Author: Oldfields Opticians

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Low vision clinic near Ealing, Harrow & Wembley

Low vision clinic near Ealing, Harrow & Wembley. Visual impairment and low vision affects a growing number of people in the community. This is partly due to an aging population and so low vision service are under increasing burden to provide low vision services in the hospital eye service.

If you live in and around Ealing, Harrow & Wembley you will be near Ealing and Northwick Park hospitals where branches of Moorfields Eye Hospital exist that provide low vision services. There is often a wait to be seen within their departments.

So what is low vision and visual impairment?

In the UK there are about 360,000 people who are registered sight impaired (previously called “partially sighted”) and severely sight impaired (previously known as “blind”). This involved voluntarily registering depending on the severity of your sight loss. The thresholds of severity depend on your vision level measured from the testing chart and your field of vision.

The assessment that leads to registration is done by an Ophthalmologist in a hospital eye department in combination with data collected by support staff including Optometrists. If you are certified as either sight impaired or severely sight impaired, a certificate called the Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI) will be issued to you along with copies being sent to your GP and your local social services.

Your local social services will contact you and give you the option of being added to a register of visually impaired people. You will also receive access to an assessment in your home by for example an occupational therapist. There are a number of  further benefits you may receive and may include:

  • Disability living allowance or Personal Independance Payment
  • Reduced TV licence fees
  • Reduced public transport fares
  • Parking concessions

Regardless of whether you are certified as sight impaired, you can be given low vision assessments in the hospital eye service.

Low Vision assessments or Eye examination

Unlike an eye examination which is a general check of the state of your eyes, a low vision assessment is a specialised test dealing more specifically with the visual impairment. Not all Opticians are able to provide this service as not all Optometrists are trained in providing these assessments. At Oldfields Opticians for example the Optometrist, Salman Siddiqui is able to provide low vision assessments as he works at Moorfields Eye Hospital in the refraction and low vision department at City Road.

A low vision assessment provides in addition to a standard refraction the measurments to determine the optimum strength of low vison aids that would be most useful for you. Bear in mind that your vision may continue to change and so the assessment is not just a one off but needs to be re-assessed periodically.

Low vision clinic near Ealing, Harrow & Wembley

Oldfields Opticians is nestled between Ealing to the south, Harrow to the north and Wembley to the east making it easily accessible for patients from all three areas. That coupled with free parking means that your visit can be hassle free.

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Best Prescription Sunglasses for Better Mountain Biking

Prescription sunglasses for mountain biking. Mountain biking is great fun and mountain bikes get to be used what they were made for.

I remember when I first went mountain biking in the lake district years ago. We took a semi-challenging route so as not to appear completely novice like in the group.

That was a gruelling few hours and we got back barely able to walk and covered in mud. I was wearing my glasses and kept stopping because of stuff going in my eyes.

We had the gear to protect ourselves from the mud on our clothes but hadn’t thought of protection for the eyes!! I didn’t even know that anything for that purpose existed.

Forward to the present and thankfully there are options available for those of us who need glasses and want full wrap sunglasses.

Dunlop Prescription Sunglasses for Better Mountain Biking

Dunlop make an excellent pair of sports sunglasses that come with polarised lenses, a prescription insert that clips on the back and even a wind/dirt guard.

The sides of the frame are adjustable for different side angles (called the pantoscopic angle) and the sides even detach to allow the attachment of a strap, giving further stability when riding.

The package cost including your prescription in standard index lenses is £99.95 which is great value when you consider all the options it gives you.

If that sound like its doing too much for you, you opt for the Salice sports frames. These are wrap around frames with interchangeable lenses between clear and mirrored tint.

They also include prescription inserts. The sides are fixed and they come in two colours. White with blue mirror lens or black with silver mirror lenses.

This package including your prescription in standard index lenses is £79.95, again a great value package.

So if you are looking for prescription sunglasses for mountain biking adventures, come in and try out these sports eyewear. Contact us and we can call you back to arrange an appointment.

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Ray Ban prescription glasses in Ealing

Ray Ban prescription glasses in Ealing. Ubiquitous with fashion sunglasses that is good quality and optically well made. Ray-Ban is always popular and fans often build up personal collections of these frames. Their ophthalmic range is also well made and come in a variety of styles and materials.

Modern acetate frames are great as they come in a wide array of colours an designs. Ray Ban also do Liteforce which are a much lighter plastic similar to TR90. If opting for Liteforce stay clear of lens cleaners directly on the frame as this can cause the frame to become brittle.Ray Ban prescription glasses in Ealing

The rimless range also use Liteforce technology to balance the front with the sides of the frame. Together with high index lenses you receive a very light package.

If you are looking for Ray-Ban prescription eyewear speak to us for deals on Ray-Ban prescription eyewear and sunglasses.

