Posts Tagged ‘bifocals’

Falls Awareness

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

The National Charity Age UK is running falls awareness week during June, highlighting the connection between lower standards of vision and potentially life changing falls. Opticians and other healthcare professionals will all be getting involved in raising awareness of the importance of eye examinations and the advice and help that the elderly can access.

If you are a relative or carer of someone who may be vulnerable to falls, then do encourage them to visit their optician and discuss their lifestyle needs. As our lives move on, spec requirements change, and patients who needed varifocals for work or bifocals, may now be safer with different lenses if it improves their mobility. Using the most up to date prescription will also help, plus wearing clear rather than tinted lenses indoors.

The problem with bifocals and varifocals is that vision can be blurred through the lower portion of the lens, which could lead to trips and falls on steps and stairs. While separate specs for reading and distance is not ideal in a working environment, it may be safer for a patient who has a more sedentary lifestyle and needs reassurance while getting around the house.

You can get a copy of the prescription form your optician and help the patient to make a purchase online if extra pairs of single vision specs will make life easier. A combination of glasses in different formats should help with getting around and managing to keep going with hobbies and activities.

The fear of falls rather than the actual calamity happening can reduce confidence and trigger loss of independence. Helping patients to retain their lifestyle for as long as possible can be helped with something as simple reassuring them that their specs are up to date and they’re doing everything they can to give themselves good balance and confidence.

Varifocal Glasses

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Age Old Advice

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

If you’re at that awkward age when you’re suddenly mothering your own mother or taking on responsibility for an elderly relative, you may need some pointers as to how to help them enjoy happy twilight years with the healthiest possible sight. As with any other aspect of our lives, there are specific issues which affect the elderly when it comes to their glasses and their vision.

An eye examination is about more than the need for specs, so make sure you arrange regular check ups. Most opticians do home visits if the client is housebound. Generally the test should be every two years, or more often for Diabetics, Glaucoma sufferers, or for patients with early signs or symptoms of other eye diseases. Glasses can then be updated, and the optician needs to discuss the patient’s visual needs. For example – if they are housebound and their standard of vision is poor, then they won’t need a tint or Photochromic lenses. Clear lenses will maximise their sight and be safer in low light conditions. Or the patient may tell us they don’t need bifocals any more because they don’t read, but if they don’t have bifocals, will they see to cut their food up or take their medication? Needs may alter with age and the optician should take this into account when helping you and the patient to make a decision.

When you have the prescription you can get glasses made up anywhere, and choosing a frame and lenses online might be easier and cheaper. A spare pair is also useful, especially in residential care where specs can be mislaid. Stronger reading lenses may also be useful to maximise sight for close work, and again this may be an economical purchase over the internet.

Light is also of vital importance – a forty year old eye needs twice as much light as a twenty year old, a sixty year old three times as much. So even the most up to date glasses need good illumination to do the job. While natural light is always best, direct light from a reading lamp will help during the evening.

If sight problems go beyond help from specs, then referral to a Low Vision Aid Clinic or the Ophthalmologist for clinical procedures may be necessary. Some patients are wary of this kind of help and may be reluctant to go through with further treatments, but the end results may significantly improve their quality of life, so gentle encouragement is always worthwhile.

Glasses Online

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Out With the Old

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

As we welcome in David Cameron and wave goodbye to poor old Gordon, the country is heaving a sigh of relief that all that nonsense is sorted and we can get on with our lives. As the Tories bring change from New Labour, what else should we be moving on from?

Bifocals – anybody out there still wearing them? What are you thinking? Are you still listening to cassette tapes and using a slide rule too?! Now that so many of us use computers and live pretty dynamic lifestyles, it’s a wonder that bifocals have any place today. Switch to a varifocal – it lets you see everything without changing specs, it looks good, and you have computer distance sight too.

Glass Lenses – there are still some clients who believe that glass lenses give better sight than plastic. Optically however both materials are now just as good. Glass isn’t as safe as plastic, and is heavy. It’s useful if you work in a very dusty atmosphere and your lenses scratch really easily, but otherwise there’s no advantage to using it and it’s not really the safest option to wear bits of glass on your face!

