Posts Tagged ‘Optician’

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Diabetic Danger

Monday, April 12th, 2010

We are all aware that the so called ‘obesity epidemic’ is a growing cause of concern  to our future health. One of the problems associated with this is the rise in Diabetes, a complex disease that causes a wide array of symptoms and potential problems for sufferers. As Opticians we spend a great deal of time with Diabetic patients, as the effect on sight can be devastating.

Diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of blindness, and the condition must be carefully monitored and quickly treated to save a patient’s sight. Uncontrolled Diabetes causes blood vessels to grow and leak into the retina, destroying this vital layer of cells and leading to loss of sight. Research is currently involved in better retinal screening, improved treatment uptake, and new treatments. If the early signs of retinopathy are treated quickly by laser surgery sight can be saved.

At present we know that tight control of sugar levels in the first few years of diagnosis can affect development of Diabetic retinopathy in the future. Controlling blood pressure and cholesterol lower blood sugars, and therefore help to reduce symptoms. Patients taking Statins to control their cholesterol have a lower incidence of Diabetic Retinopathy, so it’s interesting that all the symptoms and good management are interlinked in combating the disease. As Diabetic Retinopathy is also connected to memory impairment and reduced brain function it really does make sense to take a holistic approach to managing Diabetes and controlling sugar levels.

Yearly eye exams are free to diabetic patients, so take advantage of this and make sure you have your check ups. Find an optician with OCT screening equipment – this takes a 3D scan of the retina and will pick up the every earliest signs of problems. Manage your symptoms and don’t mess with those sugar levels – as well as endangering your life and your sight here and now, you could be storing up problems for the future.

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The Middle Way

Friday, March 26th, 2010

If you struggle with clear sight for a particular job or hobby, then it may interest you to know that we can calculate the perfect prescription to give you perfect vision. For far distance, that is driving, walking around, TV etc, the strength of your glasses is a set power. For close work it’s a different matter, as the amount of magnification you get is in proportion to your working distance.

If you have a hobby where you work at a set distance, we can alter your spec strength to give you the correct magnification. These are called middle distance lenses. If you do fine embroidery or tie flies in your spare time then you need high magnification but at a close distance. If you make curtains or spend all day at a computer then you need a little less power at a further distance. We’ve made specs for reading music, applying false nails, and quilling – whatever that is!!

So how do you acquire these magical, tailor made specs? All you need to do is measure your working distance – you just need a willing friend and a tape measure! Then ask your optician or online optical store to calculate the power you need, based on your reading prescription. Use the specs only at the working distance you have requested, and make sure you work in good clear light to get the most out of them.

If you’re going stronger than usual you may need a smaller frame, as your lenses will be thicker and heavier than in your normal reading glasses. If you wear them for long periods of time it may be worth investing in flatter, lightweight lenses. If you want them for the computer then add an anti-reflection coating, it will help to reduce the glare from the screen and make your vision more comfortable. Tell us what you want the glasses for and we might be able to make suggestions like these to make life easier.

If these super specs are for work, ask your employer if they are willing to contribute towards the cost. If glasses are for the VDU then your employer is legally obliged to help you, and pay for your eye exam.

So here’s our challenge – tell us what you need specs for and we’ll work out the power and help you with other ideas. Can you come up with anything we haven’t heard before?!!

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Spots Before your Eyes….

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

If you’ve never had them, you’ll wonder what all the fuss is about. If you’ve got them, you’ll know they’re very very annoying. If you suddenly get them, talk to your Optician immediately – what on earth am I on about?!! Floaters of course, those pesky black or clear blobs that bob about in our line of sight and drive sufferers crazy. So what are they? Are they harmful? And can you do anything about them?

Floaters can vary from person to person, appear at any age, and are more noticeable on bright days against light backgrounds. They are usually bits of cell debris that float around in the Vitreous humour, a jelly like substance that fills our eyeball and helps to maintain it’s shape. They waft about as our eye moves, and you’ll see them most clearly if you look up at the sky or at a white wall. Some become familiar friends!

Floaters are only a worry if lots appear suddenly. This could be an indicator of a Retinal detachment. The Retina lines the eye and is built of a series of layers of light receptive cells. If you are very short sighted your eyeball will be long from front to back, and the retina is thinly stretched around the inside of the eyeball. If the Retina detaches cells will float around inside the eye. Immediate laser treatment can repair the detachment, so the sudden appearance of floaters may be an indicator of this serious problem, and fast action may save your sight.

