What Is A Lazy Eye?

A lazy eye refers to a visual disorder characterised by undeveloped vision in an otherwise normal and healthy eye.  A lazy eye is also known as Amblyopia and is caused by poor, or no transmission of visual images from the affected eye to the brain, this condition is best treated in childhood.

The name “lazy eye” is a strange name, as the eye or the person is not lazy. It is in fact caused by a developmental issue in the brain, where the area of the brain linked to the affected eye develops abnormally because of under-stimulation.

A lazy eye may go unnoticed for many years, as individuals rely on vision from their stronger eye.

A lazy eye is normally treated by forcing use of the under developed eye, using either a patch or otherwise temporarily disabling the healthy eye. This treatment is most effective in children under the age of 5, but has also been shown to benefit older children and adults.

We recommend having your eyes examined once every year, or two years.  Specsdirect2u can visit you in your home to examine your eyes, in addition we will bring with us various spectacles for you to choose from.  You can also book an appointment to get your eyes tested in any one of our 4 Optical Practices in Glasgow.  We are a family friendly Opticians, every shop has a Kids play area to keep your little ones distracted while you get your eyes checked out and if needed, select a pair of Glasses or Sunglasses

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. We hope you subscribe to this RSS Feed to enjoy all future blogs, and please connect with us using the social media buttons at the top of the screen. The main website is http://specsdirect2u.co.uk/ where you can see the full range of Designers that we sell. Remember, eye examinations are free in Scotland, call us on 0141 554 8886 to either arrange a free home eye test or to come into one of our 4 Glasgow Optical Practices.

Prescription Glasses – Just Another Accessory?

Remember how your mother used to fret about your eye sight getting weak when you were still a child? You would be routinely admonished about sleeping late, reading or writing in low light or keeping the reading material too close. You would be made to eat more vegetables and served with bland and unappealing soups just to make sure that your vision stays 20/20. Wearing glasses was definitely not a preference at that time, especially when it came to girls.

Not so, today. The constant evolution of our social, personal and work lifestyles has greatly affected our eyesight, among other things. Just look around. Every second person is wearing prescription glasses, albeit, with a tinted lens. And, what glasses? You can have anything. A large and simple frame in the primary black colour and basic geometrical shapes is as much in demand as one embedded with funky rhinestones and multi-shaded lens.  You could look into your wallet and decide to go for either a budget or a designer frame. You can match them to your dress like a piece of jewelry or add flair by hanging them from purse side. Add the sun protection factor i.e. convert it into vision plus shaded lens and you’ve got a deal.

Prescription glasses are no longer a need, but in fact, a much desired accessory. We, at Specsdirect2u, recognise your desire for fashion and understand your need for protecting your eyesight. You can bring along a prescription and then browse through our large collection of stylish frames or we can offer you a free eye test first.  After that, you make your choice.

Are you dedicated to brands only? We have all the popular brands for you; Prada, Police, Michael Kors, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Tom Ford and the list goes on. With us, designer frames do not need to be expensive anymore. We have a large range of designer frames and all of them are quite affordable. The lowest rate is £10 and you can go up as high as you wish. Visit us on-line to browse through our complete range of frames and to compare prices. Find one that suits you and let us know. We will deliver your order worldwide.  

For anyone who is infirm, we offer a free Home EyeTest, please phone 0141 554 8886 to arrange a suitable date and time. This applies only to the Glasgow area. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. We hope you subscribe to this RSS Feed to enjoy all future blogs, and please connect with us using the social media buttons at the top of the screen. The main website is Specsdirect2u where you can see the full range of Designers that we sell.

Day in life of an Optometrist - Lights, Charts and Machines

So, you’re off to the opticians for an eye test. If it’s your first test for a while you might be a little bit nervous about what will happen and the process that you will be going through. In a modern eye test there are many different charts and tests that you will see as part of your eye test, but they all had to be invented by someone, so this blog is to give you some background information about what the tests are, but also a little bit about where they all came from.

The Eye Test Chart

You are probably familiar with the standard Snellen Eye Chart, but what you probably didn’t know is that the first eye charts as we know them were designed in 1843 by Heinrich Kuechler in typical German efficiency in order to make the first attempt to standardise the charts to be used. There was an update to these first charts in 1854, but it was the Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen who, in 1862, invented the test chart that is so familiar today. You might be wondering what was different about Snellen’s chart. It was all about the font, Snellen chose a square font so that letters had the same height and width, which reduced variations in performance.

The Ophthalmoscope

The ophthalmoscope is the small hand held device that an optician uses to shine a light into your eye to look at the back of your eye and also at the lens. In order to do this a beam of light is shone into the eye so that the optician can see the various structures. By changing the angle that they look at your eye your optician can spot abnormalities or any signs of disease. The very first ophthalmoscope was actually invented by Charles Babbage in 1847, who is rather better known for inventing the first mechanical computer. Although his ophthalmoscope was perfectly good, his sales skills failed him and his invention was forgotten. Only 4 years later Herman von Helmholtz, another renowned scientist and physician of the day, invented his own version of the ophthalmoscope and clearly made a much better job of marketing his device as it was used as part of eye tests until around 1920.

Glaucoma Tests

Intraocular pressure, or the pressure within the eyeball, is an important parameter to measure to monitor as a sign of glaucoma presence. Intraocular pressure has been highlighted since Sir William Bowman’s presentation to the British Medical Association in 1826. At this stage though the measurement was literally made by hand with the optician making their assessment of the pressure by palpating the eyeball with their fingers! Fortunately technology has come a long way since then through contact tonometry, where a mechanical device pressed onto the eyeball to measure the pressure, to the current practice of non-contact tonometry that makes the measurement by using a puff of air blown onto the eyeball. There are also other tests that are carried out to make more definite diagnoses of glaucoma as it is not a simple disease.

 

So, now you know more about eye tests and where the practices have come from why not head down to your local branch of Specsdirect2u to make your free eye test appointment to make sure that your eyes are in tip top health.  We also offer free home eye tests if you live in the Glasgow area, call us today on 0141 554 8886 to make an enquiry.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.  Please subscribe to ensure you receive future blogs, direct into your email inbox.  We are active on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn, so if you use these sites, we would like to connect with you. Our main website is http://www.specsdirect2u.co.uk