People will often self prescribe with ready readers and use it an excuse not to have an eye test. In my experience people will pick a stronger lens. People think if it magnifies it more, they are getting a better quality set of spectacles but that is not true. Choosing a spectacle off the shelf which allows you to read certain text size does not mean that it is the correct strength. It is important that the reading correction be balanced for both eyes and that the magnification is exact in order not to cause eyestrain that may result in accelerated deterioration.
A recent article in the consumer magazine Which caught my eye. In the article, an optometrist was asked to check the quality and prescription of 14 pairs of ready-readers from seven high street stores and claimed to have found problems in half of them. The other danger is that buying ready readers may mean that the wearers feel that they do not need to have a proper sight test.
Regular sight tests, especially for the population who wear ready readers, are very important — not just for the issuing of a correct prescription, but also because it provides a good health check of our eyes and can even detect other, sometimes fatal, conditions, such as brain tumours.
“It is very important that these people understand that as they get older they need to have regular sight tests, at least every two years, in order to detect any potentially serious conditions early. Everyone's eyes are different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution when it comes to spectacles.”
For more information on Mongey Opticians, log onto www.mongeyopticians.ie or telephone Castlebar on 094 902 4115 or Ballinrobe 094 952 1556.
