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Eye Examinations
EyeSight is precious, have your vision and eyes examined regularly- it isn’t only for spectacle wearers!
Contact Lenses
CLsContact Lens fitting and reviews- are you wearing the best lenses for YOUR eyes?
Childrens Eyecare
3+Undetected childhood vision problems can have lifelong consquences. Every Child should be checked aged approximately 3, sooner if problems are suspected.
Corporate Eyecare
DSECorporate Eyecare- from safety spectacles to VDU eye checks, we can arrange onsite or in our office.
Cholesterol drugs hold promise for advanced AMD?
A new study has found that there may be a potential benefit in the treatment of the most common dry form of Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), using a commonly prescribed Statin drug (used to lower cholesterol). This drug, known by the brand name Lipitor is already commonly prescribed to treat raised cholesterol, but has been found (in a small trial) to reduce the build up of debris underneath the retina which is associated with the dry type of AMD.
The study found that the drug could reduce, or eliminate these deposits, called drusen, particularly “soft” drusen, and lead to a moderate increase in Visual Acuity in affected subjects. The study was trialling a higher dose of the drug than commonly prescribed to treat the cholesterol issue alone, but seemed to be effective – further investigations, with a larger study will be required to ensure that the treatment is safe and effective.
Until now, the only effective help for Dry AMD has been anti-oxidant Vitamins, minerals and other supplements, which do seem to slow the progression of the disease, but perhaps in future there may be other possibilities?
As this problem affects millions of people worldwide, this is potentially exciting news!
Source: Optometry Today | Cholesterol drugs hold promise for advanced AMD
Keep freshwater Fish – and drink their water – to protect from Glaucoma?
A recent study has found that people who have a diet higher in Nitrates are less likely to develop Glaucoma than those who do not.
Bear with me please……
My daughter and a friend caught a fish in a rock pool in Galway, and as part of the coercion to get her to return the poor creature from it’s precariously balanced, and obviously going to fall over bucket, to the rockpool, I agreed to get her a goldfish.
Parents- let them keep the poor creature in the bucket until it is dead! The goldfish have cost a serious amount of money over the past few years, though each one cost only about €3.50! She has hardly looked at the tank in months!
Having been thrown into fish-keeping, at the deep end!, I can tell you that it is a steep learning curve – whoever heard of Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate? This is the Nitrogen Cycle, where harmful fish toxins are converted to less harmful toxins by the filter in the tank (bowls are cruel – they are not big enough, and you didn’t know you definitely needed a filter, did you?) but the end product – Nitrates have to be removed by regular water changes, or a significant amount of live plants in the tank, most probably both. In the case of Goldfish, they will likely have eaten the plants before those plants get a chance to remove any Nitrate! Goldfish are usually people’s first time fish, but most definitely are not the best first time fish! They are messy and dirty creatures, but which Pet Shop will advise you of that? Betta’s are better, (or easier?), as long as you get their sex correct, else the females will be hounded to exhaustion in no time.
The end product of the Nitrogen Cycle is Nitrates, so – don’t just throw away all of those Nitrates in the tank – DRINK THE FISH WATER – it will protect you (perhaps) from developing Glaucoma – perhaps a 20 to 30% reduction?
There is another way to get Nitrate levels increased in your diet – leafy green vegetables are apparently full of the stuff – spinach, lettuce and kale, as are beets and carrots, but who would have read this post without the “Fish Hook”?
Fish keeping is a great way to de-stress, once the tank is established, but before that, you are in for a very, very stressful and tough ride! If you care about their welfare – the LAST thing to do do is purchase a fish!! (Check out the (almost) complete guide to fishless cycling, before you buy a fish!!)
Seriously, DO NOT DRINK FISH TANK WATER, I was only kidding!! – fish can harbour a good few diseases that can be passed to humans, including (rarely) TB, though it seems you will only probably get a skin infection, not more serious forms, perhaps unless you drink the water!?!
It once again shows that a balanced healthy diet and lifestyle may be the best way to prevent many common eye diseases – Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration come to mind straight away.
The full article can be read here – you may need to login or register, which is free.
Disclaimer – I don’t even know if the Nitrates (NO3-) the authors are mentioning are the same as in the tank waste water. I think so, but…..
Marine (salt water) fish, perhaps because they live in larger bodies of water, are much less tolerant to Nitrate, so the above “advice” doesn’t apply to them – the fish will be likely be dead before the Nitrates are significant, and we all know that drinking salty water is a bad idea – it will at least increase the blood pressure, which could increase the risk of Age Related Macular Degeneration.
DO NOT DRINK WATER FROM A FISH TANK!!
Diabetics – You should read this!
Mild background Diabetic Changes
I had a lady in for an eye test today, complaining that her “glasses are not as good as they used to be”, a fairly common complaint. But nobody ever thinks that their eyes are not as good as they used to be- they always blame the spectacles.
This lady is a Type II diabetic, and ONCE has an issue when she felt unwell after being dilated with eye drops for retinal photography, so she has never had it done since!!