Rimless Frames – dare we say it?! This fashion trend went out when Sven left the England squad. There are plenty of ultra lightweight groovy frames out there that mean you don’t have to resort to paying a fortune for flimsy bits of metal that hold your lenses in place. And if you got some in the hope that you’d look like you’re not wearing spex, we have some news for you – you still do!

Tiny Frames – big is beautiful again folks, and although we’re not heading back to the halcyon days of the Deirdre Barlow, the size is creeping back up. As lenses are lightweight nowadays and technology moves on, specs are still light weight even if they’re big, which is why the larger trend will be still be comfortable. So stop peering around and over the top of teeny little frames, and remember that size really does matter!

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Make it Work for Work

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Confusion arises time and time again due to the choices you have to make when you need help for reading. It’s a problem that comes to us all, as the eye ages the lens inside stops allowing you focus close too. Basically your arms get too short! As arm extensions are beyond our capabilities at present, here is the simple guide to what you need to bring life back into focus!

If you don’t have a distance prescription and you just like to sit and read:

You need simple single vision lenses. Choose a narrow frame so you can peer over the top, (on the off chance that something more interesting than the election comes onto the telly!) and have anti-scratch lenses because you’ll be taking them on and off.

If you don’t have a distance prescription, use a computer and need to read small print too:

You need Vocational lenses. These combine screen distance and near vision in one lens, allowing you to look up at the screen and check work close too. Also great for ironing and eating your dinner!!

If you have a distance prescription, and use a computer: You’ll be better off with a varifocal, which lets you see

a) Far Distance – driving, TV and generally walking around.

b) Middle Distance – Computer screen, display on a wall, across a desk.

c) Close Work – Reading, threading a needle.

These are the ultimate specs that do what your eyes used to do, allowing you to focus both far and near, without swapping specs around.

If you have a distance and a reading prescription, but don’t use a computer: You can have traditional bifocals, which are simple and correct both of your prescriptions in one lens. You wouldn’t be able to use them at the computer and some wearers find it difficult to see the dashboard clearly.

So there you go, there is a lens to suit any lifestyle, and you just need to take a few minutes to think about what would be good for you. Mail or phone us if you need advice – Vision Perfect at TheInternetGlassesCompany !

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Can You Dig It?

Monday, March 29th, 2010

So it’s officially Spring and the sun is finally shining. Time to dust off the gardening gloves and hit the greenhouse, full of vim and vigour for the new growing season. Now before you start madly plating and digging, let’s think about the perfect eyewear to help you see the woods for the tress!

There are three aspects to specs for the garden, physical safety, glare/UV protection and your prescription. So much to think about! So let’s take it easy – safety is fairly straightforward and common sense. Don’t ever garden in glass lenses, pulling up a tough weed or strimming may fling tiny particles up that could shatter your lens. So stick to plastic, with an anti-scratch layer, and wash them before polishing after use. For heavy duty work with a chain saw etc, wear protective goggles over your specs. Many Gardeners end up with nasty scratches across their specs from branches, so preferably wear an old pair rather than your best ones.

If you’re out in the Garden for hours on end, UV can be a problem even on overcast days. Just wearing clear specs gives some protection, but consider investing in a UV coat if your life is spent outdoors. UV can trigger Cataract formation and Age Related Macular Degeneration. If glare bothers you, have a photochromic lens, which change to adapt to the light conditions, useful if you’re out dawn until dusk. If you’re strictly a fair weather gardener then a dark tint may be better, and useful if you snooze off for a well earned siesta!

Prescriptions become difficult once you need help for reading. Bifocals are annoying, as without the middle distance area pruning and separating tiny seedlings is difficult. You also don’t want to mow over your toes! Varifocals are probably the best option, as they allow you to see delicate detail and admire the view. So sort out your eyewear and pray for that Barbeque weather this year!

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As Young as you Feel

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

We all know that our bodies throw us a few curve balls as get older…..aches and pains, grey hairs, senior moments….and of course Presbyopia! Much to the excitement of Opticians everywhere, we can finally sell even the most eagle eyed amongst you some specs. Presbyopia occurs as the lens inside the eye stiffens over time and makes it increasingly difficult to see fine detail and small print.