Contact your optician at once if you feel your floaters are different or have increased in number. Otherwise, they’re an annoyance that you just have to live with. If they seriously affect your sight or way of life, laser surgery may resolve the problem, but this is not without risk and you should seek advice before going ahead. Just don’t look up at the bright sky!

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A Pain in the Neck!

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

For various reasons people often find it’s a pain to wear specs – they slip, mist up, get in the way when you’re doing certain things – but what if they do cause you an actual pain?

The most common complaint of pain is due to Sinus problems. As any sufferer knows, this can be unbearable, and if you wear specs you may end up dreading having to wear them. Sinus problems can cause severe pain around the eye orbit and the pressure of specs can cause swelling and fluid retention under the eye. Apart from leaving your glasses off, there are a few things you can do to alleviate the discomfort. Firstly, do all you can to treat the Sinus problem, with suitable medication. Some patients find that inhaling steam can help to clear blockages. Wear specs that are as lightweight as possible, and make sure they don’t sit on the face. If your frame is metal, larger nose pads will spread the weight, and make sure they are not too close to the inner eye. If your frame is plastic make sure it fits well all around the bridge and keep the shape shallow. Keeping a couple of different frames to wear in rotation will help to give your face a rest.

Facial Neuralgia can be incredibly debilitating, causing agonising pains around the face and the ears. Anyone who has suffered from Shingles that has affected the face will know how nasty this can be, and a lingering problem that can take months to heal. As with Sinus problems, you need to do everything possible to alleviate pressure and reduce the weight of your specs. If you are in pain behind the ears then you could select a frame that has straight sides, which hug the head. This balances the weight and stops inflammation of tender areas. If Neuralgia arises from dental problems then a frame that rests on the cheeks will aggravate this. Again, go shallow and reduce the weight and the pressure.

Don’t assume that discomfort is something you have to put up with if you wear specs. Talk to your Optician or mail your online optician – they’ll have come across a similar problem before and will be able to suggest a frame that will help you.

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Independence Day

Friday, March 19th, 2010

While everyone else has a phobia about Doctors and Dentists, I’ve always been very scared about visiting the optician. My Great Grandma was virtually blind due to Glaucoma, and I still remember the day we took her to the optician and they said she would have to go to the Hospital and be registered as partially sighted.

Due to the Glaucoma, I’ve had to pluck up my courage and go for regular eye tests. I would go to big multiple opticians and have a test there and then on the day as I couldn’t face booking an appointment and waiting. It’s got worse as I get older and I really wanted my friend to come with me. She persuaded me to try the local optician she’s been seeing since she was at school. This type of little practice always seemed very clinical and scary to me, and more like the type of place Great Grandma went to. My mate would only accompany me if I went there though, so after much nagging I gave it a go.

I’d expected a less professional set up to the big chains, but the practice was very welcoming even though it was still clinical. They knew my friend by name when she walked in and even asked how her little boy is. They had some stunning equipment, including a brand new machine that takes a 3D scan of the retina. The girl doing the screening casually said they were excited to have this new machine that the multiple opticians don’t have. I was so fascinated by the pictures that I forgot to be worried!

The Optician was lovely and took twice as long to do the test as any I’ve ever had before. He patiently explained what he was doing and all of my results, and I even learnt stuff about Glaucoma that – despite my extensive research – I hadn’t found before! He gave me my prescription without me even asking for it. I practically had to wrestle it out of the hands of my previous Optician! He told me to go back any time if I was worried, and gave me his e-mail address for any queries. I ordered some lovely specs from them, and I’ll then get spare pairs from the online optician.

Having tried an Independent Optician I don’t think I’ll ever trust my sight to the multiples again, due to the care and interest they showed in me. They listened to my fears and were really patient.

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On Your Marks!

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Obviously we are all familiar with hallmarks – those tiny symbols engraved on jewellery and items of precious metal that tell us the date, maker, location and purity of the material used. Did you ever notice that your spectacle lenses are hallmarked? Well if you’ve ever seen some strange little symbols etched on your lenses, then that’s what they are! Or on varifocal lenses there are markings which tell us what type of lens you have and where they are placed.

