Healthy Vision

While ‘presbyopia’ is a word that few of us use, its symptoms are well known

to anyone from their late forties onwards. It’s not a disease, simply an eye

condition that affects us all in later life. Our bodies become less elastic as we

get older and sadly, so do our eyes. The lens within them becomes less able to flex and as a result, we cannot bring near objects into focus. It isn’t the same as long sight, as presbyopia affects distance and near vision. Presbyopia shows itself most often in close work - reading a book, threading a needle and the like. You increasingly find that you need to be in bright light to read, or to move the text away to bring it into focus. If you already wear distance glasses, you may even be taking them off to read. Happily, presbyopia is easy to correct. If you haven’t worn spectacles before, a simple pair of reading glasses will restore good near vision, though with the drawback that now, your distance vision will be blurred! Bifocals are one solution. As the name implies, they give clear vision at just two distances, near and far. But as we age further, a ‘bifocal gap’ will usually develop so that while near and distance vision are clear, arms’ length vision will become blurred. Bifocals have a near vision segment which is clearly visible too, both to you as the wearer and to anyone looking at you.
All is not lost! Varilux lenses offer clear vision at all distances and without a bifocal line. They are suited to almost any frame and offer clear vision at all distances, near, distance and everything in between. Ask for details and we’ll be happy to tell you all you need to know.

Varilux isn’t just a single design of varifocal, there’s several Varilux lenses, each  designed for different frames and needs. Small frames are very fashionable but they  don’t give much room at the bottom of the lens for the reading area.

That’s where Varilux Physio Short comes in, because it has been designed for just  one purpose: to give the best possible vision for wearers of small and shallow  frames. If you have an active lifestyle then there’s a lens for you too - it’s called Varilux  Sport and it gives the  widest-possible distance and arms’ length vision. It’s ideal for  golf and anything from target   shooting  to table tennis.

The Varilux range includes personalised lenses whose design follows your  prescription and the way you wear your spectacles, general-use which are ideal for  most people in most situations and  specialist lenses that are designed for specific  wear (on a computer for example).

Talk to us about the options we have available that make sure there really is a Varilux  lens for everyone.

 Myopia is known by most people as short or near 

 sight and is one of the commonest eye defects. As

 the name implies, myopes are able to see perfectly

 well close up but find their distance vision is 

 blurred. It’s usually caused by the eyeball being not

 quite spherical (it’s more like a rugby ball than a

 football) and means that light is focussed in front of

 the retina, so that the image reaching it is blurred.

 It’s very easy to remedy with spectacles, using a

 single-vision lens. If you have a large prescription,

 you may find that the edge of your spectacle lenses

 may be quite thick, so you may benefit from thin

 and light lenses that greatly reduce this. Larger

 prescription lenses may also show unsightly

 ‘power rings’ though a good quality anti-reflection 

 coating like Crizal Forte will greatly reduce its

  impact.

Premium spectacle lenses today are nothing like the lenses of just a few years ago when their high-quality design was generic enough to be suitable for all types of patients, regardless of their prescription.

As with most things, spectacle lenses have evolved and new technology is used to manufacture them. Your eyes are very
unique and studies have shown that no two are ever the same. This has been used to develop a new generation of lenses that can be made and personalised uniquely for your eyes.

   This means your vision will be greatly improved and will be more  

   comfortable, highly contrasted and more dynamic. There are several 

   different levels of lens personalisation available to you today, in addition to 

   your standard prescription.

   We can take into account your visual behaviour, if you are a head mover or 

   an eye mover, your choice of frame and how you wear it and for the ultimate

   personalisation, we can even measure your eye rotation centre.

   To make your personalised lenses, we will need to take some additional

   measurements but these are quick and completely noninvasive thanks to 

   our investment in the latest eye and frame measurement equipment.

There are a number of personalised lenses available today including single vision and Varilux lenses. Why not include personalised lenses in your next pair of spectacles and you’ll soon be enjoying the instant and effortless vision that is sharper and crisper than ever before.

