OT: Is eye strain like arc-eye?

[Peter Parry]

Go and get just an eye test done. Get a copy of the prescription (they are obliged to give it to you and will probably do so without you even asking).

Go home and go to

and order a couple of pairs of glasses at about GBP15 each. You even get to do a bit of DIY as you need to measure your head.

If you want a pair of prescription magnifying glasses for detailed DIY then look at your prescription - it will probably say "add xx" where xx will probably be a fairly low figure. Order a pair of reading glasses and on the order form substitute the maximum figure in the "Add" box (+3.75) for the prescription figure. You will get a pair of glasses to your prescription with a focal length of about 12"

- ideal for precision work.

optical4less.com seem to have a very good reputation and reliable service. SWMBO who has a very complicated prescription has saved a considerable sum over three years of using them.

[Oh dear]

Or move to Scotland where everyone gets free eye tests.

[Stuart B]

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:36:22 GMT, Cicero wrote: snipped

Zovirax ??

Well.well.. You live and learn

I thought that was for cold sores .but it sems there is another variety as well

Need to make sure you use the correct one .

[John Rumm]

(If memory serves, you are not that far from my neck of the woods)

There is an independent glasses maker in Battlesbridge who will supply decent quality specs at a fraction of the price most options charge. By way of example I recently had new lenses for mine, the optition wanted something like £130. So I asked for a copy of the prescription, and took it there: £26.

[T i m]

Ok (booked for Wednesday).

Doh, now I have a choice .. yours and Cicero's link on the other thread (although I don't think he's tried them yet).

;-(

Crafty ;-)

Excellent. Nothing better than some real world feedback. ;-)

All the best and thanks for the info ..

T i m

p.s. I don't mind paying the money for such things it's just I know I'm gonna damage them on day 1. These 6 quid ReadySpecs have been pretty abused and both frames and lenses are still AOK (and if / when the lenses do get scratched it's no hassle buying a new pair.

[T i m]

Ok, thanks for the note but I'm not aware of such in the family.

That would have to be the missus then as I'm currently a 'House Husband / Daddy Cab' (her idea, time for me to get the house sorted once_and_for_all) ?? ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Or take a holiday in Goa (and similar) and get all healthcare you want quickly and cheap (and we think they are the 3rd world country)?

I suppose our 'cheap' is still expensive to most of the indigenous population though .. ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

[Cicero]

there are two varieties of Zovirax. The 'prescription only' variety is for eyes, whereas the other type is available over the counter without prescription from any chemist. Remember that a cold sore is actually a virus / viral infection.

Cic.

[nightjar]

An age where a number of things can start to go wrong, some of which can lead to blindness if not treated in time. Even without the problems you describe, you should start routinely (i.e. every couple of years) visiting an opthalmic optician.

That is probably why you had the problem. Long term computer use with a slightly wrong prescription can easy lead to eye strain and headache. Ready specs will almost certainly be the wrong prescription, even if you find ones that make seeing easier than without them. It is rare for both eyes to need exactly the same correction and the ready specs only provide spherical lens correction, not the cylindrical lens correction needed for astigmatism.

Colin Bignell

[dennis]

Its just a variety of herpes IIRC.

[Cicero]

=============================== Isn't herpes a virus?

Cic.

[T i m]

Nope, not far, ~34miles as the M25, A127 flies (to Battlesbridge) ;-)

Blige. And I guess the fact that I can nearly get away with stock

1.25's it shouldn't be an expensive prescription?

Well, so that's another option then ... ;-)

All the best .. and thanks John

T i m

[T i m]

Ok, thanks.

Well funnily I had no headache at all and no issues with the eye until the next day (if that means anything)?

Understood. When I first got them I *only* used them for reading. Now I generally wear them when indoors or out and need to read stuff (shopping etc).

Ok. Well as of right now I can read the pretty small font on Agent with my 'bad' eye (although I have to squint a tiny bit) and easily with my right eye. The telly is equally sharp with or without glasses on the right eye and slightly less so with the left.

Thanks for the advice Colin,

All the best ..

T i m

[ARWadsworth]

I was for years the only person in the family (Mum, Dad and brother) than needed glasses. I have worn them since I was 10 and have visited an optician every year since. About 5 years ago my Mum (I did leave home years ago) bought some off the shelf glasses and I nagged her to see my optician. She then got a right volley off the optician (pleasantly done though). The 'ready specs' were making her eyesight worse.

They are not bad people opticians. I use an independant and so have to wait a little longer for my new glasses than a big chain (no 1 hour specs for me) but I do like feel I get a perfect prescription for my eyes.

Ask your spectacle wearing friends or their spectacle wearing spouses who they use, a recommendation is a very good sign. Do not go on price, go on service. You can use an independant optician to have your eyes tested and take the prescription you get to any other shop you wish to have the glasses made.

HTH

Adam

[Andrew Gabriel]

As others said, go and see an optician.

I doubt the day's computer usage and the symptoms have any connection. It sounds like an infection which cleared itself up. Eyes are very good at preventing and fixing infections themselves. However, infections of the cornea are potentially very serious and can be hard to spot, and are worth getting checked out very quickly.

[R D S]

You shouldn't wait five years between tests but something to try in the short term is to consciously blink more when at the PC. On the PC the eyes dry because you will blink about 25% of the norm.

[R D S]

Buy them from the above and rest in the knowledge that they are a UK company. I know these people, it is a good product.

As for eye tests although it pains me to say it Specsavers are as good as anywhere if not better than most. They have all the gear and as there is often more than one optom on site a second opinion is available if something looks squiffy.

Regards, Rick

[R D S]

LIES. Your eye has a lens and a length. If these are unsuited then you need glasses. The eye can continue to slowly grow through life hence short sightedness tends to increase, longsightedness can decrease. Whether you wear glasses or not makes no difference.

I would agree with the above. You will probably get better and more honest service at an independent. Multiples seem cheaper but they hammer you for extras once they have you.

[Bob Eager]

Yup, see an optician for an eye test and a good look round. You never know what else it might be. When you get a prescription, try

as another alternative. I have pairs of glasses all over the place now, since left eye is largely inoperative.

Lots of things to go wrong, so always worth a check-up. Macular degeneration, cataract, or (if you're really unlucky) a melanoma!

[nightjar]

I get one too, because of the strength of my lenses. It covers about 1% of the cost.

Colin Bignell