Posts Tagged ‘glasses’

« Older Entries

One for All!

Monday, July 19th, 2010

I didn’t need glasses until my early forties, when my previously perfect sight let me down and suddenly I couldn’t see to read. I could still manage if I squinted and held things at arm’s length, but obviously this became somewhat impractical as time went on and one day my poor tired arms simply became too short! The optician told me this happens to everyone but to be honest this was wasn’t much of a comfort! So I ended up gradually collecting glasses to help in different situations.

I had reading glasses, and after a nightmare meeting when I ended up with a raging headache and very tired arms when I forgot my specs, I started keeping one pair at work, one at home, and one in the car just in case! Then I started to need help for the computer, and couldn’t really see the dash board clearly either. This meant another pair of computer specs for work, one for home, and one for the car! This worked until I’d go home with the work pair in my bag etc and then end up with all of them in the wrong location! Then of course there were my sunglasses, which I wore for driving, but still couldn’t see the dashboard.

Exhausted by all of this, and fed up with my worn out glasses that got squashed in handbags and were constantly bent, I went back to talk to the optician again. I still didn’t need glasses for distance sight, but we decided that the time had come to go for varifocal specs. The advantage for me was huge – one pair of glasses that I could leave on all the time, so they wouldn’t get worn out or left anywhere. I could also have them going dark in the sunshine, so instead of seven pairs of specs scattered around my life, I had one pair that I could keep on for all situations!

This was life changing! My varifocals let me see to drive, at the computer, the dashboard, and all my close up vision. I don’t have to take them off and they’re always with me. The lens goes dark so I don’t need sunglasses, and they are clear when I’m indoors. The lenses looked expensive when I first got a quote, but of course they were less than my vast collection of specs and look an awful lot nicer!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Helpfull Info, Humourous | No Comments »

Communication Breakdown

Monday, July 12th, 2010

C

Some of the most common problems that consumers have with glasses boils down to the same cause time and time again. It’s not the product or the optician’s prescription that means people aren’t happy with their glasses – it’s their expectations against what the specs actually do. So let’s try and repair this communication breakdown …………

My new reading glasses are really good for reading the newspaper but now I can’t see the Computer – what’s gone wrong?

This often crops up when people have their second or third new reading power. We first know we need help for reading because our arms get too short! We find we have to hold things further away to see small print. Reading glasses help you to see fine detail again, at a comfortable distance. Every time it’s strengthened, small print gets closer again, but you do reach a point when your eyes change a little more and the arm’s length or computer distance isn’t clear with reading specs any more. You need a separate strength for the screen, or Varifocals, which let you see everything at any distance.

I’ve been putting my new Varifocals on and off for a month and they’re still not comfortable, I feel much better in my old glasses.

We all need time to adjust with a new prescription or type of lens, but usually it only takes a week or two. The key to getting used to new specs is actually putting them on and keeping them on – don’t switch between old and new lenses. This will make the adjustment period longer. You might feel a bit odd for a day or two, but persevere with the new lens and soon you’ll forget you’ve got them on!

I had thin lenses but you can still see them outside the edge of the frame. So what’s the point of them?!

The issue here is the patient expectation of just how ‘thin’ is thin! There is a choice of materials which reduce the lens thickness, but many different factors affect the final look of a lens. The distance between your eyes, the strength of the lens, and the frame size all have an impact on the thickness. Thinner materials reduce thickness by up to 50%, so will always be an improvement on a standard lens, but with really high lens powers we can’t promise to disguise the lens edge fully.

The way to avoid these disappointments is to ask your optician or online optician as many questions as possible before ordering, and go back to them if you’re not happy with your glasses. Sometimes we can improve what you’ve got, or suggest alternatives that will help you.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Helpfull Info | No Comments »

Slip Sliding Away

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

We’re looking forward (with our fingers crossed!) to our sunny Summer continuing after the sultry heat of June. Most of us love the sunshine, but if you’re a spex wearer, the combination of hot sun and slick sunscreen lotion can lead to months of pushing your glasses back up your nose and suffering from sore ears. So can you do anything to help?

Firstly, metal frames are more comfortable in Summer than plastic, as the nose pads sit the frame away from the skin and allow some air flow behind it. This prevents misting up and the small contact area of the nose pads on your skin means you perspire less. So put your plastics away in the hottest temperatures and if you’re thinking of investing in new glasses at the moment, look for a metal pair. A small size will help too – small lens area means less weight and less slipping.

