Posts Tagged ‘varifocals’

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IGC – Y?

Monday, March 12th, 2012

Browsing online, it’s amazing to see how many choices there are nowadays for purchasing over the net. As we become more computer savvy, and have our phones, notepads and myriad computers to use, it’s now a virtual world, and more and more of us shop for specs this way. So with lots of options out there, why would you pick the IGC? Here are a few good reasons……….

1.Qualified Staff – We are all fully qualified eye care professionals, with our team made up of Optometrists, Dispensing Opticians, and fully trained workshop technicians. We have a wealth of experience, which means we won’t make up specs if the lens/prescription/frame combination doesn’t work, and we can spot potential errors in your order. Every pair of glasses that leaves our workshop is checked several times over, at each stage of creation from initial order to dispatch.

2. Communication – If you phone or mail us, a real person will deal with your enquiry! You won’t be shunted around a complex phone system, and if you leave a message we will reply as soon as possible. Our team will deal with your questions personally, or one of our Optometrists will call you back if they are not immediately available.

3. Try Before You Buy – Our simple, no fuss way to ensure that you have selected the perfect frame for you. You can order anything you like the looks of, try it home in different lighting conditions, or with different clothes, and return the frames when you have decided. You can re-select if you don’t like your initial choices.

4.Quality Product – We only stock frames and lenses that give you high quality, at excellent value for money. We don’t ship in vast quantities of inferior product, we use branded goods that offer you comfort, the best vision possible, and durability. If you have a problem with anything that we supply, just send it back – we’ll resolve the issue for you.

4.Our Guarantee – We dispense really high volumes of varifocals because we offer you a 100% safe, cast iron guarantee that if you don’t like them – for what ever reason – we’ll exchange them or refund your money, the choice is yours. This gives our clients the peace of mind to try these amazing lenses with no risk.

We love what we do and obviously lots of you do too – so many thanks to all of our present customers, and to potential new clients – try the Internet Glasses Company with confidence. You’ll wonder Y you didn’t do it sooner!

Varifocal Glasses

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Extra Special Service

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

After a busy year here at the Internet Glasses Company, we’ve been filing and tidying ready for New Year. Looking back over some of the queries and special orders we’ve had we thought we’d share with you some of the trickier challenges we’ve helped our clients to deal with…..

Mr Hauss had been struggling with bifocals because he suffers from arthritis and his balance is a problem. He told us that he’s always felt unsafe on the stairs. We suggested varifocals, with a lower reading corridor to ensure he can see his feet and the steps clearly. Our guarantee allowed him to try the lenses at home, and he knew he could return them if he couldn’t adapt to them. Six months on, he’s just ordered a spare pair!

Miss Campbell had never worn glasses before and had spent several months window shopping in Opticians but feeling intimidated by all the choice and options. We helped her to decide on plastic lenses with a coating, to make her vision as good as possible and keep them lightweight. After a couple of try-before-you-buy back and forth practice runs she chose a chunky plastic frame for socialising, and a sleek metal for work. We’re now working on another pair that we’ll glaze as sunglasses!

Mrs Banks had already invested in clear distance glasses, prescription sunglasses and reading specs from her Optician. While she liked all these for the jobs they were designed to do, the constant swapping about was annoying her. After a few e-mail discussions we learnt that she doesn’t need the readers that much, as due to her myopia she can usually manage to read just by removing her distance specs. So we reglazed the distance frame with photochromic lenses. She can see in them in all light conditions, whip them off to read, and keep the dark sunnies for holidays and readers for tiny details if she needs them.

Mr Biant kept breaking his rimless specs but wanted something equally light and subtle. We sent him some try-before-you-buy options, and he chose a skinny metal in a matt metal so they weren’t too shiny and obtrusive. We used the thinnest material plastic lenses with an anti-reflection coating, to reduce weight, thickness, and give an invisible lens look. He has now ditched the rimless and eight months later, hasn’t broken anything yet!

So if you need help with what will suit your lifestyle and your spectacle prescription, don’t be afraid to ask our advice and utilise our many years of experience. There are real people on the other side of your keyboard, qualified as Optometrists, dispensing Opticians and lens technicians. So don’t be afraid to make our acquaintance and give us a challenge – hope to hear from you soon!