As we age, our eyes age with us but with care, its effects can be greatly reduced. In our late forties, the onset of presbyopia mean that we need help with close work, like reading. Millions of people have benefitted from having had clear vision at all distances restored by Varilux lenses. Older age sees a variety of defects becoming more prevalent. Cataract is more common in later life and is caused when the lens inside the eye gradually becomes cloudy. To begin with, your vision deteriorates at the centre but it can lead to you being only able to distinguish light from dark.Its surgical correction, used to leave you with very thick spectacle lenses but modern lens implant surgery has meant that you just need everyday spectacle lenses, like Varilux. Glaucoma tends to effect older people and is usually simple to correct - provided it is diagnosed. The sight test routinely includes a test for it. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) gradually affects sufferers in their seventies. It is the subject of promising research and some treatments are already improving certain types of AMD. The sight test is very important for checking on all the problems of vision in older age, so it’s very important to have your sight tested regularly. Remember, it isn’t just a means of determining the prescription you require;
the sight test is also an important check on the general health of your eyes.

If it’s health and comfort you want, then Transitions is the lens for

you.Transitions photochromic plastic lenses are bringing the benefits of comfortable vision to more and more people.

The latest Transitions lenses go as dark as conventional sun lenses, and very quickly too.The ultraviolet radiation in sunlight turns them brown or grey, depending on the tint you select. Modern Transitions lenses lighten very quickly indeed too so that when you go back indoors, they’ll fade back in just a few minutes. The fade back of Crizal Forte on Transitions lenses is up to 30% faster than with just a hard protective coating.

Better still, you get all the benefits of clearer lenses with no reflections, so you look better and see better. We’re so confident about Crizal Forte that we guarantee it for two years against scratches - so it’s well worth the investment. There’s other benefits too.

Transitions lenses filter out all the damaging UV radiation that in the long term can damage your eyes and age your skin.

Transitions lenses require UV radiation to set off the darkening

process, so they won’t darken in a car or when you are behind

glass. For details, contact our staff and we’ll be happy to help.

                                                                  While an optometrist determines your prescription, it’s the dispenser that turns it into

                                                                  the pair of spectacles that meets

  your needs. Your dispenser needs to have a sound grasp of optics and lenses and  

   yet fashion in eyewear too. Dispensers need to find out how you live your life and

   what your needs are, so they have to be an experts in people too. They also have to

   take accurate measurements, so it all adds up to a  demanding role.
   The dispenser has to help you decide which of the hundreds of lens designs and  

   materials, as well as which of the myriad of lens treatments and coatings, best    

   meet  your needs and budget.

   It’s why they often ask so many questions, as the more your dispenser knows 

   about our lifestyle, the more you’ll enjoy your finished spectacles.

Although you might book a Sight Test with our practice, the term fails to take account of the Eye Examination that accompanies it, which can often be even more important. The Sight Test measures your ability to see clearly and obviously we can’t determine the strength and type of lenses you need without it. We begin by putting a special frame on you and fitting different lenses to assess your vision, to find out if you are long, short-sighted and/or astigmatic and by how much. We do so one eye at a time and then we assess how efficiently your eyes operate in tandem.

We may also check your colour vision, vision
balance and need for a reading prescription after
which a written prescription is issued which
itemises the prescription to correct your vision.
The Eye Examination looks more at the health
of your eyes and can be an important indicator of
your general health. If your family has a history of
problems with their eyes, (glaucoma for example)
you should inform us, as we may need to conduct
some special tests. All the tests are completely
painless.

We examine your eye with an ophthalmoscope
which lets us look inside the eye at the cornea,
retina, crystalline lens and the vitreous humour,
the transparent jelly that fills the eyeball. It can
give early information about diabetes, glaucoma,
cataract and diseases of the nerves, so the
examination is a very useful indication of your general health too. Some parts of the Sight Test can involve the use of specialist equipment to test for glaucoma for example. It’s very important that we test for it, as while it’s not difficult to halt its progress, we can’t repair the damage, once it has happened. So, it’s very important to have regular Sight Tests, to help
ensure your eye, and you, remain healthy.