Your glasses might need to be fitted slightly tighter over the warm months, and if you’re up to any energetic sports you could invest in an elastic sport band which will hold them in place. Specialist frames like Oakley have end tips on the side arms which actually get slightly tacky as you get hot, holding them firmly in position.

We all know that we need at least an SPF factor of 15 on our skin, and the face is especially vulnerable to sun damage. Heavy lotions might make your specs slip, so experiment with different formulae and allow them to settle before putting your specs on. In the evening, wash your glasses in warm soapy water, and dry on a soft towel or tea towel. This prevents damage to the frame from the lotion and your perspiration. Wash them as soon as possible after wear – don’t leave them overnight or a build up of damaging deposits will start to eat into the frame material.

A few sensible precautions will ensure you are more comfortable and your specs stay in place, so enjoy the sun and don’t make any slip-ups!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Form & Function

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

We’ve often said that it can be a pleasure to buy specs if you treat yourself to a lovely trendy frame and possibly splash out on a Designer name to give you confidence in yourself and the good quality of the product. Glasses must look good to make you feel happy wearing them in your everyday lives. You do however have to take heed of advice from opticians and optical assistants when you make your choice, because the frame does more than just look good on your face – it has to be the perfect blend of form and function to suit your prescription and your lifestyle needs.

It’s all very well to fall in love with a frame and be happy with the colour, shape and size, and for many patients with simple prescriptions the decision is easily made just because you like the looks of the frame. But it can get complicated if you choose a very curved or a very big frame, because the annoying rules of Physics prevent us from making up any old lens power in any size or curve!

Specs for sport or sun wear sometimes lead a client to choose a very wrap-around or very large size frame, and ask us to glaze it with their prescription lenses. This is a situation where form and function requires careful thought. The dispensing optician who helps you to make your mind up on the frame and lens combination needs to consider your prescription, the size of your face, the detailed measurements of the frame and the amount of curve. So if you can’t always have your first choice of frame there is a good reason for it! We always do our best to work with the patient to give them what they want, but sometimes the frame will simply not suit a prescription lens. Lens power gives the lens a specific curve, and this may not fit within the frame. Or the wrap of the frame may give rise to distortion at the edges, which is uncomfortable and possibly even dangerous if you’re driving or cycling in them and need to be perfectly aware of upcoming vehicles in your peripheral vision. We may need to order specialised curved lenses or source an alternative frame for you. Consideration of your requirements and careful selection will give you a form of lens that fulfils your required function perfectly.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Helpfull Info | No Comments »

The Perfect System

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

The eye is one of the most amazing organs in our bodies. Our sight is the most precious of our senses, and these small and perfect globes make sight happen by refracting light through it’s systems to help us make sense of our world. The eye is an incredibly complex and sensitive structure, all finely tuned, so it’s not surprising that tiny abnormalities result in visual defects and lead us to need help to correct our sight.

For perfect sight, light has to enter the eye and focus on the back surface. If your eyeball is too long, you’ll be short sighted. If it’s too short, you’ll be long sighted. Specs or contact lenses position the light in the right place so you can see clearly. If the curve of your cornea, the clear window at the front of the eye, is imperfect, then this will also create a problem with focussing.

Light enters the eye through the pupil, the black hole at the centre of the eye. It travels through the crystalline lens, a transparent structure that changes shape to let us see both close up and far away. Muscles hold the lens in place and stretch and relax to alter its shape and therefore its focus. If the lens is not the perfect size and shape then this will add to the visual defect of the eye. So you can see that there are several reasons why you may need glasses or contact lenses.

Once your optical system has been corrected and is working as it should, light reaches the light sensitive layer, the Retina, which lines the back of the eye. Here the image we see is upside down and in reverse! It travels to the brain through the optic nerve, where thankfully it’s put the right way round.

Ophthalmologists and opticians are lucky in that they’re the only clinicians who can examine their specialist organ without cutting their patient open! Thanks to ever advancing screening equipment and retinal imaging systems we can see inside your eyes and spot the very first signs of problems. This fantastic and beautiful system works on our behalf for every minute of our waking day, so look after it by attending your check ups and taking a few minutes to appreciate and maintain it.


Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Helpfull Info, Science | No Comments »

Need to Know

Friday, June 18th, 2010

When we first tell people that they need to wear a visual correction – glasses or contact lenses – their first reaction, and their first question, is about when they need to wear their glasses. There are a few myths surrounding this issue, so here are the facts.