The engravings on lenses are so shallow and so tiny that the human eye cannot detect them when the specs are in place and you are looking through them. To people looking at you, the markings are rarely visible, unless the light happens to hit them in exactly the right place and the observer is looking straight at them. If you do want to take a look at your lenses and see if they have markings, then stand under bight over head light and breathe heavily onto the lens. As the mist appears you might see some minute little marks engraved. If it is a manufacturers hallmark then it will be in a random place on the lens, depending on the axis or angle of your prescription. This is applied in high quality lenses where you have paid for a branded lens.

If you have varifocals, then all lenses will have markings when you first get them. In time, and as you diligently polish your specs the marks will lessen, and even the most eagle eyed will no longer be able to see them! The varifocals will have the manufacturers mark, the power of the reading segment, and the lens type marked on them. Makes you wonder how on earth you could see through them! They also have tiny little circles or elliptical shapes etched at the temple and the nose edge which allows the optician to tell where your clear areas of vision are. If you specs get seriously bent out of shape and you then need to have them re-aligned, the optician will use the tiny engravings as a reference point, to ink a full varifocal template onto the lens. The specs can then be re-fitted and the ink removed. A vital tool in ensuring the continued success of your varifocal wear.

So in an idle moment you can take a look at your lenses and if your sight is sharp enough, you’ll see the reassuring sight of hallmarks and markings that tell us about your specs.

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A Little Help

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Now that the halcyon days of the NHS paying for eye exams for everybody are gone, it’s often a bit of a blow to find that you have to pay for your tests. Do remember though that help is there for those in need, and you can get free sight tests through the Health Service if you meet certain criteria. Your optician should check this with you when you go for your exam, and will then ask you to sign a form. They also need your NI number, and may ask for extra information such as your GP’s name, or where you study. The test is currently free if:

  • You are over 60, or under 16 years of age.
  • You are under 19 but in full time education.
  • You, or your partner receives:
  • Income support, Income based job seekers allowance, Income related Employment and support allowance, Pension guarantee credit, Tax Credit and you are named on a valid NHS Tax credit Exemption certificate.

If you do not qualify under the heading above, but are on a low income, your optician can give you a form HC2, which you fill in with your financial details. The certificate you get in reply tells you if you get any help, and is also useful if you need help towards dental treatment etc.

There are also qualifying reasons under health grounds. If you are registered blind or partially sighted with your local authority, if you suffer from diabetes or Glaucoma, or you are at risk of Glaucoma. If you are the sibling, parent or child of a Glaucoma sufferer and you are over age forty, this also qualifies you for a free examination. If you are a prisoner or on leave from a prison you also qualify. You will have to give details of your GP/Hospital/Prison as applicable on the form. If you are very long or short sighted, and your optician will tell you if your prescription is high enough, you are deemed to have a complex prescription, and this also means a free test.

After your test you will be given a copy of the prescription. You can take this away with you and use it to order glasses from the online optician, in exactly the same way as our clients do with private eye exam forms.

Some who qualify for a free exam also get an NHS voucher, which gives help towards the cost of new specs. We do not accept NHS vouchers, but these are for a relatively small amount, and many clients prefer to pay our modest prices for something nice rather than use the voucher! We also get patients who have used their voucher at the optician to have a spare pair, and then buy their glasses from us for everyday wear.

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High Power Solutions

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Those amongst the population who have normal vision have no idea how debilitating it can be if you are very short or long sighted. While most visual defects can be corrected with specs or contact lenses, none of the options is perfect, and then you have the problem of your sight without your correction in place. What if you wake up in the night and can’t find your specs? What if you break your only pair? What if you get an eye infection and can’t wear your contact lenses? Most patients with high prescriptions will at some point have had the heart stopping experience of having to manage without their glasses. So what are the other solutions?

A first step for many is contact lenses, and within that long term wear lenses. Disposable lenses that can be worn overnight are not new, but as new materials are developed they are available for more patients and with many different options. The joy of waking up in the morning and being able to see is the gateway to a whole new world if your sight is very bad, and extended wear lenses are an excellent choice for more and more patients. Speak to your optician, but always adhere strictly to their wear guidelines and keep up to date with check-ups.

