Why You Should Get Your Eyes Tested Before Autumn Arrives

More from That's Health on looking after your vision.

As summer draws to a close, many of us start thinking about preparing for autumn. 

We check the heating, dig out warmer clothes and perhaps start preparing the garden for colder weather.

But there's another check worth putting on your autumn list: your eyesight.

Having an eye examination before the darker months arrive can be particularly worthwhile, and it isn't simply about discovering whether you need new glasses.

The darker evenings are coming

During autumn, daylight hours rapidly shorten. That means more driving, walking and everyday activities taking place in lower light.

You might have perfectly adequate vision on a bright summer afternoon but discover that reading road signs or judging distances becomes noticeably more difficult after dusk.

Problems such as glare from headlights can also become more apparent when you're driving in darkness or wet weather. Or if you are walking glare from headlights causes you problems.

If you've noticed that night driving isn't as comfortable as it once was, don't simply put it down to getting older. Mention it during your eye examination.

An eye test can reveal more than poor eyesight

A comprehensive eye examination isn't simply about deciding whether you need glasses.

An optometrist examines the health of your eyes and can sometimes identify signs of conditions including cataracts and glaucoma. Eye examinations can also reveal changes that warrant further medical investigation.

That's particularly important because some eye diseases can develop without obvious symptoms during their earlier stages.

Has your prescription changed?

Eyesight can change gradually, which means we don't always notice it happening.

You may compensate by holding books further away, increasing the text size on your phone, sitting closer to the television or avoiding driving after dark.

A new prescription could make an enormous difference to everyday comfort.

And if your glasses are scratched, damaged or several years old, this is a good opportunity to have them checked too.

Think about screen use

Many of us now spend hours looking at computers, tablets and smartphones, particularly people working from home. Including bloggers!

Screens don't necessarily damage healthy eyes simply through normal use, but prolonged close work can contribute to tired, uncomfortable or dry eyes.

Remember the 20-20-20 rule: roughly every 20 minutes, look at something around 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Regular blinking and sensible breaks can help too.

Children need good vision for school

September is also an excellent time to think about children's eyesight.

A child may not realise that their vision is poorer than everybody else's because, to them, that's simply what the world looks like.

Difficulty reading a classroom board, headaches, eye strain, sitting very close to screens or struggling with schoolwork can sometimes be associated with an eyesight problem.

Regular eye examinations can therefore be an important part of children's health care.

Don't wait for your routine appointment if something is wrong

Routine eye examinations are important, but some symptoms shouldn't wait.

Seek urgent professional advice if you experience a sudden loss or significant change in vision, new flashes or a sudden increase in floaters, a dark curtain or shadow across your vision, severe eye pain, or a painful red eye accompanied by changes in vision.

Depending on the circumstances, contact an optometrist, NHS 111 or an appropriate urgent eye-care service. Serious or sudden symptoms may require emergency treatment.

Put an eye test on your autumn checklist

We routinely arrange MOTs for our cars and have boilers serviced before winter, yet it's surprisingly easy to neglect something as important as our eyesight.

So, before the clocks change and those long autumn evenings arrive, consider booking an eye examination.

Even if the result is simply "Everything looks fine, see you next time", that's reassuring news worth having.

And if something has changed, finding out now could make the darker months ahead considerably clearer.

That’s Health note: Eye examination frequency depends on your age, health, family history and individual risk factors. Follow the interval recommended by your optometrist, and seek professional advice sooner if you notice changes in your eyesight or eye health.

Buying Glasses for Less: Should You Take Your Prescription Somewhere Else?

You've had your eyes tested, been handed your new prescription and then started looking at frames, only to discover that the glasses you fancy could cost considerably more than you expected.

But here's something worth remembering: you don't have to buy your spectacles from the optician who tested your eyes.

In the UK, following your sight test, your optometrist must provide your prescription, and you're free to take it elsewhere. The NHS specifically advises you shouldn't feel obliged to buy your glasses from the practice that performed your eye examination.