Wearing glasses, or not wearing your glasses, won’t alter your sight in the long term. There are some studies to suggest that’s children’s sight can be improved with specialist lens types, but at present there’s no evidence to suggest that your correction will actually make your sight better or worse. If you don’t wear them, in the short term you’ll suffer from eye strain as you try to focus. Squinting to thread a needle or read a book will be at best uncomfortable, at worst will leave you with a nasty headache. So don’t be afraid to wear your glasses! Listen to your Optician’s advice and wear them when you need them, especially if you’re illegal to drive without them!

If you’re under the age of forty, your eyes will do the work for you in focussing close too and far away. You only need one prescription for both. For most prescriptions you’ll be perfectly fine wearing your spex all the time. If you’re short sighted, as you get near to age forty, you’ll be more comfortable taking your specs off for close work. In this case not wearing your glasses will save eye strain. If you’re long sighted you’ll start to find that you need extra magnification for close work at this point.

After age forty-ish, you need help to focus close-up, regardless of what your sight was like before this point. So if you had no prescription before this, you’ll find yourself putting specs on and off when you need to read and then look up. You could have a varifocal with no power at the top of the lens, just your close and middle distance magnification. It’s fine to wear the varifocals all through the working day if it suits your lifestyle not to have to keep taking reading specs on and off.

Trust your optician and your own common sense when it comes to the best times to wear your glasses, and the important thing is don’t suffer in trying to cope without them.

QTR8FZWNRDFR

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Think Skin

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Clients often ask us for direction when it comes to what’s hot in frame fashion. Most people don’t want to wear something that’s dull and boring, if they’re going to have to wear glasses they want something they feel good in. Colour is everywhere in specs at the moment, with plastics and metals in a stunning array of rainbow hues. The key to choosing the right colour is to pay attention to your skin tone, because a frame that goes with you will flatter your natural good looks and make people notice you, not your specs.

If you’re an English Rose, with pale skin that has cool blue undertones, then you can take a dramatic frame in strong, clear, bright colours. Blue-red, black, silver, cold purple will all make your eyes glitter and will draw attention away from fine wrinkles on your delicate skin.

If your skin is fair but warm, with a Californian sun-kissed gleam, you need honey, gold and butterscotch brown tones to add a golden glow and set your skin ablaze with Autumn colouring. Reds for you should veer more towards the orange end of the spectrum. If you want something neutral then look for a tan brown or a khaki green. These colours won’t wear you – people will focus on your eyes, not the frame.

If you have a dark or tanned complexion you can take strong colours that will stand out against your sultry skin. Black and white will be a knockout, warm orange and lime will zing and make the whites of your eyes shine out. Hot orange-toned-red and fuchsia pink will pop and look incredible on delicious dark skin.

Olive skin, which is warm in tone, can take all those subtle tones that pale skins can’t. Your red should be yellow based, but you look stunning in all tone of khaki, rich brown and darker shades of the Autumn palette. You’ve probably got dark eyes, and you’ll know you’ve found the perfect colour because gold tones in your eyes will be enhanced.

When you’re trying new frames, look at yourself in natural daylight, and girls, try them with and without make up so you can examine your skin tone. If you have a cool complexion try them when you’re wearing black or white, warm complexions should try them with cream or brown. These basic background colours will allow you to focus on the effect on your face. Are your eyes alight? Do your teeth look white? Is it highlighting shimmers in your eyes or hair? When you find the one, your whole face will come into sharp focus, and not just through your shining new lenses!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Glasses Fashion, Helpfull Info | No Comments »

Home Help

Monday, June 7th, 2010

For serious eye diseases and problems with vision, you have to turn to the professionals for help, which may be referral to your Doctor, or the prescribing of glasses. There are however some eye conditions that you can treat yourself, with a little bit of store cupboard assistance.

A stye, proper name Hordeoleum, is an irritating and painful swelling which appears along your eyelash line. They flare up due to infection of an eyelash follicle, and can be around for about a week. They’re usually due to bacteria getting into the lash follicle, and if you’re under stress or sleeping badly you can be more prone to an infection. You can deal with the stye by gently applying a hot compress up to four times a day. Press carefully until the cloth has cooled. Don’t soak it in boiling water – just have it as hot as you can stand on the skin. If you can see well enough to remove the infected lash, sterilise some tweezers and carefully remove it. Recurring styes may mean you have underlying health condition, so talk to your GP.

