Time to transform eye health
SPECSAVERS is backing National Eye Health Week by urging people to have regular eye tests to help maintain and protect their sight.
Recent research for Specsavers and the Royal National Institute of Blind People, suggests nearly 14 million people in the UK are not having their eyes tested every two years as recommended by optometrists. Some 30% claimed it was because they think there is nothing wrong with their eyes, while 29% said they just don’t have the time.
Specsavers recently announced a new partnership with Royal National Institute of Blind People to support its vital work. The relationship includes a significant multi-media investment to help educate people about eye health and to raise awareness of how regular eye tests can help reduce preventable sight loss.
Dr Nigel Best, Specsavers’ clinical spokesperson, said: ‘We’re reaching out to the people of the UK to encourage them to take better care of their own and their family’s sight.
‘A routine eye test not only helps detect any problems with your vision, it can also check for more general health problems and a wide range of conditions that can lead to sight loss if not treated in time. Early detection and timely intervention is critical to managing any eye health condition.’
At present there are more than two million people in the UK living with sight loss, which has a significant impact on their daily lives.
Dr Best added: ‘Incredibly nearly half of sight loss cases are preventable, regular eye tests could pick up the warning signs before it’s too late.’
The advice to have regular eye tests also applies to people with existing prescriptions who don’t think their vision has changed. The research revealed that many spectacle and contact lens wearers ignore warnings that wearing the wrong prescription could cause symptoms such as headaches and dizziness.
Dr Best said: ‘People should have their eyes tested every two years or more frequently if recommended. Opticians prescribe glasses or contact lenses based upon precise testing at a given time so if that information is not regularly checked and updated there can be severe consequences. Spectacle wearers could experience unnecessary discomfort while contact lens wearers could risk damaging their eyes.’
The research also revealed parents across the country are putting off taking their children to the optician with a surprising 27% of parents with children aged 3 to 16 can’t recall taking, or have never taken their child for an eye test.
As part of National Eye Health Week Specsavers stores up and down the UK are raising vital funds for RNIB to allow them to deliver much needed support for people affected by vision loss.
Sally Harvey, acting chief executive of RNIB, says: ‘More than two million people in the UK are living with sight loss that has a significant impact on their daily lives. However, of those two million, more than a third of people would notice a huge improvement in their vision simply by wearing the correct prescription glasses or contact lenses. We would encourage anyone who has put off going for an eye test to book one at the earliest opportunity.”
Specsavers recently launched a children’s vision screening campaign making screening software available free of charge to all schools in the UK. The equipment – SchoolScreener EZ - is unique in being suitable for screening the vision of children aged four to 16 and includes a colour vision test. Designed to be simply operated by teachers or classroom assistants, the screener can be used in 35 different languages. Schools can register to receive their free kit at screeningforschools.com