In years gone by, we all joked with patients that Presbyopia is a sign of getting old, a sure indicator of middle age. Things in 2010 are however a little different. What does a fifty year old look like today? How many of us succumb to elasticated waistbands, comfy slippers and letting our wrinkles run free? Nowadays Botox is as common as mascara, and none of us are willing to admit to middle age, even at the age of forty, fifty and beyond. Would you want to tell George Clooney, Shah Rukh Khan or Brad Pitt that they’re old?!

So if these guys are still hot property, then potentially so is every other forty plus Presbyope, who just happens to need a little help for close work. Some suggestions to help stave off the Botox and choose the easy option to look younger:

1.Never go for Bifocals! The visible line is a dead giveaway, and the next step will be the Zimmer frame!

2.Avoid the dreaded half moon reading specs, you’ll look like an aged Headmaster. If you do need to look over your glasses pick a shallow little trendy frame and only peer over the top if no one else is watching.

3.Try varifocals – there’s no line, they’ll fit in the trendiest of tiny frames, and you can see the computer, small print and far distance without anyone guessing your age.

4.Talk to your Optician about varifocal contact lenses, for permanent or part time wear.

As we all live longer and healthier lives, Presbyopia will be a nuisance that we live with for many years. Don’t pick an ageing solution that makes you feel bad about it!

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At Arms Length!

Monday, December 14th, 2009

We’ve written lots of times about that awkward age when your arms get too short, but still gets lots of enquiries about specific problems with your home or work situations. Here’s a quick re-cap and some of the answers to those questions.

At some point around your forties you become Presbyopic, which means you need help for small print and other fine detail. It can happen in your late thirties or early fifties, but it will happen to everyone, and we all have different dilemmas within our lifestyles that will now need addressing. To see detail you can hold things further away, and although this works for a while it gets more and more difficult. There are several lens options at this point – single vision for reading, bifocals, varifocals, and vocational lenses. Here are some of the suggested uses for them:

I’ve just been told I need help for reading, and the optician suggested bifocals. I didn’t like the line across them – what else is there? I’m short sighted for far away and now have a reading prescription too.

Bifocals are a simple lens with a visible area inset into the lens for close work, and distance vision all over the top. The line can be seen as aging, and there is sometimes a jump between the two areas. There is also no provision for middle distance, which is computer screen distance. We phoned the client and discovered that they use a computer all day long. Our suggestion was varifocals, which give you distance, middle, and close work, all blended together in one lens, with no line.

I love my varifocals for every day, but my monitor is in a fixed place at work and lifting my head to see it through my glasses makes my neck ache. What else could I have?

The ideal, as you obviously know, is to move the screen, but if this is difficult you could get vocational lenses. These are a simple type of varifocal, with just middle distance and close work blended in the lens. The middle distance portion is higher up, so you’ll see the screen without hurting your neck. If you don’t need the close work area, and you just look at the screen, you could have a single vision lens with the middle distance prescription in it.

I want to order a computer distance lens, on my prescription it just says distance and reading – what do I do to find the other strength?

When the optician tests you they just calculate your power for far and near. The middle distance or intermediate power can be calculated from this. We just need your age, and preferably how far away your VDU screen is. We can then work out what you need for the computer.

Mail us any time if you need help with your order or have a query, a qualified optician will speak to you and give you all the advice you need.

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Dining Dilemma

Friday, November 20th, 2009

An interesting query came up last week, from a client concerned about his mother. She had moved to a residential home, and was not managing to eat very much at meal times. She seemed happy in the home, and had settled well, and it took them several visits to get to the bottom of the eating issue. It turned out that the lady had enjoyed her meals on a tray before she moved, in the home she sat at the dining table. In her bifocals, she looked down at her tray through the top of the lens, sitting up very straight, and could clearly see to deal with her dinner. In the home, due to the new eating distance, she couldn’t manage her cutlery, and was worried that she would make a mess in front of her new friends.

The son was a previous customer of ours, so he mailed us for advice. We took a look at the copy of the prescription, and discussed the options. We could have made up a pair of single power specs, with a weak reading prescription. This would have given her good sight at the correct distance, but she wouldn’t have been able to see people across the table, to make conversation. In the end we decided on varifocals. These gave her distance vision – to see across the room, and for TV. The centre area was ok for seeing things on the table, and the transition between reading and centre was perfect for tackling her dinner. She also felt safer going down the steps into the garden, rather than her old bifocals.