Varifocal Glasses

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Get a New Look for New Year!

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

When the last shreds of wrapping paper have been tidied away and the last sprout has been munched, we turn our attention to a fab new look or entire new lifestyle for New Year. It’s a time to brush away the cobwebs of winter and look forward to an improved 2012. Amid the health resolutions and vows to give up all vices, how about taking the easy option to improve your looks – some fab new specs with a few tiny tweaks to make you see better and look better!

If you wear bifocals – this older format of lens is seen as cheap and easy option once you need help for close and far vision. It does show the world that you’ve reached that certain age however, and it’s pretty hopeless at the computer. Change to varifocals – no visible line, middle distance correction for laptops, VDU screens and i-pads, and all with a no fuss full refund policy from the IGC!

If your lenses are thick – higher prescriptions can result in chunky heavy lenses. This can lead to sore noses and ears, and they can minify or magnify the eye too. Switch to thinner material lenses to reduce weight and flatter your eyes. There will be less visual distortion at the lens edge too.

If your lenses obscure your eyes – standard lenses in slightly higher prescriptions can reflect light back, hiding your eyes and interfering with your sight. Choose anti-reflection coated lenses which will allow all the light through to the eye. This means that people see you not themselves, and will allow you to maximise your sight. They also make vision much more comfortable for night driving and at the computer.

If you struggle with ready readers – it’s not an expensive option to order bespoke reading lenses in your glasses. Ready readers do the job for brief snatches of glancing at small print, but for prolonged periods of reading you need your proper prescription set at the correct measurement for you. Keep your ready readers for emergencies only -  then close work will be less likely to cause eye strain.

Varifocal Glasses

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I Heard a Rumour

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

After a hectic week in practice, chatting to patients face to face instead of online conversations, I’ve again been faced with some universal questions that crop up very regularly. They’re perhaps not the kind of query that you’d ask your optician about, more the sort of untrue-truth that everyone seems to believe. So let’s try some myth busting and dispel these rumours once and for all……..

I know that if I have an eye test I’ll get the answers wrong, and end up with glasses….. Just because the optician is asking for a response from you, it doesn’t mean your eyesight will depend on your replies for ever after! Several parts of the test give your final lens power, and they will re-check again and again, with tiny differences in the options to refine and perfect your prescription. They will know if one answer is a bit off kilter!

I’ve got an astigmatism, so I can’t wear contact lenses……..An astigmatism is a common eye defect that means your eyeball is shaped more like a rugby ball than a football, and your lens prescription has one power to correct the long axis of the rugby ball, and one for the short. We can do this with specs or contact lenses, and nowadays it’s rare for anyone not to be able to wear contact lenses, at least for some of the time.

I need help for reading, so I’m long sighted…..Before age forty, eye defects fall into the categories of long or short sightedness, possibly with an astigmatism too. If you’re long sighted vision is tricky at all distances, if you’re short sighted you can see close too but not far away. After age forty your eyes lose the ability to focus close too, regardless of your general prescription. This is called presbyopia. So you need correction for your long or short sightedness, and the presbyopia. This usually involves varifocals, bifocals or specs for reading and distance.

If I wear glasses my eyes will get weaker……..Your eye defect, whether long sighted, short sighted or astigmatic are caused by the shape and curve of the eyeball and some of the structures that contribute to your sight. You can’t change those factors, whatever you do. Glasses will just make you used to seeing clearly, so you’ll feel more comfortable with them on. We can’t perform the miracle of changing your sight!!

Varifocal Glasses

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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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Back to Varifocal Basics

Monday, June 6th, 2011

The one topic that crops up again and again in opticians across the land is patient’s worries about varifocals. Everyone knows someone who didn’t get on with them, or tried them twenty years ago and they didn’t work………so here are the basic truths about these wonderful lenses, which in reality really will change your life in a very good way…..

Around the magic age of forty plus life begins – and so does the problem of Presbyopia. This is a natural ageing process of the eye, where you lose the ability to see fine detail close to, making it tricky to thread needles, use phone books and read the small print. Varifocals allow you to have your far distance and close work prescription in a single lens, with no visible line. The lens power is blended from near to far, with middle distance in the centre. Thus you can sit at your desk, see the clock across the room, read fine print close too, and have comfortable sight for the computer. So what’s the catch? What is the problem with these lenses?

