# Is there any real reason to wear an eyepatch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711 "2008-02-22T12:41:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/21 "2008-02-22T15:53:40Z")
For ‘lazy eye’ doesn’t the patch go over the good eye? ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/22 "2008-02-22T15:53:49Z")
[QUOTE=Acid Lamp] I know one guy who has a magnetic eyepatch. He had little studs implanted in his eyebrow, lower portions of the eyesocket, and the side of the nose. The patch has little neodium magnets that grab the studs. He must have ten or more different patches too. [/QUOTE] Gnarly, dude! I wonder where I could get some neodium magnets implanted… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/23 "2008-02-22T16:59:03Z")
The musician Momus wears one - he lost an eye to disease. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/24 "2008-02-22T17:13:46Z")
I own an eyepatch because I sometimes get a muscle spasm around my eye that is as annoying to look at as it is to live with. So I put a little tissue behind the patch and it holds my eye shut so the muscle can relax and quit freaking out. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/25 "2008-02-22T17:17:53Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] I don’t know - if God forbid I had a legitimate reason to wear an eyepatch, I’d wear one. Eyepatches are cool. [/QUOTE] Agreed. If I ever should go blind, I’m going to skip the dark sunglasses and, instead, wear two eyepatches. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/26 "2008-02-22T17:22:57Z")
[QUOTE=Keeve] A number of years ago, I had an episode of [Bell’s Palsy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27s_palsy), which is a paralysis affecting one side of my face. Besides the treatment for it, my doctor advised me to wear an eyepatch over that eye, because the paralysis caused it to blink much less frequently than normal, and the eyepatch would keep the dust out. I did remove the eyepatch when driving (and sleeping), but otherwise it was very helpful. [/QUOTE] I came down with Bell’s last year. I was lucky in that it only took me about six weeks to recover. At the worst of it, I couldn’t blink my left eye at all. It coincided with when we were having the crazy wild fires so the air was particularly sooty. I used an eye patch while walking the dog. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/27 "2008-02-22T18:09:01Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] For ‘lazy eye’ doesn’t the patch go over the good eye? [/QUOTE] Yes, it does. I think the purpose of the patch is to force the use of the lazy eye. And as **bufftabby** pointed out, the patch is not worn constantly. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/28 "2008-02-22T18:11:02Z")
To those of you who have or do wear an eyepatch on occaison, do you feel like a bit more of a badass when you’re wearing it? Please say yes. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/29 "2008-02-22T18:26:35Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I got a scratched cornea a few years ago. Damn that hurts like nothing else. Light and even sound are killer. I bought an eye patch so that I could actually move around a little during the week or so it took to heal enough so that I could tolerate light. [/QUOTE] I _tore_ my cornea 20 years ago. Took about three months for it to heal. For the first three weeks, I had to wear an eye patch. Thereafter I had to wear an occluder over the left lens of my glasses. **Shagnasty** is correct: cornea damage hurts like a sonuvabitch! I tore it when I turned the wrong way into a dead tree branch while raking leaves one day. Ever heard the phrase, “It’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.” They’re right - **anything** is better than a poke in eye with a sharp stick! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/30 "2008-02-22T20:03:50Z")
I was one of those kids who had to wear a big adhesive patch over my dominant eye to encourage use of my lazy eye. I very much would have preferred an eyepatch. The adhesive on those patches yanked out a lot of eyebrow hair. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/31 "2008-02-22T21:06:05Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] To those of you who have or do wear an eyepatch on occaison, do you feel like a bit more of a badass when you’re wearing it? Please say yes. [/QUOTE] [Oh, hell, yeah.](http://www.esnips.com/doc/19028394-cb9c-4d4e-abb9-1d0bfe05f8fb/Robert-as-Number-Two---with-gun) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/32 "2008-02-22T21:58:02Z")