This is a classic example of lifestyle specs – most problems can be solved given some good detective work and professional advice. While the old bifocals had suited in her own home – with no steps anywhere and the choice of how she ate, they didn’t work in her new environment. Varifocals give the wearer the nearest thing to natural vision, and for most situations you can forget you’ve got them on and concentrate on the task at hand. They’re great for things at table top distance, and apparently she’s now a whiz at Poker too!

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The Facts about Presbyopia

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

We’re all aware of visible signs of ageing – a sprinkling of grey hair, a few lines that show we enjoy life and laughing. There is however one sign of time passing that many of us do not understand. We’re talking about the visual problem Presbyopia, an unavoidable change in your sight that occurs after the age of forty. Let’s give you some facts, explanation and options to help you to deal with it.

Presbyopia usually becomes noticeable around the age of forty, although some people don’t have a problem until their early fifties. You’ll notice:

  • Having to hold things further away to see them – handwritten items, sewing, newspapers.
  • Finding it hard to read in poor light conditions, such as a restaurant menu at night.
  • Headaches or tired eyes after reading for long periods.
  • Difficulty seeing small detail or print.

Presbyopia occurs due to ageing of the lens inside your eye. From birth onwards this lens changes shape to let you focus at any distance. As time goes on flexibility decreases and the lens does not allow you to see close too any more. You’ll now need a prescription lens for reading and fine detail. It happens to everyone in time, and while you can’t prevent it, you can make wise choices to make life easier. So what are your options?

If you don’t have a distance prescription then reading glasses are a simple and cheap solution. They give a wide field of view, and you just pop them on when you need them. If you have a complicated prescription an Optician will make them, or you may be able to buy ready made glasses. If you decide on ready readers, get the correct power – ask your Optician what you need.

If you want to do more than one thing at once, such as read and look at TV, then you’ll need glasses that let you see both far and near. Varifocal lenses have three powers within the lens – distance, middle distance and reading. This restores your natural vision, letting you focus on everything with a smooth transition between all areas of the lens. They look just like single vision lenses – no one will guess your age!

Bifocals just have a reading and distance prescription. They can cause problems because they don’t have the middle distance section, so cannot be used at the computer, and you can’t see the dashboard when driving. The reading segment is also visible to people looking at you.

There are contact lens options too. Multifocal contact lenses give the same effect as Varifocal specs. Or you can wear distance contacts with reading specs over the top. The other option is called monovision, a compromise where you wear a lens in one eye that corrects your distance vision, and a reading lens in the other. Sounds odd but your brain does the job for you! It works well for suitable patients.

We hope that we’ve given you some useful information about Presbyopia, to help you make the right eyewear choices when the time comes. Think about what you do on a daily basis, and make a decision based on your lifestyle.

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Time for Some Good News!

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Now we all know that fifty is the new forty, but try telling that to your eyeballs! The Botox can keep those wrinkles at bay, a dash of (because you’re worth it!) dye can disguise those pesky greys, but before you know it you’re perching a pair of bifocals on your nose and wishing your arms were a bit longer! You’re not alone though, so read on for the good news…….

As your knees get a bit stiffer, so does the lens inside your eye. It looses the ability to change shape and focus close too. So you end up squinting at menus in dimly lit restaurants, giving up on threading needles, and claiming that the print in phone books is getting smaller. Nightmare! You’re turning into your Mother!

The good news I promised you:
You needn’t worry about your wrinkles anymore because you won’t be able to see them.
You don’t need to waste time plucking your eyebrows because you can’t see those either!
You have a perfect excuse never to sew a button on ever again.
If the news is too depressing – Swine flu, Gordon Brown, the Credit Crunch, expensive identity cards etc – no problem, newsprint is too small to read.

There’s also the shopping opportunity. Feel free to spend madly on delicious Diors, or gorgeous Guccis, with prescription reading lenses or varifocals. Not an exercise in vanity, more a medical appliance with a fashion twist. You’ll be able to catch up on the news when it gets better, and at least you’ll be able to read the Government leaflet on how not to spread viruses.

You might need several pairs, to keep by the phone, the computer etc. Log onto the online optician and do it the cheap and painless way. More painless than Botox anyway!

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