Archive for February, 2010

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A Whole New World

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

As a spectacle wearer for more years than I can remember, I’m used to visiting the optician and hearing unwelcome news – glasses need to be stronger, you can’t wear contact lenses anymore, you have a cataract forming……

The last piece of news was a real shock, although I had noticed for some time that my sight was deteriorating, even with my glasses on. In bright sun the light was scattered all over the place, and the world was growing slightly dimmer. The optician had mentioned ‘some changes’ last test and then this time he said my left eye had altered quite dramatically.

Cataract apparently occurs because the lens inside the eye becomes cloudy, and the treatment is then to remove the lens and replace it with an artificial implant. I feel pretty lucky because I remember my Dad having to wear really thick and magnifying lenses after surgery. I went in as a day case, I had local anaesthetic, and the procedure was done and dusted with less trauma than having a tooth out! I had to have eye drops which I coped with ok, and then the much awaited check up with the optician to see how my vision is.

He was really pleased with the sight in that eye, and the good news is that when I have the other eye operated on in the next few months, I may not even need glasses anymore! I’ll probably want them for close work, but the daily routine of putting my specs on even before opening my eyes will be gone for good. Every cloud has a silver lining, and my surgery was one of the best things that’s happened to me!

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Night Driving Nightmare!

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Of all of the stresses and strains of modern life, one activity that worries many of our clients is driving at night. As the baby boomers grow older they are still leading busy, active lives, and none of us want to give up the way of life we are used to. So why does night driving pose a problem, and what can we do about it?

Night driving is an issue due to the optical effects of the windows and mirrors that surround us as we drive, and then if you have a visual defect you are adding to the problem of dazzle and reflection. Wearing glasses creates an ‘edge’ to your clear vision, and the added refraction as light hits the front and back surface of the spectacle lens creates extra interference that confuses and obstructs a clear view of the road and oncoming traffic.

Patients with eye diseases such as Glaucoma may also suffer from haloes round lights, which adds to the sense of confusion and discomfort. Contact lens wearers and patients who have had laser surgery may also be aware of haloes, which make it difficult to judge the distance of lights and therefore oncoming vehicles.

So what can you do for safer night driving? Firstly, even if you have a really low power prescription, make sure your glasses are up to date and always wear them at night. Make sure they are properly adjusted and carry a spare pair in the car. Contact lens patients may need to switch lens type to reduce the halo effect. The smallest scratch on a spectacle lens that does not bother you in daylight may seriously hamper your sight at night if it’s in your line of vision.

Never wear any sort of tint at night, and think about adding an anti-reflection coating to your glasses. This allows all of the light through and ensures maximum clarity. It does not add colour to the lens but will cut glare. You’re looking after the lives of yourself and your passengers if you take a little time to ensure you are doing all you can to drive safely after dark.

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Spectator Sport

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

The science of sport vision could be crucial in future years to hone the skills of our athletes and give them a competitive edge. Sports vision is a subject that many opticians specialise in, offering simple visual exercise that can train patient’s eyes to aid co-ordination and improve their game.

Within the scope of this area of study opticians look at whether people are right or left handed, which can tell us which is their dominant eye, and which sport the subject will excel at. Advice is also provided on tints and prescriptions to help with sport, as well as protective eye wear. As we gear ourselves up for London 2012 anything which gives our competitors the edge will obviously be of utmost importance.

Studies connecting sport and vision have already thrown up some interesting facts. Firstly, it has been proven that children are less likely to become short sighted if they take part in outdoor activities like football. The constant eye movement between far and near, and visually tracking the ball appears to stimulate the eye and more active children are less likely to be myopic in later life.

Recent research has shown that stress can affect performance in situations such as taking a penalty on the football pitch. During the tense moments before the kick, players focus more intently on the goal keeper. Due to this close coordination between holding the gaze and controlling the body, the ball is more likely to be kicked towards the goalie, making the save more likely. Going back to our hunter ancestry, during stressful moments we are more alert to distractions and possible danger, so we watch the goalie. This gets in the way of aiming inside the goal posts.

So the science bit may actually help us pick up a few more medals by the time the Olympics come round, if we listen to our opticians as well as our coaches!

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Celeb Watch February 2010

Friday, February 12th, 2010

An exhausting week darling Celeb watchers, as we gear up for new season fashion hitting the shops, and watch with bated breath as Brad and Angelina fall apart at the seams. Good news for Jen? Every cloud…..and Brad might finally ditch that dreadful beard if he has to get back out there on the dating scene. He might also ditch those vintage Porsche design sunnies and get with it in time to find a new Valentine – look no further Brad, we’re here if you need us, and we have a few hot fashion trends to suggest to you…….

