Eye Care | Glaucoma | Diabetes | Cataract | Macula degeneration | Screen Fatigue

Eye Care

Eye examinations don’t just let your optician know which is the right prescription for your glasses or contact lenses, they can help provide early detection of serious but treatable problems. One study found that almost 100,000 new cases of blindness per year would have been preventable or curable had they been detected and treated earlier *.

Many eye diseases, such as glaucoma and diabetic eye disease, have no symptoms in the early stages but can be easily detected during an eye examination. What’s more an eye examination can detect early signs and symptoms of serious medical conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other health conditions.

* Reference: . Casser L, Carmiencke K, Goss DA Comprehensive Adult Eye and Vision Examination. Optometric Clinical Practice Guidelines. 2nd Ed American Optometric Association St. Louis, Missouri

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a condition caused by too much pressure inside the eye. Because there is no pain and the condition worsens very slowly you probably won’t realise that you have glaucoma until it is well developed. Glaucoma can cause tunnel vision and, ultimately, blindness if left untreated. Glaucoma mainly affects people over the age of 40. You are also more at risk if you have a close relative with glaucoma, if you are of Afro-Caribbean origin or if you suffer from diabetes. Glaucoma can be detected in its very early stages and can usually be treated by special eye drops although sometimes laser surgery may be required. Caught early, glaucoma will not normally stop you from enjoying good eyesight. More Information.

Diabetes

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common causes of blindness in the UK. Retinopathy means damage to the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish the retina, the tissues in the back of the eye that deal with light. More Information.

Cataract

A cataract is not a disease but simply the clouding over of the lens inside your eye. This is mainly the result of the ageing process, with cataracts affecting over half of the population over 65. Cataracts usually develop slowly and are completely painless. A simple operation under local anaesthetic will normally solve the problem before it gets too bad. In the operation the cloudy lens is removed and a new clear plastic lens is put in to replace it. More Information.

Macula Degeneration

The macula is the very central part of the retina which is used to see things in detail. Sometimes the macula stops working properly and this usually occurs as you get older. There are two types of Macula Degeneration, wet and dry. It is important to assess which type is present as there is treatment available for the wet type, if it is detected early. Our routine examination includes this assessment. However the vast majority of cases are of the dry type for which there is currently no treatment. More Information.