Firstly, you do have to take time to adapt to them, and many patients are very impatient about this! Hide your old specs away, pop the varifocals on. And get on with your life. For the first few days you might feel your floor is sloping, you might get a headache, but this wears off quickly if you stick with it. You may have to adjust your working distance to your computer screen, or your car seat, and in working with the specs in this way you’ll adapt easily.

After a week or so you’ll have forgotten you’re wearing them, but it does take a few days for the swinging sensation of the different distances to calm down. Don’t be tempted to swap back to old specs, even for a few hours. Your poor little brain will switch back to it’s comfort zone and you’ll be back to square one with the new lenses. Here at the IGC we understand your concerns, so if you try any lenses from us that don’t work, we will refund you – no quibble. So what are you waiting for? A no risk opportunity to make life easier, what could be more basic than that?!

Varifocal Glasses

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Spec Solutions

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

If are the proud owner of a pair of reading glasses you will know how jolly useful the little treasures are. Want to check the calorie content of your fave choccie treat? Examine the scary side effects of your medication? Or even properly note the news? Before reaching for the paper you’ll have to locate the ever elusive reading glasses from wherever you threw them last time you needed to do anything other than see close too. And herein lies the tricky side of reading glasses. You can see fine detail at a near distance, but you can’t see anything else in them! So they get taken on and off, they work loose, they get sat on, lost and chewed by eager puppies, and they’re never where you want them…….are you losing your patience as well as your specs?

You could purchase the ever stylish Granny spec chain. These suspend your specs to dangle around your chest, so at least you know where they are. Unfortunately, Grannies nowadays are more likely to be windsurfing, rock climbing or white water rafting, and are generally too busy having fun to find the time to find their glasses. And they would not be seen dead in anything Grannyish. Your glasses will also get squashed, splattered with crumbs, and tangled in necklaces.

You can wear them on your head, which will keep your hair back and look groovy. Only advisable if you have spring loaded spec hinges and an aversion to sticky hair products. But at least you know where they are and are likely to notice if the dog starts chewing them.

Or you can buy at least ten pairs, to keep by the phone, the desk, your comfy chair, your make up mirror etc etc. Other people will of course pinch them, and they’ll still never be exactly where you need them, but at least you’ll make your optician happy.

So what is the perfect solution? You could invest in varifocals, which have no prescription at the top, so you can wear them all the time, pretending you are not old enough to need reading glasses. You can have any one of a number of contact lens options, from bifocals and varifocals to the cunning plan of one reading contact lens that does half the work while your brain does the rest. I was sticking to the headband option, although it’s getting a bit embarrassing when I’m searching for specs that the whole world can see are perched on my head……..maybe it’s time to take my own advice and find a new spec solution for me!

Varifocals Glasses

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Feedback on Your Feedback!

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

We love a bit of interaction from our patients, usually it’s good but we even welcome the occasional complaints we get! All feedback, positive or negative helps us to improve our service and the product range we offer. We know that this genuine relationship that we build with our clients is one of the factors that makes you return to us as a customer. Here are a few examples of your suggestions and what we did in response…….

“I love my specs but the soft case is a bit flimsy…….other than that, great service igc!”

We originally used flat cases to make sure our parcels fitted through your letterbox. In response to this mail however we sourced more protective, rigid cases. This will extend the lifespan of your specs. And they still squeeze through the letterbox!

“I didn’t know what to expect with my new varifocals. I mailed you and the optician actually rang me! Thanks for your support, I love the specs now.”

After a few queries that basically said the same thing about getting used to varifocals, we devised a notes sheet to send to clients. It’s just a few simple hints and suggestions to help you adapt quickly to wearing them. Although we’re happy to answer your questions individually, many of you just needed a little reassurance for years of happy varifocal wear.

“I love designer eyewear but it’s still expensive for my budget. Is there anything quirky and individual at a slightly cheaper price?”

You pay for individuality and quality with designer frames, but we researched your suggestion and began to stock Oscar & Fitch, which fulfil the quirky and funky criteria at a lower price than the likes of Gucci and Dior. Explore their range if you like something different!

