OT: Is eye strain like arc-eye?

[Owain]

Unlike going to the dentist, where becoming edentulous looks more and more attractive every time I see either the drill or the bill.

Owain

[R D S]

Glassesdirect...

They go on about taking the fight to the greedy high street opticians. The company is run by web designers and PR people. Their owner is friends with royalty. He talks of making enough money selling cheap (and if we are getting it right illegally) glasses to retire in a few years and buy his own island while independent opticians are going bankrupt.

[Bob Eager]

And?

Anyway, my main point was the importance of getting regular eye tests. I buy two peirs of glasses from my optician, and three more cheap pairs (for occasional use such as when I'm out shopping) from glassesdirect. I only use them for reading; one eye is mostly inoperative.

[R D S]

If you want to make the rich richer when you buy your specs while honest hard working professionals go to the wall then be my guest. I posted what I did so that people have the facts before reading the bilge on the glassesdirect site.

I also recommended better eye test intervals in another post.

[T i m]

Ok, I'm not sure that's a good thing these days but I take your point ;-)

That's good enough for me.

Hmm, I learnt tonight that my Daughter went there the other day ... their machine wasn't working so went back to the old fashioned way. She was saying she couldn't easily see the school whiteboard, specifically when they use a red marker pen but SpecSavers said there was nothing wrong with her eyes (or nothing worthy of glasses at this point).

When she is having difficulty at school she checks with the pupils around her who are apparently not having similar problems and borrowing someone's glasses (as a quick test) often seems to help?

If it's a form of mild colour blindness I guess glasses can't fix that anyway can they?

Ok, well I'll report back after Wednesday.

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Hey, now there's an idea!

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

I think I'll have to do that ... (and I don't care what it looks like as long as I don't drop / loose / damage the things!

Fraid not Owain, although I am installing NexentaOS on my Dell Inspiron 8100 lappy as I type (as an experiment).

The Libby is mainly to go with my little Garmin GPS V and the Garmin software only runs under Windoze (98SE). But that's fine by me .. I don't seem to have any issues with any of it . I was running a

50CT but a mate recently gave me a 70CT so that saves me finding an 8.4mm hdd to fit the 50 (and the 70 is faster and shares all the same bits as the 50). ;-)

However, I have plugged the Lappy into my local LAN and have inserted the Linksys WiFi PCMCIA card in the hope it all get's detected by the installer (because I often don't know enough *nix to fix it when it doesn't work). Even when it does work (and I've tried a fair few distros over the years) I can't find much to use it for ... ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

[Cicero]

=============================== The legal bit: The official prescription form (GOS2) states:

"Unregistered suppliers may not sell glasses to anyone under 16 or anyone registered blind or partially sighted. Unregistered suppliers may not sell contact lenses."

There are legal restrictions but obviously not very onerous.

Cic.

[T i m]

Nope, makes sense. All booked. Just one of those things where I 'don't fix what's not broken) but maybe (as was suggested) might need to be a bit more pro-active from now on (50+)

When you get a prescription, try

Had / got that, or 'distortion' anyway. If I looked at something rectangular with just my left eye, all the sides were bowed inwards! I went to a specialist (I was with BUPA then) and he just monitored it over a few months and it went away (pretty much) all on it's own. I believe it was the 'wet' type where fluid builds up under the macula and cause the aberrations.

;-(

All the best ..

T i m

[R D S]

When dispensing glasses the supplier is supposed to see a copy of the prescription. When somebody buys online they enter their own prescription, occasionally incorrectly.

The fact remains that online sellers are operating outside of regulations.

Further to this the pupil distance is supposed to be measured, then specs are made to this measurement within tolerance. Many online customers choose to use an average measurement, which may not be appropriate to them.

Some websites even reckon to have special formulas to correctly place varifocal lenses, this is nothing short of absolute bollocks.

For what it's worth I think people should be allowed to buy online but there needs to be more honesty.

[T i m]

I know (now) ;-(

Hmm, but why is my right eye fine and just my left having trouble?

Luckily I don't actually work in front of one all day long (like the Missus does during their catalogue production) and never have. However on a quiet rainy day I might spend quite a bit of time on_and_off during the day doing a range of stuff on it (email, ng's, web, games etc).

All the best ..

T i m

[R D S]

That is hard to say. It is possible that you produce a poorer quality tear film on your left eye (there is a fatty layer over the saline layer to prevent evaporation), maybe an incomplete blink on the left who knows?

Blink, take breaks, regular eye tests, specs from an independent (or at the very least a UK online supplier who isnt a rich kid trying to accelerate himself to retirement) and you will be fine.

Best regards,

Rick

[Cicero]

================================ In an earlier reply I referred to this site which includes a guide for measuring frame sizes:

speaking the frame isn't part of the prescription although it's closely connected. I agree with you when you say that there's a possibility of entering incorrect data when ordering online. My prescription is barely legible but it must make sense to someone who knows what he's looking for.

Cic.

[R D S]

Indeed, when you order specs from some companies they will query the values that just do not ring true. Some however will just make the specs to the values provided. I have dealt with enough online orders to know that while many people will enter the details correctly many will not, and depending on where you order your specs these will either be verified or you will simply get specs which are wrong.

[Rod]

The website of my nearest eye hospital has this page:

Your nearest eye hospital probably has similar advice on their website (with appropriate phone numbers!)

Pharmacies are now allowed to sell some antibiotic eye drops if you go in person. However, ophthalmology departments usually prefer no treatment before you see them - AIUI, there can be problems in mixing steroids with antibiotics and they quite often use steroids.

BTW, I suffer from dry eyes - in my case, probably related to some neurological issue despite working with computers all day. Therefore, I use Viscotears every night. Highly recommended where the only problem that needs to be treated is dryness. Very safe. I prefer the single dose units.

[Bob Eager]

Yeah, so....I'm unlucky!

[John Rumm]

nightjar > Sprogs get a NHS voucher worth a certain amount (actual amount depending

I suppose if Tesco[1] did glasses you could say "every little helps!"

(with sprog1, the voucher paid for the lenses, the frame cost me another

25 or something IIRC - but that was in a pricey optition that had a good reputation for kids glasses... I don't recall getting any form of NHS contribution for my own ones though) [1] Someone is about to tell me they already do I am sure!

[Clive Mitchell]

In message , Cicero writes

Eye infections can be treated by an over the counter eye drop called "infected eyes" (Optrex?). It has to be stored in the fridge. I got advised to use it by NHS 24 when I got conjunctivitis (The yellow crusting around your eyes.)

[T i m]

I think that might be Moorfields in London then.

Ok ..

Not heard of that? (Google told me now though). ;-)

Glad you have found a solution to yer problem Rod.

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Sorry to hear that fella. Maybe it's Gods way of setting a balance, you being so handsome etc (or so I've been told).

For the rest of us ugly blokes ... ;-(

All the best ..

T i m