Ray-Ban prescription eyewear costs £199 for two pairs and come with your prescription in standard index lenses, scratch resistance coating, and anti-glare coatings. If you are unable to find the frame you would like, you can give us the model number and we can then order them in for you.

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Melanin lenses in London

Handmade Designer Glasses

Melanin lenses in London. What is melanin and why is it so good at protecting us against the harmful effects of UV radiation?

Melanin is best known as a skin pigment. It gives us different skin complexions depending on the amount of melanin we have. The less melanin we have the paler the complexion and the more we have the darker the complexion.

However, melanin is also made by our bodies in response to UV light. This is known as the familiar tan so many of us crave.

Melanin is found in the eyes and helps protect against the damaging effects of UV radiation. It also helps reduce the effect of glare from stray light in the eyes. 90% of the light that enters the eyes is absorbed by the melanin, allowing us to have better vision.

With age the melanin levels in our eyes fall causing a greater risk to UV damage and also to glare. Some people may also have abnormally low levels of eye melanin that causes poor vision.

Melanin lenses as sunglasses give 100% UV protection and also filter 98% of blue light. They do a better job at UV protection than standard tinted lenses. Why is this? Standard tinted lenses do not protect against HEV which is on the blue end of the spectrum.

Different types of UV light

  1. UVA = wavelengths 320-400 nm. Slightly blocked by the Earth’s ozone layer.
  2. UVB = wavelengths 280-320 nm. Strongly blocked by the Earth’s ozone layer.
  3. UVC = wavelengths  100-280 nm. Very Strongly blocked by the Earth’s ozone layer.
  4. HEV (high energy visible) = 400-500nm. Not blocked by the Earth’s ozone layer.

Melanin lenses and macular degeneration

Macular degeneration is a degenerative condition that affects the aging population and is linked to among other things light damage from free-radicals which are no longer absorbed by naturally occurring antioxidants found in the eye. These antioxidants (Lutein and Zeaxanthin) fall in concentration as we age. Melanin acts as an antioxidant protecting the eyes from harmful free radicals.

Sunglasses with melanin tints give the best protection against free-radicals being produced by the UV and HEV spectrum.

Melanin lenses in London

TAVAT sunglasses are one of the few manufacturers of high quality melanin sunglasses and ophthalmic/prescription glasses with melanin clip-ons.

Oldfields Opticians in North West London stocks TAVAT ophthalmics and sunglasses with the option of clip-on or full sunglasses. Contact us for more information.

 

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Macula Degeneration

Macula degeneration (AMD) is a condition that affects the central part of the vision. The part we use to look at things directly. It can occur gradually (dry type) or suddenly (wet type).

Key facts:

  • Mainly affects people over 60, but can occur sooner.
  • Most common cause of sight loss in the developed world
  • 600,000 people affected in the UK
  • Half of these are registered as sight impaired

Risk factors:

  • Age – Over 60s at greater risk
  • Smoking – Can occur at an earlier age due to smoking
  • Genetics – family history increases the risk
  • Diet – poor diet can cause deficiencies in the vitamins, mineral and antioxidants needed to main a healthy macula
  • Blood pressure – high blood pressure increase the risk
  • Sunlight – light from the blue end of the visual spectrum can increase oxidative damage, leading to macula degeneration.
  • Gender – women have a greater risk of developing the condition

Risk factor often occur in combination and it is not possible to pin the condition down to one reason or another.

What can i do:

  • Having regular eye checks will help pick up the condition sooner, and may even be before you experience any symptoms.
  • Look at your lifestyle, take regular exercise, quit smoking, have a diet rich in green leafy vegetables.
  • Assessing your lifestyle with your Optometrist can identify areas that may place you at higher risk.
  • Taking macula antioxidants if you have risk factors may help to maintain macula health.
  • Using good quality sunglasses will help protect your eyes form harmful UV light.

Treatment:

Wet macula degeneration can be treated with a drug that limits the growth of new and leaky blood vessels.

Dry macula degeneration does not have any know treatment however antioxidants are thought to play a part in maintaning macula health and may delay the onset or progression of the condition.

If you will need to be referred, we are able to refer you for wet macula degeneneration by direct fast referral to the following treatment centres.

Central Middlesex Hospital;
Charing Cross NHS Trust;
Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust;
Ealing Hospital NHS Trust;
Hillingdon Hospitals’ NHS Foundation Trust;
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust;
Moorfields’ Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
A copy of the referral is sent to your GP. You are then contacted by phone within 2 weeks with an appointment.
For those with dry macula degeneration we can provide macula supplements. Our Optometrists recommend Macushield for maintaining macula health as it contains all three macula pigments found at the macula.

Meso-Zeaxanthin is only found in one place in the body, the centre of the macula, in the back of the eye. The Meso-Zeaxanthin in MacuShield is extracted from marigolds. These marigolds are grown specifically for the production of of this ingredient. Other sources of Zeaxanthin are certain types of sea food in limited quantities.

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