Blepharitis is an ongoing problem with the eyelid margins, causing the formation of flaky skin or more distressingly, crusty deposits. These can make the eyes sore and they look quite nasty too. You can use a solution of boiled water with bicarbonate of soda or baby shampoo. Gently massage the lid margins, which will remove the deposits and clear the little blocked glands which have caused the condition.

Ongoing eye health issues can be painful and distressing. To avoid infection, only use make-up within its sell by date and discard mascara and brushes if you’ve had an eye infection. Wash hands thoroughly before and after touching the eyes if you’re using contact lenses. Follow your Optician’s instructions to the letter and contact them immediately if your eyes are sore, uncomfortable, or if your vision is blurred. Don’t borrow specs, make up or drops from anyone with an infection, and use separate towels and flannels if someone in your family has an eye disease like conjunctivitis.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Helpfull Info | No Comments »

Practice Makes Perfect

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

At the InternetGlassesCompany we only employ fully qualified staff, and that includes opticians, dispensing opticians and workshop technicians. They each have a vital role to play in ordering and choosing stock, making up glasses, advising clients, and overseeing production and client orders. As well as spending time in the gleaming Lab and offices of the InternetGlassesCompany, they also work in the real world, dealing with customers face to face. Here are their thoughts on time in practice:

The Optician – I love the variety of our job, and mostly I love talking to patients too! The day can vary from zooming children up and down on my magic chair to reassuring elderly patients about their sight. Our job is part advisor, part clinician, and we try to put every person at their ease and work with them to solve their problems. My best consultation this week was fitting contact lenses to a lady who has always hated having one browny-blue eye and one hazel brown. They’re now both brown and she was over the moon!

The Dispensing Optician – My role is to match the perfect frame and lens to my customer. They want to look great and see well, and my job is to find out exactly what they need and suggest the perfect solution for them. I enjoy fitting first pairs of specs; it’s great to see people stunned by their new crystal clear vision! My best consultation in the last few days was helping a Lady to pick the right shade of frame for her Daughter’s wedding, we had the hat, the jacket and the bridesmaid’s fabric all laid out to get a frame in the right colour, and she can’t wait to come back for the new spex.

The Technician – I have to check every order and make sure that the finished glasses will live up to the expectations of the client and my demanding opticians! I don’t go ahead with an order if I think the combination is unsuitable and the client won’t be happy. I also source lenses and tints for specific purposes. My proudest achievement this week was tracking down a light-reacting lens for a chap who’s really short sighted, and never been able to have his strong prescription made into sunglasses. I never actually get to talk to the clients, but I hope he likes them.

So that’s what we all do, and both our cyber-space work and time on the practice floor are equally important to us. If you’re an online client already you know you can trust in our knowledge and expertise, we’re well practised!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Helpfull Info | No Comments »

Graduation Time

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Now the sun is out and we’re getting set for the BBQ summer, thoughts and our order books turn to the matter of tints. We start to get lots of queries and orders for prescription sunglasses to help people with driving, sport, and sunshine holidays.  So to help you make your mind up, here are some thoughts and notes on tinted lenses…

A tint is a colour which is added to your lens to cut the effects of glare. Glare on bright days can cause headaches and even crow’s feet as you screw up your eyes to help you to feel more comfortable! On its own a tint does not fully cut out UV, but if you’re in very bright conditions for long periods of time you can add a UV layer with it. Traditional methods of tinting lenses include a dye which the lens absorbs, or coloured crystals within the lens material. Tints should not wash off, but they can fade or change colour slightly over very long periods of time.

A tint can be made in any colour you want, and can be all over the lens or graduate from dark to light. You can choose any shade from dark grey to pink, and mix and match them on a lens. If a lens is dark at the top and clear at the bottom this can be useful to allow you to see down into the car, or a flattering pink tone along the bottom of a lens can warm the skin and be prettier than an all over colour. Mixed colour tints and graduated tints give a cool Seventies vibe to a frame! They have always been popular on deep shaped Aviator styles.

Tint colours are often matched to frames, but as a general rule some shades do a different job to others. Browns and pinks warm things up, grey, blue and green are more neutral for driving, or if you’re a budding landscape artist! Yellow and orange give high contrast, so they’re good for reading the green on the golf course, or shooting. If you enjoy a specific hobby, mail us for help if you think a tint will help you. We can also offer advice on what will look good with your frame.

You can vary the intensity of the tint too, but remember it is illegal to drive at night in anything but the palest tint, so always keep a clear pair of glasses with you.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Helpfull Info | No Comments »

« Older Entries