That opens up several possibilities, including independent spectacle dispensers and online glasses retailers.

Shopping around could save money

Glasses can become expensive remarkably quickly.

Start with a frame, add prescription lenses, perhaps choose thinner lenses, anti-reflective coatings, photochromic lenses or varifocals, and the final bill can be very different from the price displayed beside the frame.

Taking your prescription elsewhere allows you to compare the complete price, rather than assuming your optometrist's practice is your only option.

An independent dispensing optician may offer frames and lenses at competitive prices while still providing face-to-face measurements, fitting and subsequent adjustments. Registered dispensing opticians are regulated healthcare professionals trained to advise on and fit spectacles according to an individual's visual and lifestyle requirements.

What about buying glasses online?

Online spectacle companies can be extremely tempting, particularly for straightforward single-vision prescriptions.

Advantages can include lower prices, huge frame selections, easy price comparisons and the convenience of ordering without leaving home.

For someone who knows the size and style of frame they like and has a relatively uncomplicated prescription, online glasses can potentially provide an inexpensive second pair, reading glasses or prescription sunglasses.

There is, however, a significant catch.

Your prescription isn't necessarily every measurement required to make your glasses properly.

For example, your pupillary distance, the measurement used to help position the lenses correctly in relation to your eyes, isn't legally required to appear on the prescription provided following your eye examination. Responsibility for properly centring the lenses rests with whoever supplies the spectacles.

Some online companies therefore ask customers to take measurements themselves.

When professional fitting becomes more important

The stronger or more complicated your prescription, the more cautious you should be about choosing glasses purely on price.

The Association of Optometrists particularly highlights high prescriptions, varifocals and substantial differences between the two eyes as situations where accurate measurements are important.

Varifocals are a good example. The positioning of the different viewing areas within the lenses needs to correspond properly with your eyes and the way the frame sits on your face.

There's evidence for exercising caution online. Research cited by the College of Optometrists found spectacles bought online were more likely to fail optical tolerance testing than those supplied through high-street practices. Participants nevertheless identified lower prices, convenience and clearer pricing among the attractions of buying online.

Don't forget the importance of fit

There's another difference that has nothing to do with your prescription.

A pair of glasses needs to fit your face.

Frames that constantly slide down your nose, pinch behind your ears or sit crookedly can become thoroughly irritating.

A good dispensing optician can adjust the sides, nose pads and general position of the frame and check how the spectacles sit once the finished lenses have been fitted.

That's harder to reproduce when your glasses arrive through the post.

Don't confuse buying glasses with having your eyes tested

Perhaps the most important point is that saving money on spectacles shouldn't mean skipping regular eye examinations.

An eye examination isn't merely a means of obtaining a prescription. It's also an opportunity for an optometrist to examine your eye health and identify changes which may need further investigation.

So by all means shop around after you've been properly examined.

The That's Health verdict

There's no single answer suitable for everybody.

For a straightforward prescription, an established online supplier could offer substantial convenience and savings. An independent spectacle fitter may provide an attractive middle ground: competitive prices combined with professional measuring, fitting and aftercare.

For high prescriptions, varifocals, unusual requirements or situations where accurate positioning is particularly important, the advantages of face-to-face professional dispensing become much greater.

And remember to compare like with like. Ask what lenses are included, what coatings you're getting, whether thinning is included, what happens if the glasses aren't right and whether adjustments and aftercare are provided.

Your eyesight is too important to choose glasses solely because they're cheap – but that doesn't mean you have to pay more than necessary.

That’s Health note: This article is intended as general information rather than individual optical or medical advice. Continue to have your eyes examined at the intervals recommended by your optometrist and seek professional advice if you experience changes in your vision.

One particularly useful point for readers receiving help with optical costs is that NHS optical vouchers can be taken to a supplier of their choice provided that supplier accepts them. 

