what if my screws come loose?!

My screw has come loose, what do I do?!
​You've had your eye test, you get your new glasses, 2 months later one of the screws has worked loose and come out and the side has fallen off the glasses! That's ok, you pop back to your opticians and they mend it for you. Easy right? But what if you had your eye test at home because you couldn't get to the opticians? Should you call them to come all the way back to see you just to put in a new screw? YES! Definitely yes you should. If the side has fallen off your glasses, either they're un-wearable or very wonky! Making sure you can see as well as possible and as comfortably as possible goes beyond the hour we spend with you for your eye test. If your new glasses come loose and start slipping down your nose, call us and we will come and adjust them for you, no charge. Any problem with your sight or your glasses, we will do our best to help you. ​

My vision is getting worse but I'm not due another eye test for 6 months, what should I do? 
Call your optician and book in another check. This goes for high street opticians as well as home visiting opticians. If your optician has recommended a 1 year check, that is assuming everything is normal. If you notice a change even 1 day after your check, you should book another one in. Sometimes it's just a case of adjusting your glasses, but sometimes it can be a problem with your eye health that needs seeing to urgently.

I'm getting headaches and I never used to get them, who should I talk to? 
In this situation, as well as contacting your GP, it is a good idea to also book a check with your optician. There are some headaches which can be caused by your eyes  and other more serious headaches that can be detected by checking thr back of your eyes. If there is anything causing swelling on the brain, it will often also cause swelling at your optic nerve which can be detected by looking at the back of your eye with an ophthalmoscope. Your optician can then refer you as urgently as necessary. If you have an eye test and everything is normal then you can tell your GP which will help them rule out some causes of headaches. 

I had an eye test and didn't want new glasses at the time but now I fancy a new pair. 
If your eye test is in date then you don't need another one. You can use the prescription issued to buy glasses wherever you want. If you had a home visit then book in for a home dispensing appointment to choose new frames. If your eye test was done elsewhere we will happily do a quick check to make sure the prescription is perfect before making your new glasses.

I can't see the tv well enough with glasses, can't you make them a bit stronger?
This is a common misconception for distance vision/tv glasses.  Your glasses only correct your long or short sightedness. "Making them stronger" will only move the focal distance closer to you which will in fact blur the distance/tv. However, this can work for reading glasses, the stronger the reading prescription, the larger things seem because they are magnified, but also the closer the focal distance will be. So increasing the magnification of reading glasses can be done to a certain extent but be prepared to hold your book much closer to your face. For some people this works quite well. If you are struggling with very small print then an extra dioptre on your reading glasses could make this manageable. However, if you have significant sight loss then this may not be enough even to read large print. This is where hand held magnifying glasses come in. These can be obtained through the NHS at a hospital low vision clinic or privately though your optician. We carry a range of magnifying glasses which you may try for free then if they help then you can either purchase one or be referred for free ones.

As always, any questions please comment or give us a call on 01157866320.