Glaucoma is categorised as a disorder that affects the function of the eye. The characteristics of Glaucoma produce specific signs and symptoms, and ultimately share a single common feature, progressive optic neuropathy (Damage to the optic nerve).  All manifestations of Glaucoma can result in progressive loss of vision if untreated, or undetected, eventually this can be potentially blinding.

Incorporating the Glaucoma’s as a group of diseases, they are now the leading source of visual morbidity, affecting more than 60 million people throughout the world.  What’s more, around 8.4 million individuals will be impacted with bilateral blindness as a result. Visual loss from this disease can be as much as 40% before an individual is even aware there is a problem.

Glaucoma accounts for 10.9% of all certifications for blindness (severe sight impairment), and 10.2% of certifications for partial sight (sight impairment) in England and Wales.  The rate of severe sight impairment due to glaucoma increases with age, with 10 registrations per 100,000 for individuals aged 65-74, 48 per 100,000 aged 75-84 and 100 per 100,000 for individuals 85 years and over.

For the most part glaucoma is age-related, therefore undoubtedly, what with increasing longevity and ageing populations; glaucoma prevalence is set to rise in the coming decades.

Early detection and treatment will contribute to the prevention or slow down of further damage by glaucoma. If low vision aids are required, your optician or optometrist can advise you of the best solution and whether you would be eligible to register as sight impaired (partially sighted) or severely sight impaired (Blind).

Regular eye examinations are essential to maintain healthy eyes and absolutely pivotal for controlling serious loss of vision as a result of Glaucoma and other ocular conditions. Don’t leave it any longer, book a sight test today, the world is a beautiful place, do you really want to miss out?

Eye Examinations

An eye test is both painless and inexpensive – it may even be free – and could literally save your life, but not nearly enough people are getting themselves checked on a regular basis. Everyone knows they should go to the dentist once a year but the same awareness is yet to apply to a visit to the optician every two years, as recommended.

Just because you can see OK – or think you can – it doesn’t mean you don’t need your eyes examined. The eyes are the window to the body and can reveal many medical conditions that will respond well to treatment but can lead to loss of vision if allowed to deteriorate.

Advances in medical research mean that an eye test can detect critical conditions that need immediate action such as a brain tumours or diabetes as well as predict long-term problems. Scientists have recently developed a test that can spot the likelihood of Alzheimer’s 20 years before symptoms occur and whilst there isn’t a cure for Alzheimer’s now, there may well be in 20 years’ time.

Think of the children

Children should also have an eye test before they start school. A child under five is very unlikely to be able to communicate a problem with their vision so professional assessment is the only way to ensure they get the best start in life. Simple poor vision can have a devastating effect on their education and social development so an eye test should be as routine as a visit to the dentist.

Driver’s ignorance about eye tests

Driving with poor vision is another risk not worth taking but the worrying fact is that according to a nationwide poll of 3,000 drivers, one in three motorists has not been for an eye examination in more than two years. Apart from the obvious fact that it could cause an accident, if the police catch you it can result in a hefty fine and penalty points. Regular eye exams will reveal eyesight problems that can be treated early to ensure your eyesight is safeguarded for longer.

A bit of an eye-opener?

Having an eye test every two years doesn’t seem like too much bother when you consider the immense benefits to be gained.

What’s next?

Are you a contact lens wearer? Tomorrow we have an article on contact lenses, so this could be interesting for those who wear them and equally those who are thinking about ditching the glasses for a contact lens world.  A contact lens check is an entirely different procedure to an eye test. Both are essential in order to maintain healthy eyes and good vision, it’s not one or the other. Eye shape as well as vision changes with age so yearly checks up’s are essential. See you tomorrow…

While looking for any interesting eye / glasses related news today I came across an interesting article on the Daily Mail website looking at 5 individual cases of people who took a simple trip to their local optician only to be told they have potentially life threatening health problems.  Here are the 5 cases with a brief snippet of the conditions that were uncovered thanks to a visit to their optician:-

Juliet, 32, went to a laser eye clinic to see if her eyes were suitable for treatment and ended up being diagnosed with an incurable bowel disease…

Andrew, 16, who has always been very fit and a competitive swimmer was taken to see his GP because he had athlete’s foot. While he was there he mentioned he’d been getting lots of bad headaches, so was told to visit the optician. At Specsavers the following day, the optician took one look in Andrew’s eyes using a hand held light, spun round and asked: ‘Who’s his doctor?...

Ken, 74, who has always had regular eye check ups with nothing untoward ever found suffered from a case of double vision while on the golf course and driving his car.  A visit to his optician revealed that the muscles that control movement were very weak, hence the double vision.  On referral to his GP he was informed he had myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that interferes with the passage of messages from the brain to the muscles in the body…

Tom, 15, who had lost weight, was getting headaches and stressed, also suffered from intermittent short sightedness where his vision would would blur on and off.  A checkup from his father who was an optometrist revealed he probably had diabetes.  A trip to his doctor confirmed this…

David, 41, who had a very stressful job took a visit to an optician was told by his optometrist that he needed to get himself to A&E as he had papilledema, a swelling of the optic disc – the end of the optic nerve. This meant the pressure in his brain was dangerously high which could have resulted in a heart attack or stroke if left untreated…

You can read about each individual case here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1204084/Want-live-longer-See-optician.html

We regularly like to remind all our readers and customers to visit their optician once every couple of years as not only will your optician be able to check the general condition of your eyes to see if your vision has deteriorated, your optician will also be able to alert you to any possible health issues and refer you to a doctor.

The findings are supported by another YouGov survey commissioned by medical insurer Engage Mutual, which suggests that over quarter of the UK population (26 per cent) are struggling to meet the cost of new spectacles.

Source: OpticianOnline.net (2009)

We find news stories like this worrying as we actively encourage our customers to have an eye test every two years (or sooner) to ensure their eyes are healthy.  We realise the cost of having an eye test can be expensive but there are often free eye test options available from various opticians at different times of the year to help reduce costs – and as we love to save our customers money, we will post any free offers on our blog as and when we discover them!

Many customers may also be put off by the thought of having to buy a new pair of expensive glasses from their optician right after having an eye test, however, under the UK Opticians Act of 1989, it is the obligation of any optician to provide you with a prescription so you can be free to shop elsewhere for your glasses and at an often greatly reduced cost.

So if you are lucky enough to have taken advantage of a free eye test and have your new prescription to hand we know you can pick up a great pair of stylish cheap glasses for less than £50 including FREE Thin and Light Lenses, UV, Anti-reflection and Scratch Resistant coatings.  Here’s a great example from our Arbor range of glasses…

Arbor Prescription Glasses, Banyan – £44.95 inc. lenses

If you are on an even tighter budget, you can have a new pair of lenses fitted to your much loved existing frame for as little as £15 by using our popular Reglaze service.  We believe our Reglaze service is a great alternative to buying a completely new pair of glasses!  More information can be found here.