I first learned about Krafty eye Patches from another "amblyopia kid", Aidan, when his mother shared about their summer patching adventure. Since we'd had not so good luck with adhesive patches in the past, I wasn't sure if this would be a patch that would work for my daughter and her super sensitive fair skin. Belle has a mild latex allergy and in the past the adhesive patches we tried were nightmarish. To say they irritated her skin is a bit of an understatement. She hated wearing them and complained a lot about "the band-aid patches" because they actually pulled out her eyebrows and ripped at her skin. There were a lot of tears.
Still, the fun eye patch decoration kits looked right up my daughter's "crafy" ally. And, when I explored the website some more and read about how Krafty eye Patches were developed I had a glimmer of hope.
Could it be true.. Adhesive eye patches that are latex-free, hypoallergenic.. with an adhesive that will stay in place yet not rip her eyebrows and skin off?
Yes, it is true! I spoke at length with Christi, one of the owners of SavCo optical - the company behind Kraft eye Patches. Christi shared with me her daughter Savvy's story and their determination to make a patch that was kids would wear that also was functional. The big difference is in the adhesive, the adhesive is heat activated and made so it can be worn all day. It is also gentle so that it doesn't rip off skin or cause irritation. Importantly the patches have a black out layer on the bottom side so that kids cannot see through them. At the same time, the blackout layer is very thin so that it doesn't irritate their eyes or "crowd" their eyelashes. My daughter has told me with some of the adhesive patches that "her eye needs to breathe" or that she feels like she is getting "eye burgers" (conjunctivitis).. so far so good with these Krafty patches.
Belle likes these particular patches because they don't hurt when they are removed at the end of the day. I was pleased with this also since the last thing I want for my daughter is a rash on her face or a big red circle around her eye like a raccoon.
Now... A note on the adhesive: the first few times we wore these patches, I found that they were peeling. I wasn't sure if this was the high humidity and heat, or if the adhesive was "wimpy". Its a fine line - because you don't want the adhesive so strong that it irritates or rips your kids skin off. But, at the same time you need it to stick. I contacted Savco and got these awesome instructions which I'll share here:
Here are some patch tips.
1. Make sure skin is dry and free from lotions or suncreen this will break down the adhesive.
2. Make sure narrow end of patch is toward bridge of nose. Look at kids picture on website as a reference if need to
3. Press firmly around all edges of the adhesive with your finger helping to get a good seal. Heat from your skin will activate the adhesive. You may need to go around more than once. Do not worry that it will make the adhesive stick too hard to the skin for it won't but if you really want the adhesive to activate you need to do this.
Each time you use the patch repeat all three steps. The adhesive is kinda like a post-it note each time you reuse it will start to lose it's sticky and you will need to press on pretty firmly.She suggested that I try for myself on the back of my hand. Yes! It works. The peeling issues we experienced the first few times are pretty much all but gone. The only times we have had any sticking issues of note really have had to do with my daughter getting very sweaty - which considering its been over 100 degrees here at the Jersey shore with high humidity - well, that is pretty unavoidable. I also found that sunscreen was a big contributor to breaking down the adhesive so I started to put the sunscreen on afterwards and not before her patch goes on. I also have had to remind her not to play with it, fidget or touch it. Some of this behavior is getting better as she is readjusting to wearing a patch on her eye pretty much full time. If you don't have a kid who gets real sweaty or touches at their patch with dirty fingers - you can actually re-use these. So, if you need to take it off for some reason - just stick it on a clean surface and then re-use it later on that day. You will need to press harder around the edges the second time you use it.
If patch gets wet it will not stick again. If fingers touch adhesive a lot or if a child peels up a side and resticks many times in one place it will loose stick in that area.
Fun Eye Patch Kits for Kids
The fun part about the Krafty patches is that they come in 7 colors (yellow, orange, red, blue, purple, pink, and green) and kids can decorate them to their hearts content. You can purchase the patches in a variety of kits (for boys or girls), patch assortments in a box of 50, or accessories a la carte. All of the accessories are non-toxic and sized appropriately so that they will fit on the patches. Prices for the accessories are in line with discount stores and the prices for the patches are in line with other brands like Ortopad or Fresnel Prism. 50 patches/$15 and you pick up to 5 colors in the box.
Savvy made my daughter a bright pink patch with a googly-eyed frog on it (that she made using a foam flower piece). My daughter likes it so much she doesn't want to wear it! I told her that I'd buy her some of the google eyes soon. Being able to decorate her patches has been a very good motivator for my daughter who wasn't very happy to have to patch again for 6-8 hours a day. We put the patches and decorating supplies in one of those gallon zipperseal bags and took them with us so that when we were with friends everyone could take a turn and make a patch for her. My daughter's favorite of course is the hot pink which gets a lot of attention and isn't subtle in the least. She likes to show it off and doesn't try to hide it behind her mass of hair - so I know she likes to wear it. You can see her making a patch below and one of the first patches she made. She is also wearing one of the Krafty patches in her Amblyopia PSA video we put earlier in the week.For more info: visit the Krafty eye Patches website
disclaimer: Savco sent my daughter a Mini Be Dazzle Kit for girls which included 30 patches (10 each pink, purple, yellow) plus foam flowers, butterfly stickers and jewels [the kit is priced at $13] to try out for purposes of this review and sharing our honest opinion. Thank you for letting us try these! We'll be back for more soon!!
is a paperback 'I Can Read' beginner level 1 book and is priced at just $3.99
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