A regular eye test can help detect eye conditions like long or short sightedness and eye disease before you notice the effect on your sight. Early treatment can often prevent your sight from getting worse. The information here explains what is normally included in an eye test for adults (children may need different tests). An optician who checks your eyes is also called an optometrist. You are recommended to have an eye test at least once every 2 years below the age of 40, and each year after you turn 40.

Common Eye Conditions

Uveitis

If we think of the eye as a hollow, fluid-filled, 3-layered ball, then the outer layer is the sclera, a tough coat, the innermost is the retina, the thin light-gathering layer, and the middle layer is the Uvea. The Uvea is made up of the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid. When any part of the uvea becomes inflamed then it is called Uveitis.

Age Related Macular Degeneration

The eye is shaped like a ball. The pupil, close to the front, is the opening, which allows light to enter the eye. Just behind the pupil is the lens, which focuses the light on the retina at the back of the eye. The retina is a delicate tissue, which converts the light into images, and sends them to the brain. The macula is a small area at the very centre of the retina. Sometimes the delicate cells of the macula become damaged and stop working, and there are many different conditions which can cause this. If it occurs later in life, it is called “age-related macular degeneration”, also often known as AMD.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the name for a group of eye conditions in which the optic nerve is damaged at the point where it leaves the eye. This nerve carries information from the light sensitive layer in your eye, the retina, to the brain where it is perceived as a picture.

Your eye needs a certain amount of pressure to keep the eyeball in shape so that it can work properly. In some people, the glaucoma damage is caused by raised eye pressure. Others may have an eye pressure within normal limits but damage occurs because there is a weakness in the optic nerve. In most cases, both factors of high pressure and weakness in the optic nerve are involved, but to a varying extent.

Age
Chronic glaucoma becomes much more common with increasing age. It is uncommon below the age of 40 but affects one per cent of people over this age and five per cent over 65.

Race
If you are of African origin you are more at risk of chronic glaucoma and it may come on somewhat earlier and be more severe. So make sure that you have regular tests.

Family
If you have a close relative who has chronic glaucoma then you should have an eye test at regular intervals. You should advise other members of your family to do the same. This is especially important if you are aged over 40 when tests should be done every year. People over the age of 40 years with an immediate family member diagnosed with glaucoma – parents, children or siblings – are entitled to a free sight test every year under the NHS.

Costs and Time

Some stores have promotions or special rates but standard charges are below

• Eye Test £25.00 lasts 20 Minutes
• Contact Lens Fittings lasts £75.00 40 Minutes
• General Aftercare FREE
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• Vuochers from Accor, ASE, Duncan & Todd and NHS are welcome at David Clulow Opticians.

Promotions

Our individual stores run promotions for free sight tests throughout the year. Sign up for our newsletter to receive advance notice of promotions.