Catherine Zeta-Jones – not often mentioned here at Celeb watch as she seems to like dressing to match her husband’s advanced age, but deliciously on trend this week with her fab pins out on show and a cool and chic black aviator.

Jennifer Lopez – picking up a hot look for summer, huge round plastics, adorably accessorised with her twins. The high rimmed frame is flattering and tres chic on oval faces, and it’s subtly retro. If it was good enough for Jackie O, it’s good enough for J-Lo.

Jenifer Lopez in huge round plastic glasses

Jenifer Lopez in huge round plastic glasses

Beyonce – The Wayfarer trend never goes away, but Beyonce brings it bang up to date this week, wearing the shape in a huge size, with the totally flat top it totally flatters her heavy fringe that sits perfectly on the top of the frame.

Meanwhile, loosing the plot, fashion blogger Tavi the precocious little darling, what was she thinking? Grey hair and old lady specs may be different, but different certainly ain’t always good. As Brad found out when he ditched the Californian blonde for the sultry brunette with the vial of blood as an accessory……

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Health Screening News

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Alzheimer’s has been in the forefront of the news this week, as experts discuss the extent of the disease, and call for more research. Sir Terry Pratchett, himself a sufferer, has also been out and about, bringing this issue to the public attention with the euthanasia debate.

So how does this relate to eye care? Anyone who has had an eye examination will know that the optician does not just check their sight and help them decide if they need glasses or contact lenses. The optician can also diagnose and monitor the progress of many diseases, including MS, Diabetes and High Blood pressure. The optician will refer you to your GP if they have concerns about eye health as well as general health. This may be taken a step further in future as a test for detection of Alzheimer’s may be available from your optician within the next few years.

The test looks at dying brain cells which are visible in the retina, and can therefore be detected on retinal scans. Fluorescent markers are introduced into the eye, which then attach to the dying cells. This should allow us to spot early signs of the disease before symptoms appear. As medical science moves on and treatments are developed for Alzheimer’s and similar diseases early detection could be vital in halting progress of these conditions.

This test has only been conducted on mice so far, but clinical human trials will begin this year. It will be cheaper than present testing methods, and is non-invasive, causing less distress to patients. As our population ages the fight to cure age-related diseases will become more important, as we aim for good health in our longer life span. Your optician may be the place to visit for even more types of testing as time goes on, and we learn to recognise signs of disease by new methods. If the research progresses as expected then we may be booking you in for more than an eye teat within the next five years….

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Electro Spex

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Over the years glasses have managed to perform a number of functions that the average spec wearer may be surprised about. If even 3D sounds a bit space age, then prepare to be surprised at the thrilling James Bond type gadgets that your glasses could incorporate….

You may already know that you can have specs that treat your ailing ears as well as eyes. These nifty little gadgets have fashionably chunky sides that house a hearing aid. This only treats certain types of hearing loss, and has caused heart failure for many an optician, attempting to make adjustments on a very expensive and fragile piece of equipment!

Your frames can also help with a couple of medical conditions. Ptosis causes eyelids to droop down, and holding your lids up all day so you can see becomes tiresome and pretty inconvenient. Ptosis props are slim metal wires that attach to the frame and hook under the lids to hold them in place. This can be life changing for the patient. They can also hold facial prosthesis, for patients who have had tissue removed due to cancer, or injury. The prosthesis is attached to the specs or built around them to give support.

For the gadget lovers amongst you Oakley created a range of sunglasses with an MP3 player built into the side of the specs, perfect for cyclists and runners who can have music as they exercise without the bother of carrying their MP3. They also developed a Bluetooth attachment on their sunnies as an earpiece for your mobile phone – very Mission Impossible!

This year we move on a stage further, with the first electronic version of a varifocal lens. The lens blends optics with gadgetry – a sure fire winner with all the boys around the office! The electrics allow the wearer to focus at any distance in an instance, with a cunning blend of electrics, chemistry and the magic of optics. The theory is that they will give the wearer a wider field of view than in any varifocal, with less distortion.

So nothing ever stays still, and 2010 looks to be an exciting year for new advances. Now we just need some specs that move so you can’t sit on them, lenses that never scratch, contact lenses that shout at you if you put them in the wrong eye…..

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Girls will be Boys!

