Dry eye, watery eye, sticky eye? Eye up the expert… your optician
It may be obvious, but if a person has toothache then a visit to the dentist is the first step to treatment. Yet in the case of eye health, people aren’t always aware that if you’re experiencing pain or abnormalities with your vision, you don’t need to ca
THE importance of looking after your eye health is something that opticians have championed for decades because your eyes not only affect how you see, but also offer an insight into your overall health and well-being.
An optometrist or ophthalmic optician is best known as the “go to” healthcare professional to visit for a routine sight test or if a person has noticed a change in their vision, but not necessarily the first port of call for those experiencing eye health problems. This has traditionally been a GP surgery, a hospital or pharmacy.
However, in Wales, anyone who experiences pain, discomfort, redness, sudden changes or flashes of light in their vision, among other symptoms, can visit their local optician to access advice and have a bespoke test from experts in eye health – an optometrist. What’s more, it’s free if you’re registered with a GP.
This is all down to an initiative from the Welsh Government called the Wales Eye Care Services (WECS) programme, which has been established for a number of years. Its aim is to reduce unnecessary visits to PATRICK SO visited his local Specsavers store when he noticed a central black spot in his right eye and experienced flashes which affected his vision.
Even though Patrick was not due for a routine sight test, he explained his symptoms to staff at the Specsavers store who instantly arranged for him to have an Eye Health Examination Wales test to investigate his problems further.
During his test, the optometrist used drops to help examine the eye and discovered Patrick’s optic nerve, which transmits visual information from the eye to the brain, was inflamed. As a result, the optometrist arranged for Patrick to have an appointment at a specialist eye clinic later that day.
During Patrick’s hospital appointment he was diagnosed with optical neuritis, which is the inflammation of the nerve from the eye to the brain. He was prescribed medication to treat the condition and needed a number of follow- hospital and to enable people across Wales to access high-quality care on their doorstep, in their local communities.
The programme also sees opticians across the country deliver primary eyecare services on behalf of the NHS in the form of targeted clinical tests, known as Eye Health Examination Wales (EHEW).
This is a more in-depth and up appointments at the clinic in the coming weeks to monitor the condition, but fortunately his vision has now returned to normal.
Talking about his experience, Patrick said: “My story certainly proves that it is vital to visit an optician if you are experiencing problems with your eyesight.
“Luckily, I was able to visit my local opticians to talk about the concerns I had, which led to the problem being detected early on and treated within a few hours of my first appointment. The staff at Specsavers acted quickly and professionally as soon as it was identified that something wasn’t quite right with my eye health, and for this I am very grateful.
“My experience has certainly made me realise that your vision is a hugely important indicator of your overall health and I would encourage anyone who is experiencing concerns about their eyes to visit their nearest optician for advice and a test.”
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investigative test to a routine eye examination as the optometrist will use different tests and equipment depending on the individual’s symptoms in order to get to the real root cause of the problem.
Specsavers stores in Wales are proud to be Eye Health Examination Wales-accredited optometrists, meeting the stringent standards set by the Wales Optometric Postgraduate Centre (WOPEC), which optometrists must meet to be eligible to deliver WECS services.
This means that anyone experiencing problems with their eyes can visit their local Specsavers store for immediate testing and professional advice as opposed to waiting for a GP appointment or queuing up at A&E.
The Royal Institute of Blind People says that more than half of sight loss in the UK is preventable, and the importance of early detection is key. Unfortunately, eye conditions can develop without symptoms and may only present themselves when they are at advanced stages.
By making more eyecare services easily accessible across all of Wales, opticians can help the minute someone suspects they have an issue, which could potentially prevent a person from suffering long term or irreversible damage to their sight. And because these services are delivered on behalf of the NHS, there is no cost to the individual if you are registered with a GP.
If you experience pain, discomfort, redness, sudden changes or flashes of light in your vision, and any other symptoms that cause concern, then the solution is to seek advice at an accredited opticians, safe in the knowledge that an expert can thoroughly assess the health of your eyes and, if required, refer you to see another health practitioner, such as a GP or hospital-based ophthalmologist. However, the majority of cases are managed in the community.
Likewise, if you seek advice from your doctor or pharmacist about an eye complaint, they too will direct you to an optician for an EHEW test as community-based optometry is accessible whether you live in a rural or urban area of Wales and ensures that people can be appropriately managed depending on their care needs.