That was before 2009, though we are unsure when she may have had the issue. It was before we ever first saw her. I have since dilated her – in 2010, and she has no complaints about that, no recollection actually, but she is still of the opinion that the dilating drops “do not agree with her”, so she has not attended any of the National Diabetic Retinopathy Screening (NDRS) appointments that she has been asked (or invited??) to attend. She freely admits that, at the time she had a “touch” of vertigo, which may have been a contributory issue. There are ways to ensure that the drops have little, if any effect on the body as a whole (side effects) – basically by squeezing on the punctae- little holes where the tears drain from in the eyelids near the nose – if we “occlude” those, there will be little or no drug getting into the bloodstream only the eyes!
She was supposed to return to us in 2011 to have a dilated fundus exam, but she collected the spectacles, and confirmed she would make a convenient appointment, but despite reminders, she never did. We can only advise you to have checks, but no-one can make you! Now nearly 5 years later she is back, once again with complaints that her spectacles are not as good as they used to be.
Diabetic Eye disease is the most common cause of BLINDNESS in the developed world, and therefore should not be ignored (It won’t happen to me) – but it might. This lady has very small pupils, which significantly hampers the view into her eyes, but even if the view was not hindered, dilated fundus examination is important to visualise as much of the retina (the light sensitive layer at the back of the eye) as possible. Her GP and the National Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service seem either unconcerned, or may be unaware of her non attendance.
Come ON folks – if the offer of free screening is available, you should take them up on it – (they are not doing it to be nice to the you) – they are doing it because early detection and treatment SAVES MONEY! – Blindness costs the state an awful lot of money!
Personally, I would not really care how much the NDRS costs the HSE / government each year, nor how much money it might save the state – if it stopped ME from going blind, the entire screening program would have been money well spent! In my opinion.
But no-one can force you to have the required checks, though, this time she will not be getting her spectacles until she has been dilated and thoroughly examined!
Unfortunately, sometimes it is the only way – but she may never return to collect the spectacles…. You can lead a horse to water…….
Update: She was in, to collect her new spectacles, and dilated, and there were no signs of any significant diabetic changes to her retinae, but 5 years is a long time – Diabetics should have their eyes checked somewhere on at least an annual basis.
In case of Emergency…
Eye and Sight threatening conditions can occur at any time, but fortunately most eye problems are not urgent in nature.
Optometrists in Ireland usually do not offer an out of hours service, because eye problems are rarely all that sudden in onset. However, at any time, but particularly over the Christmas Holidays, we will see people at irregular hours – I am aware that some issues cannot wait for our extended closing times over the Christmas holiday season.
If you have broken your spectacles, wear your spare pair. Don’t have spares? Doh!
If you have a seriously painful eye, and are a contact lens client of ours, please contact Ian on this numberIan’s mobile O83 8O8 O371 – there is no guarantee that my phone will be in coverage, but if you leave your name, number and a message I will get back to you, though if you are in significant pain, and have a red eye with a pus like discharge, I would suggest that you consider going straight to the Eye and Ear Hospital, or the Mater Casualty Department in Dublin- we would probably advise that you go there when we see you anyway! We are not legally allowed to prescribe drops to treat eye infections.
This advice would also be relevant to people with sudden loss of vision, extreme eye pain or (again) extreme light sensitivity – I will happily see you, but most of those issues will probably require (possibly) urgent onward referral to the hospitals.
Have a great holiday season, but please, remember to stay safe with your contact lenses!
Please remember,
- DO NOT SLEEP IN YOUR CONTACT LENSES (Unless we advised you that it is safe to do so, which is very very rare).
- Wash you hands before applying and removing lenses.
- Clean the lenses properly if they are not daily disposables, and always use fresh solution every night.
Have a look at our Contact Lens Dos and Don’ts here.
I can’t believe how boring you all find Optometry!!
For all the “interesting” posts I put on the website, the two most commonly viewed, and the two most viewed and commented upon on Facebook are “We found a handbag and Phone”, and “DO NOT ABUSE MY STAFF”.
Come on Folks! – Optometry is the most interesting thing ever- though statistics may state that the loss of smell is the loss of any sense most linked to suicide, I for one would rather die than go blind. That is just a personal thing.
I have an old, well same age as me, not the most close, school friend who is blind, (I don’t know why), and he seems to have a very happy and fulfilled life, but personally I cannot imagine living in his world. He wasn’t blind when I knew him, and understandably, I cannot FB him to ask why!
But yet, apart from the page “Pupil problems“, Oh and of course the /login page- multiple attempts to that one every day it seems, usually from computers in the Ukraine at the moment, the above two posts are the most popular ever!
I guess Optometry is only exciting to Optometrists?
It’s not sexy, but if you need us, we are here, and we could help save your sight.
It is like that facebook post with the tea shop’s pavement sign – “Sex Sells, unfortunately we only sell tea and coffee” spectacles and contact lenses! Perhaps you all should think of Optometrists primarily as people who save your eyesight and vision? I have never recommended a pair of spectacles to someone unless they have a problem that I am sure I can fix or improve with a correction.
Most people are entitled to an eye examination under their Medical Card or PRSI contributions, otherwise there is a charge. To book an appointment, or contact us, please go here.
P.S. If anyone wants to get me a Christmas present…….
