Living with One Eye

Adjusting to life with one eye can feel scary and overwhelming. With time and support, your child can adapt to vision changes and learn to thrive.

How well your child adjusts to having 1 eye may depend on their age. For example, a young child who always had 1 eye since birth will not notice the difference. They will develop and learn along with other children their age.

Older children and teens who have eye removal surgery (enucleation) will need time to adjust. But with time and practice, your child will begin to adapt and find new ways to do daily activities.

How vision with 1 eye is different

Vision with 1 eye is different from vision with 2 eyes:

• Field of vision: Your child will have a smaller field of vision than someone who has 2 eyes. Field of vision is how much your child can see without turning their head to look.
• Depth perception: Your child will have different depth perception. Depth perception is the ability to tell how close or far away something is. For example, you use depth perception when you throw a ball or pour juice into a cup.

These vision changes can make it harder for your child to do everyday activities at first. Over time, your child will find ways to adapt to their vision changes.

Adjusting to living with 1 eye

Your child might adjust naturally to having a smaller field of vision and different depth perception. Children often learn new ways to do things on their own. But there are some simple steps you can take to help them adjust more quickly, such as:

• Place common items within easy reach.
• Use touch to see how far away something is. For example, show your child how to pour liquids by touching the edge of the bottle or pitcher to the edge of the cup.
• Let your child know to turn their head more than usual. For example, your child should learn to turn their head more than once both ways to look for traffic before crossing the street.
• Use colored tape to help your child see the edge of stairs. Pick a color that is easy to see. You can put the tape at the top, bottom, and edge of each step. Choose what works best for your child.
• Teach your child to use the handrail on stairs. They can also slide a foot to the edge of each step to learn where to step.
• Protect the eye that has good vision. Your child should wear glasses whenever they are awake and wear sunglasses outside. They should also wear safety goggles for higher-risk activities, such as sports, crafts, and yard work.

Ways to help the other eye adjust

Your child’s working eye will get used to seeing things over time. This will get easier, but there are some ways you can help the eye adjust:

For children and teens

• Have them walk along a straight line. You can use a sidewalk crack or tape on the floor.
• Play catch. Use a large, soft ball that is easy to see and throw.
• Have your child throw a ball or bean bag at a target.
• Ask them to reach for different things. This helps practice learning how far away something is.
• Tell them to turn their head to the side more often to see things. For example, they can practice crossing a quiet street at first, turning their head completely both ways to see what is coming.
• Encourage them to practice their balance. They can swing, roll around, jump, or dance. Do this in a safe place.

For parents of babies and toddlers

• Hold your child with their seeing eye facing away from your body. This makes your child turn their head to look at your face.
• Put toys that light up or make noise on the side where your child lost their eye. This makes them turn their head to see what is happening.
• Play with toys that roll across the room, such as cars or balls. Encourage your child to move their head to look at the toy.
• Put your child’s favorite toys on higher shelves, but low enough that they can reach them, and in far parts of the room. This will help your child learn to look in areas around them.
• Encourage your child to reach for toys. Try not to hand them their toys. Reaching for toys helps your child practice eye-hand coordination.

Questions to ask your care team

• How long will it take for my child to get used to having 1 eye?
• Are there any exercises or activities that will help them adjust to vision changes?
• How do I know if my child is having trouble adjusting to having 1 eye, and what should I do if that happens?
• Are there any activities my child should avoid to protect their remaining eye?
• What follow-up care does my child need?

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