infected, or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the treatment of amblyopia. Eyepatches used to block light while sleeping are referred to as a sleep mask. An eyepad or eye pad is a soft medical dressing that can be applied over an eye to protect it. It is not necessarily the same as an eyepatch.

History

In the years before advanced medicine and surgery, eyepatches were common for people who had a lost or injured eye. They were particularly prevalent among members of dangerous occupations, such as soldiers and sailors who could lose an eye in battle. While stereotypically associated with pirates, there is no evidence to suggest the historical accuracy of eye patch wearing pirates before several popular novels of the 19th century (see Association with pirates below).

Medical uses

Amblyopia

Eye patching is used in the orthoptic management of children at risk of lazy eye ( amblyopia), especially strabismic or anisometropic amblyopia. These conditions can cause visual suppression of areas of the dissimilar images by the brain such as to avoid diplopia, resulting in a loss of visual acuity in the suppressed eye and in extreme cases in blindness in an otherwise functional eye.Final Activity and Management Report Summary - SVS (Strabismus and visual suppression)
, CORDIS Patching the good eye forces the amblyopic eye to function, thereby causing vision in that eye to be retained. It is important to perform "near activities" (such as reading or handiwork) when patched, thereby exercising active, attentive vision. A study provided evidence that children treated for amblyopia with eye patching had lower self-perception of

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. To prevent a child from being socially marginalized by their peers due to wearing an eye patch, atropine eye drops may be used instead. This induces temporary blurring in the treated eye. It has been pointed out that the penalization of one eye by means of patching or atropine drops does not provide the necessary conditions to develop or improve

binocular vision Binocular vision is seeing with two eyes. The Field_of_view, field of view that can be surveyed with two eyes is greater than with one eye. To the extent that the visual fields of the two eyes overlap, #Depth, binocular depth can be perceived. Th ...

. Efforts have been made to propose alternative treatments of amblyopia that do allow for the improvement of binocular sight, for example, using binasal occlusion or partially frosted spectacles in place of any eye patch, using alternating occlusion goggles or using methods of

perceptual learning Perceptual learning is learning better perception skills such as differentiating two musical tones from one another or categorizations of spatial and temporal patterns relevant to real-world expertise. Examples of this may include reading, seein ...

based on video games or virtual reality games for enhancing binocular vision. A 2014 Cochrane Review sought to determine the effectiveness of occlusion treatment on patients with sensory deprivation amblyopia, however no trials were found eligible to be included in the review. However, it is suggested that good outcomes from occlusion treatment for sensory deprivation amblyopia rely on compliance with the treatment.

Extraocular muscle palsy

To initially relieve double vision ( diplopia) caused by an extra-ocular muscle palsy, an

eye care professional An eye care professional is an individual who provides a service related to the eyes or vision. It is any healthcare worker involved in eye care, from one with a small amount of post-secondary training to practitioners with a doctoral level of edu ...

may recommend using an eyepatch. This can help to relieve the dizziness, vertigo and nausea that are associated with this form of double vision.O'Sullivan, S.B & Schmitz, T.J. (2007). Physical Rehabilitation. Philadelphia, PA: Davis. .

Use by aircraft pilots

Aircraft pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

s used an eye patch, or close one eye to preserve night vision when there was disparity in the light intensity within or outside their aircraft, such as when flying at night over brightly lit cities, so that one eye could look out, and the other would be adjusted for the dim lighting of the cockpit to read unlit instruments and maps. Some military pilots have worn a lead-lined or gold-lined eyepatch, to protect against blindness in both eyes, in the event of a

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laser weapon A laser weapon is a type of directed-energy weapon that uses lasers to inflict damage. Whether they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons remains to be seen. One of the major issues with laser weapons is atmospheric ...

attack. Eyepatches are not currently used by military personnel; modern technology has provided an array of other means to preserve and enhance night vision, including red-light and low-level white lights, and

night vision device A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The ...

Association with pirates

Ex-sailors ashore sometimes wore an eye patch to cover the loss of an eye, but pirates rarely wore eye patches while aboard ships. There were some exceptions, including Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalhami, a well-known pirate of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, who wore an eye patch after losing an eye in battle. Medical texts have referred to the eye patch as a "pirate's patch" and, writing in the Minnesota Academy of Sciences Journal in 1934, Charles Sheard of the Mayo foundation pointed out that by "wearing a patch (the pirate's patch) over one eye, it will keep the covered eye in a state of readiness and adaptation for night vision". This technique was explored during WWII by institutes such as the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. It has been suggested that pirates before electric lighting wore eyepatches to keep one eye adjusted to darkness ahead of a boarding operation, so that they would be ready to fight below deck where the lighting was poor. This idea was tested in an episode of ''

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...

'' in 2007 and found to be plausible, but this application has never been documented in any historical naval manual.

Notable wearers

* Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
' National Portrait Gallery, London, National Portrait Gallery'' * Ana de Mendoza * André De Toth * Andrew Vachss * Barbara Boggs Sigmund * Bobby Helms * Bruce Peterson * Bushwick BillOur favorite eyepatch heroes
Maxim magazine * Charles H. Bonesteel III * Charles Stourton, 26th Baron Mowbray * Claus von Stauffenberg * Dale Chihuly * Dale D. Myers * Dan Crenshaw * Date MasamuneSohachi Yamaoka, ''Date Masamune''. *

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Great Moments in Eye Patches
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'' * Dick Curless * Dušan Prelević *

Floyd Gibbons Floyd Phillips Gibbons (July 16, 1887 – September 23, 1939) was the war correspondent for the ''Chicago Tribune'' during World War I. One of radio's first news reporters and commentators, he was famous for a fast-talking delivery style. Floyd ...

* Francisco de Orellana * François Coli *

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''The San Diego Union'' * Gabrielle *

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* George Melly * Jack Coggins *

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* Jan Syrový *

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* Jason Trost *

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* José Millán Astray * Lewis Williams Douglas * Lisa Lopes *

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* María de Villota *

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* Martin Bayerle * Maxie Anderson * Momus *

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* Mother Angelica * Nicholas Ray * Nick Popaditch * Nicolas-Jacques Conté * Norm Clarke * Olaf Scholz * Patrick Leigh Fermor * Pete Burns * Peter Gatien * Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah *

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent cinema actor George Walsh. He wa ...

* Ray Sawyer * Richard Tesařík * Richard W. Rahn *

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* Ron Hamilton * Ruger *

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* Sammy Davis Jr. * Sheila Gish * Sir Francis BryanWeir, ''Henry VIII'', p. 262. *

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* Victor Page *

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In fiction

An eyepatch can be used in fiction to lend an additional dimension to a character, an air of mystery or general '' je ne sais quoi''.

References

External links

International Orthoptic Association
{{Pirates Eyewear Maritime culture Medical equipment Ophthalmology