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

In these days of eye wear fashion androgyny, the line between what men and women can wear is frequently blurred. Once upon a time all women wore a cat’s eye shaped plastic with cute little diamantes in the corner, while their men folk wore chunky plastics, dark brown or black at the top, clear underneath. With specs as with general fashion, we can now pick from a vast choice of glasses as unisex has never been more in vogue.

The trend probably started when girls pinched the geek look from men, and started wearing dark square plastics. Then boys got in on the act by trying out smaller metals in matt colours, and both of these styles crossed the line in giving a funky look to both sexes. Bold shapes and thick rims are now seen in collections for everyone, and interestingly we now categorise more and more frames as unisex.

Women’s constant struggle to smash through the glass ceiling may also have a bearing on the eye wear they choose for the workplace. A sombre frame that dispenses with frivolous detail may give them a serious edge in the office environment. If we can do power dressing we can do power specs too!

Manufacturers have helped with this trend by releasing models in a mix of colours. This means that one style can fit all but in subtly different shades. Black, Gunmetal, gold, silver and brown suit everybody, while girls may opt for the feminine colorway with a hint of berry or red.

The trend for rimless gave even more choice, as a simple change of colour or slight alteration to shape meant that nearly all rimless would suit everybody.  This may be why bling and decoration came to the forefront recently, as consumers looked for individual styles that made a personal statement. Girls suddenly wanted much more feminine styles, while boys searched for chunky, masculine and macho frames. The good news is that we have more choice, and more chances to find the perfect pair of specs that we can fall in love with and enjoy wearing!

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A New Dimension

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Now that we’re through with the Noughties new Millennium technology is really taking off. Not the least of the flood of new ideas and products on the market is the trend for 3D, with all-action-full-on movies breaking box office records. Toy Story 3D will be out this year, as will Shrek and the re-mastered Star Wars, and of course there’s Avatar, a record breaking film that owes 80% of it’s takings to 3D viewing.

So how does it work? Well as you’re probably aware you see two slightly different images when you look at the 3D movie, and our clever old brains fuse the two pictures together. The brain interprets the difference, along with clues like colour and light and dark areas, and sees the image as 3D. Even when you watch normal 2D you know that smaller objects in the background are really normal size but further away and sub-conscious knowledge like this tricks us into thinking and seeing 3D.

But what if you only have sight in one eye? You won’t see two images, but the visual clues as I described above will give you a little of the 3D experience. If you suffer from double vision, even with corrective specs you are constantly struggling to maintain only one image in real life. When faced with 3D you may not manage to fuse the images, and will only see in 2D. You may also get headaches and eye strain while watching the movie.

The magic specs that you wear to view the movie can work in one of two ways. They may have two differently coloured lenses, in the form of filters, or polarised lenses. Either format works in the same way, to send two slightly different pictures to your brain. This is how we see anyway, receiving a slightly different view from our two eyes. Our brains are therefore working in this way in our daily lives, picking up depth clues and analysing light and colour to tell us how far away things are.

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Get your Groove On!

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Making your glasses for you is not as simple as just popping slivers of plastic into your frame and sending it off to you. The perfect pair of glasses blends our expertise with your needs to give you specs which are comfortable, visually correct, and look great too. For the majority of powers putting your glasses together is very straightforward, but if you have a more complicated prescription then some combinations of lens and frame may cause difficulties. Let’s take a look at how they are constructed and what this may mean to you

The vast majority of frames have a rim which tightly holds the lens in place as the lens sits within a groove in the frame rim. With plastic frames we heat the frame which then expands so the lens can be snapped into place. It then shrinks back as it cools to keep the lens in place. Metal frames come apart with a tiny joint at the edge, and we then screw it back up to make it secure. If you are very short sighted then plastic frames may conceal your lenses more than a thin metal rim, and will give the lens edges some protection.

Semi-rimless frames have a nylon cord which sits in a groove around the lens edge. This makes the frame light and flexible, but if you are very long sighted and your lens edges are thin then they may chip easily. If you were to put pressure on the frame – sit on it for example! A lens may pop out, but will easily fit back in. If you’re very short sighted then your thick lens edges may be very visible as there is no frame to disguise it.

Playboy 5006 Semi Rimless from The Internet Glasses Company

Playboy 5006 Semi Rimless from The Internet Glasses Company

Rimless mounts hold lenses in place without them fitting into a rim, but we have to drill through the lenses and then hold them in place with screws or glued bolts. This makes the specs light but very vulnerable to damage, and they are not suitable for high powers whether you are long or short sighted.

If your prescription is strong them you may need to confirm your choice with your optician – we will always advise you if we feel your frame choice does not match your lens power.

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