Today, to coincide with World Orthoptic Day, we officially launched our #WePatch campaign to raise awareness of the importance of occlusion, through both patching and treatment with eye drops.
The campaign offers support, resources and guidance for those supporting a child being treated with patching or eye drops. Occlusion therapy is an extremely effective treatment for amblyopia, the most common cause of reduced vision in young children. However, children can often find it quite challenging, as it involves covering their stronger eye, which significantly reduces their vision.
As well as providing guidance and resources to help with occlusion, we’re aiming to provide reassurance to adults who are supporting children and may be finding it difficult to encourage them.
Short guides
We’ve also released a series of short guides to amblyopia, strabismus and wearing glasses, available on our website for members of the public or for orthoptists to download and use in their departments.
World Orthoptic Day
World Orthoptic Day falls on the first Monday of each June and is a day when orthoptists globally promote their profession and celebrate the fantastic work they do.
It is organised by the International Orthoptic Association (IOA), made up of 15 member national professional organisations and 6 associate member organisations.