TOT Collar Review

I am the type of person who wants to feel like I have exhausted EVERY avenue possible to fix a problem.  So when I heard about the TOT collar on a torticollis forum, I immediately started researching it.  Basically the TOT collar is a device to help correct torticollis.  It is is made out of soft tubing that goes around the child's neck.  The TOT collar has two vertical nylon tubes positioned on the torticollis side that discourage the child from tilting his head to that particular side.  Please note that it is very important to always be supervising your child when he/she is wearing the TOT collar.  It also should not be used while sleeping or riding in a car seat.  As far as the reviews I read about the TOT collar, they were mixed.  Some parents liked it and thought it helped, while others said it did not help as much.  But for the price, I thought it was worth it if there was a possibility of it helping our daughter.

In this picture, the TOT collar was working quite well for her.

I ordered it online from the company's website and eagerly awaited its arrival.  It can also be ordered from Amazon, as well.  You can shop around to see what pricing and shipping time frames meet your needs.  If I was more patient, there was a good chance that I could have had the TOT collar covered under our medical insurance policy.  I would have likely needed a doctor's prescription sent to an in-network durable medical equipment company.  However, I was not willing to wait around for that process to go through and I wanted the TOT collar as soon as possible. 

Anyways, Ryan and I probably did not pick the best time to try it on Kellyn.  It was late in the evening and she was hungry and tired.  As we tried to properly fit it, she cried and vehemently resisted our efforts.  We decided to call it quits for the night.  I decided to take the TOT collar with me to her next physical therapy appointment.  I figured the physical therapist could help us put it on her for the first time.

Once we got it fit properly, it took me a few days to form an opinion about it.  First of all, I did find it tricky to get on my daughter.  However, I think a big part of the challenge was attributed to the fact that she has a short neck and big cheeks that obstructed my view of her neck.  As far as effectiveness goes, it sometimes does a decent job of preventing her head from tilting.  However, at other times, I noticed that she was still able to tilt her head despite the collar being on. 

View of TOT collar from the front. 

The TOT collar shifts and moves around pretty easily, so I found myself constantly readjusting it on her.  Kellyn did not appreciate these frequent adjustments and she would certainly let me know that.  In addition, it created some slight, temporary irritation on her skin.  In the product's instructions, it suggested putting stockinette over top of the collar to limit the irritation.  I think this would definitely help.

Overall, this product did not work too well for our daughter.  Although it occasionally prevented her from tilting, the TOT collar shifted so easily and frequently that it quickly lost its ability to prevent the head tilt from occurring.  

Just out of curiosity, I tried the TOT collar on my two year old son Luke.  Don't worry, this product is designed for babies from four months to ten-years-old, so he definitely fit within the age range of use.  It actually fit a lot better on him.  He wore it around for about a half hour.  He tolerated it much better than Kellyn did.  If Luke had torticollis, I think this product may have been able to help him not tilt as much.  My guess is that the TOT collar would be more effective for older babies, toddlers, and older children who have torticollis.

If Kellyn had a longer neck or if she was a bit older, I believe the TOT collar would have worked out a lot better for her.  I plan to try this product again with my daughter when she is a little older to see if it will work better at that point.  In my opinion, I think it is worthwhile to take a chance and spring the money if there is a possibility of it working for your child, especially if you have an older baby or toddler.  The fact that some parents reported positive experiences with the TOT collar suggests that it can be effective in treating some children's torticollis.  If you are interested in purchasing a TOT collar, you can do so through Amazon or you can purchased directly from the TOT collar company's website. In addition, you can call your health insurance company to see if the TOT collar is covered under your policy.

*** Update: So we tried the TOT collar again when Kellyn turned 10.5 months and we've had much better success.  I think her neck lengthening and thinning out (as well as her getting older) made a big difference in the TOT collar's effectiveness.  Here's my updated video review of the TOT collar on the My Torticollis Baby YouTube channel.  For this updated review, Totcollar.com was kind enough to send me this second TOT collar shown in this video at a discounted price. ***

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