Posts Tagged ‘lazy eye’

Look me in the Eye…..

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

With growing awareness of body language and eye contact, nowadays we’re more conscious than ever of the importance of how we come across to others. The pressure is increased even further if you suffer from an eye condition that affects the way you look, especially when it comes to the super sensitive issue of your eyes.

One of the most common problems patients suffer from is lazy eye, or  as people often call it. One eye wanders and does not focus as with as normal eye. This can make it difficult for other people to tell where you are looking. It can be successfully operated on, so do bring it up with your optician, it may be possible for you to be referred to the hospital eye service for assessment.

Cosmetic problems with the coloured part of the eye, the Iris, are more unusual. We have patients with different coloured eyes, or with a segment of the Iris missing. This can be treated with coloured contact lenses, which we can use to match the different colours, or to disguise a gap in the Iris. This can produce excellent results without resorting to surgery.

Ptosis is a term which covers drooping lids due to muscle defects. The muscles which control the eyelids are a complex mechanism and any difficulties with the system can impair vision if the lids droop down across the eye. Surgery can help in some cases, or you can have a slim metal prop attached to your specs which lifts the faulty lid.

Any of these issues may also be helped when it comes to changing your specs – small and fashionable frames, possibly with a light tint will give your more confidence and a small measure of camouflage. It’s never to late to look into solutions for these problems, and new techniques may give you options now that weren’t possible a few

Cool for Kids!

Monday, December 7th, 2009

A worrying statistic was thrown up in a recent survey by Boots. They discovered that 35% of parents do not take their children for recommended yearly check ups. This is especially a problem as the incidence of myopia is increasing in children.

80% of childrens learning is processed visually, so if your child’s sight is poor then this may affect how well they do at school, and hinder their progress. Everyday play will also be more difficult. Visual defects like amblyopia or lazy eye can affect sight for life if not picked up before the age of seven, so regular checks are vital for eye health.

Boots research found that 29% of children age 5 – 11 are spec wearers, a figure that has been rising over the past twenty years. It has been documented that playing outdoors, and therefore making the eyes focus from near to far decreases the likelihood of myopia. Prying your children away from the Nintendo and encouraging them to play outside is clearly important!

The NHS pays for tests for children under the age of 16, and under 19 in full time education. They also pay towards lenses and frames, check with your opticians for their standard practice. Signs of poor vision to watch for in your children are squinting, blinking excessively, sitting very close to the TV or holding books close, bumping into things and general clumsiness. Their school work may also suffer.

The good news however is that thanks to Celebrity endorsement specs are now seen as cool, and the threat of bullying glasses wearers is now a thing of the past. Boots claim that 62% of children think that spex are cool! Just as we’ve known all along!