Why Michael McIntyre has got it all wrong about eye examinations!

It’s officially ‘Blue Monday’, so for all our blog followers we thought a little humour was required. I recently watched this sketch from Michael McIntyre about visiting the optician. If you need a break from your work, it is worth a watch. I always love his sketches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBfoimbR7Dc

It is of course, created for laughs, but is a reminder of how so many people think a trip to the optometrist or optician is just about testing your vision. Leaving those who can see well, feeling an appointment with their optometrist is unnecessary. Or, like Michael, if you have your contact lenses on order and you feel you have no changes to your vision, you just keep receiving the same ones month after month. So what’s wrong with this…?

It’s not just about what you can see but what we can see in your eyes. Yes, when you think of an eye examination you think of the letters. Can you read an array of letters on a screen? Tick. Off you go. No, it’s not that simple.

The comprehensive eye examination we perform gives us the chance to take a thorough look at your eye health. Our state-of-the-art Optos Daytona scanner will show up issues which may indicate a problem. If identified early, often before you notice anything yourself, treatment can often halt any progression but if left, could result in serious issues such as loss of vision. What about peripheral vision? It’s not just about seeing how far behind you can you see. A loss in peripheral vision is in indication of glaucoma amongst other potential problems. A visual field test will quickly identify any concerns often before you are aware of the condition.

And it isn’t just eye health that we can examine. Through our scans and tests we have also picked up signs of heart disease, diabetes, childhood eye cancer, brain tumours, high cholesterol, the list goes on. We don’t want to scaremonger. We just want to educate people that getting your eyes examined is so much more than a test of vision.

If you are a contact lens wearer, it is also a good opportunity to see if the products you are using are the best available on the market. New lenses are being developed on a regular basis with new materials which may provide more comfort, better vision and improved eye health, than the lenses you have, so it is always worth discussing options with your optometrist.

So, when you think about booking your annual trip to the dentist, think about booking in with your optometrist as well. You only get one set of eyes, so look after them.
Now back to some more Michael McIntyre to get me through this dreary day.