Where can I get a good eyepatch?

May 7, 2012 3:43 AM

Where to get a good eyepatch for daily use in a professional environment?

This has come up on the green before, but with no very good answer, so I'm trying again. I now need to wear an eyepatch, due to an internal condition in one eye that is more uncomfortable when it's exposed to light. The eye itself looks perfectly normal.

I've tried various models bought online, but none is very good. Silicone ones get too clammy and don't make a good light seal around the edges, others protrude too much to let me wear glasses (which I must do) or are irritating where they don't fit very well. Most of the eyepatches out there seem to be comedy or costume ones, which is fine if you want that, but I need something that will be part of my everyday life. I don't really have the sort of job where I could sport the Hello Kitty.

I'm quite prepared to go the custom route, if I can find it.

posted by Devonian to clothing, beauty, & fashion (10 answers total)

I needed one for a while too, but never found anything I liked. I did find that my optometrist could have an opaque contact lens made for me. They take a picture of your eye and then a prosthetic artist paints a lens to look just like your iris - brilliant, right? Cost was $250-$400 depending on who it was ordered from. Unfortunately, I have no clue who they worked with, but I bet google would turn up something. Or maybe ask your retina specialist?
posted by PorcineWithMe at 4:15 AM on May 7, 2012

Just googled 'custom prosthetic contact lens' and got a ton of good looking results. Good luck!
posted by PorcineWithMe at 4:18 AM on May 7, 2012

Hmm. As a teenager I made what I recall as a startlingly chic eye patch. If you are crafty (or your professional environment is artsy), this might be worth a shot:

Cut out a circle of stiff yet breathable material (cardstock, leather, etc). Slice a line from center to perimeter. Move the flap on one side of this slash onto the top of the other side, forming an extremely shallow cone. Sew and/or glue in place. Cut two slits near and parallel to the circle's perimeter, on almost-opposite sides of the circle. Thread a ribbon through them (velvet is nicely grippy). Tie eyepatch over eye socket. Notice, mark, and trim wherever the edge needs trimming (if it does) to fit your facial contours.
posted by feral_goldfish at 5:21 AM on May 7, 2012

Is this with glasses, or without?

I would check on Etsy. I found (cute, juvenile) eye patches for my son to wear on his glasses on there, but many of the sellers are happy to do custom orders. I haven't look for ones to use without glasses, but I'm betting they're on there, and they can be made to look more professional.
posted by MeiraV at 5:57 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I know nothing about eyepatches, but if you need a good light seal and a shallow cone, can you somehow modify a sleeping mask? I'm thinking that if you find a plain black one you could cut one side out for the eyecover (shaping it the way you need it for your eye) and then attach a ribbon like feral_goldfish describes. Combining the sleeping mask with what feral_goldfish describes might get you closer to what you need.
posted by MultiFaceted at 6:41 AM on May 7, 2012

Any drugstore or medical equipment place sells medical grade simple eye patches, black always and sometimes an additional color. Is this the type you find unsuitable?
posted by caclwmr4 at 8:47 AM on May 7, 2012

would it be dark enough if you just darken the lens of your glasses over that eye? cut a patch of black fabric to the same shape of the lens, and carefully glue it to the inside of your glasses. a small amount of a clear glue around the edge of the fabric should be enough to hold it there, and if you use a glue that isn't too strong (no superglue) you should be able to peel it off later when you want to remove the patch without destroying the glasses.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:28 AM on May 7, 2012

I don't have an eyepatch recommendation, but I came on to say I had the same problem with getting glasses to fit over my convex eyepatch, which had to protrude enough to not feel like it was smushing my eyeball.

Have you considered getting glasses to fit over any eyepatch you find comfortable?

Will watch with interest.
posted by mgrrl at 12:21 PM on May 7, 2012

Are you comfortable with an adhesive patch? My daughter patches to correct her vision. We've found that Ortopad is the best brand for complete light blocking. The do black and beige (in addition to all the crazy kid patterns). She wears glasses as well, and the patch does not interfere at all. We've also found that the adhesive on this brand is much more kind to her skin.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 5:01 PM on May 7, 2012

Yes, will wear glasses. No, don't think an adhesive patch is a good idea; this is going to be part of my appearance from hereon in, so I want it to look a bit classy. An option is a monocle for the other eye, but that's a whole 'nother thang.

No chemist I've asked in has eyepatches, and medical supply stores are thin on the ground around here. It's going to be the Internet or nothing!

I have found a couple of online vendors that will bear investigating, but otherwise I'm beginning to think I should consider enrolling on a leatherworking course and get the basic skills needed to experiment on myself. A part of me wonders if there are enough others like me out there to turn this into a going business... but that, too, is a whole 'nother thang.

Thanks all.
posted by Devonian at 8:52 AM on May 8, 2012