I’ve had designer frames from you and I was impressed with the service and the specs. Any chance you could supply sunglasses too?

We extended our product range again in response to this idea, starting our first range of non-prescription sunspecs with Polo Ralph Lauren. There are plenty of sunnie suppliers on the net, but we know you trust us and the fact that we’re selling the genuine article.

So please carry on mailing us with your thoughts, suggestions and ideas – we really do listen and try our best to supply what you need!

Varifocal Glasses

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Varifocal Variety

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Varifocals are a much maligned lens type, shunned by many patients because back in 1972 their Mum tried them and hated them………but thankfully, times have changed, and varifocals along with them. Now that everyone uses computers, and we’re all living and working longer, we’ll all need to embrace this lens at some point in our lives, so we can enjoy those extra years! So how have they changed, and can it help you?

The first varifocals appeared over fifty years ago, and as computers filled whole rooms then, you can imagine that technology has re-designed varifocals too. The first designs still gave you far distance, close work and middle distance within one lens, but the blending of these areas was crude by today’s standards, the clear areas were narrow, and the edge distortion made many wearers sea-sick! The design was also tricky to wear for driving, as the then ‘hard’ design had lots of distortion at the outside edges.

Varifocal Glasses

Today our varifocals come in a variety of designs, so there are more specialist lens for specific uses. For the majority of people however, the most popular lenses will be safe and comfortable for walking around and driving, practical for computer users, and convenient for every day activities like shopping, housework and reading. The blending of the visual areas is much smoother, with the lens power changing in tiny steps down the lens, so you hardly notice that you’re moving from one to another. If you do feel nauseous in them, it’s rare and only lasts a day or so!

They’re also guaranteed by the manufacturer, which enables us to offer them to you with a full money back option if they don’t suit you. Sometimes we can suggest an alternative to try, so if you do have problems we may still be able to offer you a solution. Today this is rare, and we have very few specs returned to us. Most patients happily enjoy clear, comfortable vision at every distance without having to think about it!

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To See or not to See!

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

For those of us over fifty, we’re well aware of the little niggles and gripes that advancing years inflict on our creaking bones. For young upstarts who aren’t as mature as we are, they don’t know yet about that time of life when your arms are just not long enough to manage small print anymore. So although our wisdom won’t help with the aching joints, we can tell you how we cope with the whole new world that is presbyopia……

It comes to us all – a little while after your Fortieth you become Presbyopic, and need magnifying specs for small print and fine detail. You can stretch your arms out for a while, but then you have to succumb to the help of the optician, who will give you several options as to what will suit your lifestyle. A few case histories might give you an idea of what will work for you…..

Thomas 49 Graphic Artist

“I only have prescription lenses for reading, my far away sight is perfect. I have a grand total of eight pairs of reading specs that I leave at my desk, by my armchair, in the golf bag etc. I don’t have them on my face all the time but they’re around when I want them. The weaker pairs are good for the computer, the strongest for indistinct print or tiny things. I like the bigger lenses for my drawing board, but I can still see my biggest pc monitor without glasses, so I’ve got used to which to wear at different work stations. My advice is to have lots of pairs, all with different colour frames so you know which is which!!

Lesley 52 Teacher

I’ve always been short sighted, so up until a couple of years ago I took my specs off to read. They got broken in school so I now have varifocals, which I leave on all the time. I can see across the glass room, write comfortably on the white board, and then see to read close up. Now that I’ve adjusted to the lenses, which took a few days, I don’t even notice the difference.

Ray 65 Retired

I left work last year, so my computer use is sporadic through the day, I like to read and I need glasses for long distance. I like my full distance glasses for driving, as I have an old neck injury that means I find it hard to look to the sides when I reverse the car. I use an office desk lens for the computer and for reading, but I can’t see around the room in it. I don’t mind having two pairs, it works for me!!

Lacey 58 Boutique Owner

I love clothes and accessories, so I wear contact lenses when I go out, and glasses for work. I like to look different for social occasions, so my contacts go out when I do! I have one lens for reading and one for distance, apparently this works well if your eyes are compatible with the theory, and I use daily disposable lenses which I wear when I need them. I have a very glam leopard print frame with varifocals in it for work. They’re fun and trendy to use in the shop!

Varifocal Glasses

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