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/opticians/nhs-voucher-values-for-glasses-and-lenses

On line goes off line! Cheap Fashion Glasses Website Selectspecs.com Moves To The High Street

In an interesitng reversal of the trend of recent years for retailers to go oneline, online glasses and sunglasses retailer, Selectspecs.com, is opening its first ‘bricks and mortar’ store in a bid to bring its ‘cheapest glasses in the world’ offering to its offline consumers from 23rd April 2012.

Currently one of the leading retailers for cheap glasses online, Selectspecs.com offers a range of eyewear including both own brand and designer specs. Visitors to its site will find some of the most competitive prices in the world for items such as cheap Ray-Bans, geek glasses and rimless glasses.

Its expansion onto the high street in picturesque Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, is part of the upcoming trend to combine online content with an engaging in-store experience. While offering consumers the same great value and enticing discounts, the store will allow people who aren’t confident in purchasing online to try before they buy.

In-store computer terminals will showcase the extensive online range, and frames not available in the shop can be called in for customers to try. In-store optometrists and trained staff will be on hand to offer comprehensive eye-tests using the very latest technologies, consultations and advice, with orders processed and delivered direct to the customer at home.

David McMillan who founded Selectspecs.com in 2005, said: “The decision to open a shop on the high street stemmed from our observation that digital content has reached a new level of consumer influence. To stay ahead of the competition our future growth strategy had to combine both clicks and bricks; a multi-channel approach rather than a pure online offer.

“Building brand equity online has been our key objective, with huge investments in SEO, PPC, marketing and PR to improve search results and drive traffic to the site. But channel-hopping is becoming the ‘new normal’ for today’s Internet-savvy shopper so we envisage a high proportion of high street sales coming from this consumer sector as they will use the store as a showroom for online purchases. The intention is to increase brand exposure and sales by making the shopping experience more enjoyable and convenient than ever, both online and in-store.”

This type of activity has already been witnessed by leading consumer brands, Hotel Chocolat, Amazon and eBay, and is supported by Professor Joshua Bamfield, Director of the Centre for Retail Research.

He said: “This is a reasonable strategy as a significant proportion of online retailers are likely to have a high street presence over the next three to four years. Multi-channel retailing is now seen as part of the upcoming trend and Selectspecs will be at the leading edge of this growth strategy.”

Selectspecs.com has one of the largest ranges of glasses and cheap sunglasses on the market, boasting 40,000 styles of frames online. This, combined with its unique offering of the world’s cheapest prescription glasses range at a mere £6 (including prescription lenses), has firmly positioned the company at the top of its game with an average of 200,000 website visits per month.

www.selectspecs.com: 37 Station Road, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, CT8 8QY.
For a video sneak preview of the store, visit Selectspecs on YouTube
For images and latest news, visit Selectspecs on Facebook

Specsavers, a quick, efficient service

Specsavers offers a quick, efficient service that provides a happy marriage between technology and good, old-fashioned values of customer service.

There's a free SMS reminder service that sends customers a message the day before the appointment reminding patients of not only the date but the time. Ideal for those of us who lead such busy lives that we rarely remember what day it is, let alone remember the date and time of an appointment with the optician!

The service is reasonably quick and the service fast and, in general, friendly. At all points we got the impression that they were asking all the right questions. And performing the right tests, not always the case with all opticians.

As with all Specsaver branches the prices are prominently displayed, so you know exactly what price you can expect to pay at all stages of the process. Incidentally, if you have a favourite frame, these can- usually- be re-glazed at £39. And their are usually special deals such as 2 for 1, etc.

The examination process is very thorough, including the pre-test and the eye test and examination itself. At all times and at all stages patients are treated professionally by professionals.

Retinal photographs are now taken as standard, this is -unlike with some other High Street opticians- included free of charge.

There is a nice range of frames available, though I got the impression that larger branches might have better ranges, though I am sure staff will do their best to ensure you are happy. Frames available range from the very basic to some fairly nice designer frames.

One disappointment was that the facility to allow patients to check out how they looked in a new frame wasn't working due to a fault. Perhaps it would make sense to have a digital camera available for such an eventuality?

We would like to thank Telford Specsavers for their assistance in researching this article.