Archive for September, 2011

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Like Mother like Daughter……

Friday, September 9th, 2011

The day I’ve dreaded for over five years came yesterday, when I took my beloved princess of a daughter for an eye exam, and re-lived my childhood nightmares on hearing those horrendous words………”I’d like prescribe some glasses for Phoebe…..” and a vision of myself at the same age came back to me, sobbing as I was fitted with pink plastic NHS frames. But then I pulled myself together and realised how much things have changed in the thirty-something years since……

I hated my specs with a passion all through my childhood, artfully managing to lose them, break them, and hide them for quite a few years until my Mum caved in and let me have some contact lenses. These were much treasured and I wore them until my twenties, when an eye infection led me back to glasses. By then I could afford a rather fab Giorgio Armani frame, and after that all disposable income was directed towards a designer eye wear wardrobe. I became known as the girl with the groovy glasses, and even thought financial constraints have led me to be a little more careful in recent years, I’ll still economise on some areas of my budget to be able to afford good specs. I find I don’t need much jewellery, or scarves etc, as my brightly coloured frames do all the work for me. Friends always comment on new pairs, and it’s always the starting point of wedding outfits, or new suits for work, as I plan new clothes around favourite specs, and actually now, I’d hate to be without them!

So how did Phoebe get on? Well, I managed to put a brave face on it, helping her to pick some sparkly pink frames, and I thought how adorable she looked. She absolutely loved them of course, and can’t wait to go back to collect them. I’ll encourage her to wear them, probably spend as much on her specs as I do on mine, and hope that she continues her excitement over them. If she wants to abandon them for contact lenses in years to come I bet I really will be devastated!

Varifocal Glasses

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Which Opticians?

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

Optics has changed dramatically over the past thirty years, as we’ve seen our industry blossom from an era of dusty, gloomy consulting rooms to gleaming, shop fronted practices with a glittering array of exciting stock. Ancient eye test techniques have given way to state of the art screening equipment and early diagnosis and treatment of eye disease. One thing that we thought hadn’t changed is that we still see ourselves as a customer service industry, looking after patients and taking care of their eye health and specs, contact lenses and accessories. So it was a shock to read a recent Which report, and note that mystery shoppers going for eye examinations were disappointed with the service given, and worryingly, that some eye conditions were not fully investigated.

So who do you trust with your precious sight, and who will give you the help you need? Generally speaking, an Independent practice will offer more continuity of care, as they are more likely to keep the same staff for longer periods, and you’re more likely to see the same optician each visit. Word of mouth is the best way to find someone who has looked after your friends well, so don’t pick a random name from Google!

All opticians are legally obliged to give you the same basic eye exam, but extras like retinal imaging, 3D retinal scanning and low vision advice are again more likely to be found at Independent opticians, so check this out with any practice you intend to visit for full eye health screening. All opticians must give you a copy of your prescription, and you can then order your glasses from any other High Street outlet, or indeed a well trusted internet optician like the Internet Glasses Company! We can offer you the best of both worlds in that we are fully trained professionals, able to offer lower prices due to our reduced overheads.

So when you find that perfect optician, who listens to you, takes full care of your sight, eye health and life style needs, tell all your friends about them, and the excellent service they offer. Just don’t forget to tell them about the Internet Glasses Company too!

Varifocal Glasse

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Paris in the Autumn

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

The optical press is awash with excitement and speculation about the great event of our post-summer calendar, the Paris exhibition that takes place every Autumn, allowing us the first glimpse of new looks for the upcoming year. All aspects of our industry showcase their new products there, but of course you don’t want to know about new geeky optician’s equipment of new lenses, you want to know about the previews of new fashions for 2012…..

Pre-show, and pre our aching feet and dehydration headaches, we pore over the first glimpses of what’s in store for us, to help us decide what stock to choose for you, our lucky customers. From this first sight of the new ranges we try to spot the trends which will work, for the man or woman in the street, and what will suit our eclectic, funky, streetwise British style.

Colours are still layered, with mixes of plastics that give you individual looks and plenty of choice for co-ordinating with your wardrobe. As we creep towards winter we’re currently fixated on darker shades, and luckily there’s plenty of black, tortoise and burgundy to keep us happy. Decoration for women’s frames is a little more chunky, with bold inlaid stones and even a Pandora charm inspired decoration on one new collection! For men it’s about geometric inscribed patterns, and in tune with vintage looks, more antique colour finishes.

Retro is still big, with cat’s eye shapes, seventies inspired aviators and the soon-to-be-seen everywhere tiny round eye. There are some interesting rimless for the first time in ages, with sides that are thin in profile but chunky against the face. Sides have all the detail here, with contrasting textures and patterns.

So it’s Paris here we come, and we’ll be interested to see if our predictions for the upcoming season are correct – watch this space after September!

Varifocal Glasses

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Driving Through the Ages

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

We’re lucky to live in a time when we can all hope to enjoy a longer life span and we would all like as many healthy, productive years as possible. For most people driving is a vital tool in maintaining independence and contributes hugely to quality of life. But as we age there are several changes that can occur in formerly healthy eyes, which could have an impact on safe driving. So for you or an elderly person near to you, let’s just make sure we’re aware of what to look out for…..

Our standard of good vision can decrease with age, and if changes are gradual then it takes the patient a while to notice potential problems. Regular eye examinations are vital to ensure that all is well. The normal process of ageing can lead to drivers not seeing road signs clearly, not recognising hazards, or being able to judge speeds and distance.

How well we can see around us – our peripheral vision can also have a huge impact on our safety. Problems with mobility of the neck and shoulders and eye disease such as Glaucoma can lead to poor judgement when pulling out of junctions, less awareness of cyclists, and is generally considered to be one of the biggest potential problems for older drivers. Again, regular eye exams will spot the earliest signs of visual field loss.

Eye conditions such as cataract, and general health problems such as Parkinson’s disease can lead to problems with contrast sensitivity – this affects our colour perception and depth perception. During day and night driving sufferers may also be less able to see hazards, signage and pedestrians.

Eye health problems related to age such as cataract and macular degeneration can leave patients with clear vision in one eye only, leading to narrower peripheral vision and poor depth perception in some cases. This may not be a huge problem if patients are aware that they need to turn their heads more and their general health and mobility are good.

The key as always is vigilance to potential health problems, and regular assessment for signs that GPS or opticians may spot that the patient has not noticed yet. Then we can all enjoy safer roads and many years of happy motoring!

Varifocal Glasses

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