Eyepatch

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An eyepatch is a small patch, usually of black cloth, that is worn in front of one eye and usually attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the treatment of amblyopia (lazy eye). (See orthoptics and vision therapy.)

History

In the years before advanced medicine and surgery, eyepatches were common. They were particularly prevalent among members of dangerous occupations, such as pirates and blacksmiths. Today, with prosthetic eyes increasingly accessible, eyepatches are no longer common.

Sailors

One popular belief is that eye patches may have had a more practical purpose for sailors and pilots. According to the myth, sailors (stereotyped by the eye-patch-wearing pirate) who often went above and below deck, used eye patches to have one eye adjusted for the top deck and the other eye already adjusted for the darkness when suddenly going below deck. The strong sunlight while above deck on an oceangoing vessel could require minutes of adjustment to the dim lighting below deck. With virtually no light sources below deck, sailors would have to rely heavily upon their eyes to adjust. In the critical moments of modifying the rigging, navigating, and especially during battle, those minutes were too precious. A simple switch of the patch from one eye to the other saved time and was more convenient than being temporarily blinded when going between decks. This was deemed plausible on the January 17, 2007 episode of Mythbusters. Eye patches are also commonly used by those in some western cultures who are symbolically unclean, primarily due to an genetic or infectious disease such as leprosy or AIDS.

Pilots

Similarly, pilots at one time would also do the same, when flying at night over brightly lit cities, so that one eye could look out, and the other would be adjusted for the dim lighting of the cockpit to read unlit instruments and maps. When flashlights with red bulbs, backlit instruments, and other modern instruments came along, that no longer was necessary, just as boats and ships evolving into being well lit made eye patches a thing of the past for most boating.

Sprite Joke

In spriting, there is a small joke about characters wearing eyepatches, that being that the eyepatch will anatomically switch sides on the face if the character's sprite is flipped. For example, if there was a sprite of a pirate wearing an eyepatch facing the right, and the eyepatch was on his right eye, and then the sprite was flipped to face the left, the eyepatch would now be on the pirate's left eye. Although this can be corrected with editing, mostly (especially in sprite comics) this is ignored, and the eyepatch is claimed to be 'magic'.

Famous eyepatch-wearers

Fictional eyepatch-wearers

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