[QUOTE=AudreyK] I was one of those kids who had to wear a big adhesive patch over my dominant eye to encourage use of my lazy eye. I very much would have preferred an eyepatch. The adhesive on those patches yanked out a lot of eyebrow hair. ☹ [/QUOTE] My daughter had amblyopia, but it wasn’t the “wandering eye” kind. One eye was more far-sighted than the other, and I bless the optometrist at Sears, who looked at her eyes during the exam, nodded thoughtfully, and told me to take her to a pediatric opthamologist. Apparently, we caught it just in time…after about age 9, there’s not a lot they can do, as the brain has adjusted to the mismatched vision. Her patch was worn over her good eye, from about lunch time to the time she got home from school, and she had stickers she could put on them. Now, while she still wears glasses, her vision is much improved and she doesn’t have amblyopia anymore. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/33 "2008-02-22T22:30:43Z")
[QUOTE=flodnak] Also, kids being treated for amblyopia/lazy eye these days usually have disposable adhesive patches, not the “pirate patch”. Best of all, the patches now come with cool patterns and designs, as well as in the neutral/Band-aid color. [/QUOTE] Those have been around a _long_ time, 'cuz I remember them from when I was a kid. The bright colored ones were kind of cool, but the kid with the flesh-colored patch freaked me out a little because it looked kind of like his skin had grown right over his eye. Speaking of which, there was an actor in the Helm’s Deep portion of **The Two Towers** who clearly had a vacant eye socket. I’d always imagined something pretty disturbing behind those pirate patches, but he didn’t look bad at all. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/34 "2008-02-23T07:45:42Z")
I’ve worn one, but only in the dark, > [@](#): > > [**Orion Observer’s Eyepatch**](http://www.amazon.com/Orion-Observers-Eyepatch/dp/B0000XMV4U/ref=pd_sim_hpc_title_3/002-9947090-7925640) > > … wearing this eyepatch keeps facial muscles relaxed while observing through a telescope. Elastic headband and cone-shaped, cloth-edged cup allow viewing with both eyes open-the recommended method. … 😉 CMC +fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/35 "2008-02-23T13:12:22Z")
Or, you could be the head of an [International Spy Organization.](http://www.beyondhollywood.com/stillsx/2007/07/nick-fury-agent-of-shield.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![cromulent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b4bc9f/32.png) [@cromulent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cromulent)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/36 "2008-02-23T14:19:35Z")
Some people have trouble converging their eyes fully while reading, and will see double with both eyes open. They can wear an eyepatch while reading so they don’t have to keep one eye closed. When I read with my glasses or contacts off, I have this issue – which is why I hate reading with my glasses or contacts off! (Or doing anything else with them off for that matter, except of course for sleeping.) I’m an optometry student, and we learn a lot of procedures that are done monocularly, like direct ophthalmoscopy and retinoscopy. I have no trouble shutting one eye and keeping it shut for hours on end, but apparently some of people in my lab section do, and bring an eyepatch with them for lab work and practicals. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/37 "2008-02-23T15:02:42Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] **Is there any real reason to wear an eyepatch?** [/QUOTE] Yes, there _arrr_ several. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/38 "2008-02-23T15:22:34Z")
One needs an eye patch in order to [sell shirts.](http://money.cnn.com/1999/07/21/companies/ogilvy/) ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/39 "2008-02-23T16:34:09Z")
Several years ago, I got a metal sliver in my eye, which the emergency room doctor tried to remove with the tip of a hypodermic needle, but he didn’t get all of it, so a few days later they had to remove it with a corneal drill, so I had to wear an eye patch for about two weeks. Even though it had been in the center of my vision, it eventually healed completely and I can see perfectly with it. (I’m impressed that my cornea could heal so correctly). ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711/40 "2008-02-23T17:22:12Z")
[QUOTE=groo] Several years ago, I got a metal sliver in my eye, which the emergency room doctor tried to remove with the tip of a hypodermic needle, but he didn’t get all of it, so a few days later they had to remove it with a corneal drill [/QUOTE] :eek: :eek: :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-reason-to-wear-an-eyepatch/438711.md?page=3)