A more permanent option is surgery, either Laser surgery that changes the shape of your eye to correct sight, or an implanted lens that goes inside your eye to give you the correction you need. Neither is for the faint hearted, but with clinics springing up all over the country and prices coming down, the surgical route is one that is becoming more popular. Today society is generally more accepting of elective surgery, and compared to Botox or a Boob job this is a necessity! Either type of surgery does have  limitations, and you have to go through examination and counselling before you can go ahead. The shape of your eye, thickness of your cornea and prescription may limit your choices, and a good surgeon will discuss all of this with you before you commit yourself. You also need to know recovery time, expected results, and cost before signing your sight into their hands! For some patients full correction cannot be guaranteed, and you may still need glasses at certain times. A reduced prescription or specs just for close work may however make a massive difference to your lifestyle, so don’t dismiss this idea without thinking about it. If your poor sight is a disability then maybe it’s time to look at more drastic measures than new specs!

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A Question of Winter Sport

Friday, February 19th, 2010

We get many enquiries via e-mail or phone, and at this time of year sports, particularly winter sports, are top of our query list as everyone jets off to go skiing or boarding. Here are a few of the questions this week:

Is it safe to wear my normal sunglasses for skiing? They are labelled 100% UV safe.

There are clearly two issues with specs for skiing – the safety of the tint and the physical protection that the frame offers. The tint needs to be sufficiently dark for your comfort, and give 100% UV protection. The frame needs to big enough to cut the glare, and preferably plastic, which will be safer if you fall on them! Metal frames with protruding pad arms may cause you some discomfort if you land on them. If you do want to go for full protection ski goggles, these can be glazed with prescription inserts.

Last year I suffered snow blindness – it was horrible and lasted for a good few days. What was it and can I avoid it happening again?

Snow blindness is the same as Welders Arc eye, and although it’s not nice while it lasts it is temporary. The proper name is sun-induced photokeratitis, and it happens due to exposure to very bright, glaring sunlight. Remember that when you’re on the snow, or indeed the water, the intensity of glare and UV is increased due to reflection. The epithelium layer of the cornea sloughs off, giving you pain and discomfort for a couple of days, and severe visual problems for up to seven hours after the first exposure. Choose well fitting goggles, with the darkest tint you can find, and full UV protection. Check you eyes with your Optician before you go away, to make sure there is no residual damage from last time.

Can some tints help me see the contours of the slopes? I like my dark tint but I find it hard to see dips and bumps in the snow.

This can be a life threatening issue if you can’t spot a crevasse when flying along at high speed. There are various contrast tints on the market that can help you to analyse the slopes. You need to try these for yourself and select a tint that gives you adequate protection from glare while still providing a true image of contours. The depth of tint is important because your visual acuity will be reduced due to the brightness of your surroundings. Looking at bright light for ten minutes will affect your sight for one minute, and those minutes can be crucial to prevent you from a fall or worse.

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Need to Know

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

If you go for a contact lens trial you may feel like you’re at an interview, with the number of questions the Optician will ask you. Are they just nosy? Just how much do they really need to know?!

Some seemingly irrelevant questions will enable the optician to asses how suited you will be to contact lens wear, and what the options are for you. They will ask about your general health, and specifically your eye health. Diabetes, allergies like Hay Fever, and current treatment for any illness may all affect your eyes. If you are pregnant or breast feeding they need to know about this too, as hormonal changes can affect your tear layer.

They will also ask about medication you are taking, even whether you smoke! These factors can affect structures within the eye. They will look at your prescription, and question you about your visual needs and your lifestyle, to ensure that they offer you the best contact lens choice for you. If you play a particular sport or work nights, or just want lenses for the odd game of golf, this knowledge will help the optician in choosing the most suitable and economical lens. They will also check if you have worn lenses in the past, and the reasons why you are there for a new fitting. Knowing about the problems you experienced in the past will help in a successful fit the second time around.

They will then ask what you want to know – questions like; can they get stuck around the back of the eye? Can I swim in them? Can I still wear the same eye make up? These are all queries we have dealt with. This is the time for you to raise any concerns, because you won’t be happy with the lenses if you’re worried about them. The optician will have heard it all before and is there to help you.

n.b. – they can’t get stuck at the back of the eye, you can swim in them with clear goggles over the top, and your eye make up should be fine!!

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