Once again we have been wooed by Italian design. These beautiful acetate frames have a style of their own. RES REI is a story of passion: from their ambition to make innovative products, to the enthusiasm of working closely with artisans that build each frame by hand. Be inspired by the video and call in soon to see these lovely frames.
Young Warkworth Entrepreneur helping Dry Eyes
We routinely recommend heat packs for dry, gritty eyes. These hot compresses are very soothing, and helpful for treating blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids). Here in Warkworth we have wheatbags designed and manufactured locally.
Billie Paige, from Matakana, was 10 when she had a pool party accident. Billie needed heat relief. This led to her designing a wheatsack which envelops the shoulders, neck and back. Over time she has extended her range to include the Eyepack, a triangular handheld Spot, and Square packs used in acupuncture treatment. Billie Paige Eyepacks feature a headband so the warm (or cool) wheatbag will stay snuggly in place.
If you have dry eyes, or would like the relaxation of a warm eye compress, come and see our range of Eye Wheat Bags.
Mapping Eyes - new technology
Recently we have installed a topographer at McDonald Adams. This instrument maps the outer surface of the eye - the cornea. The cornea is responsible for most (70%) of the eye's focussing power. Creating a topographical map of the curvature of the eye is helpful to check the quality of vision and corneal health.
A colourful three-dimensional map is created by a measuring a grid of thousands of points across the cornea. Mapping only takes a few seconds.
Tap Tap See app - technology for low vision
Tap Tap See is a camera app for blind and visually impaired people. Anyone can snap a pictures of their shoes, or the tomato sauce bottle. But Tap Tap See will then say out loud, “Shoes,” or “Tomato Sauce Bottle.” Tap Tap See is like a sighted assistant that never grows tired of you asking “what’s that?”
Designed for visually impaired, the app works with Voiceover on your iPhone to speak the results. Voiceover is one of many built-in services which make the iPhone easier to use for people who can’t see well.
With Voiceover on, you just point your phone at something and double-tap the screen. Your phone will tell you it has snapped a picture, “Photo 5 taken.” Then, a few seconds later, it will read out the result. I pointed it at my legs and the app said “blue jeans.”
Technology continues to help people with low vision. iPad, iPhone and iPod touch have some great features. When Bold Text is on, keyboard characters are bolder. Increase Contrast has extra options to “Darken Colours” and “Reduce White Point”. The Button Shapes option introduces background colour to buttons. Change the setting from Off to On and see how it affects the “General” button at the top of the screen.
Scoring Cataracts
A common part of an optometrist's clinical consulting life is diagnosing and discussing cataracts. Cataracts are a common condition where the lens in the eye looses its transparency. It is a condition which we should all be aiming to get as cataracts are a sign of longevity. Fortunately, cataracts are easily fixed with a one-off elective surgery, and the result for most people is a big improvement in their quality of vision.
There are two options for cataracts surgery, via the public health system where treatment is free of charge, or privately. This is an update on referral through the public health system, which is Greenlane Eye Clinic for our local Warkworth area.
Greenlane Eye Clinic is a busy place, providing care for 95,000 people each year. Given that volume of people, the response times are mostly pretty good. When someone has an acute eye problem they are seen quickly. Non urgent conditions like cataracts are prioritised in a methodical fashion, and ranked according to the level of vision. How does it work?
As optometrists we enter your clinical data into an online scoring system. The important information is which line of letters you can read on the chart. There is also a questionnaire about how cataracts are impacting on your daily living. The jargon for the questions is a little bit difficult but the intention is good - to try to priortise treatment for people who are struggling the most. We are good at these questionnaires and we can translate for you! Then comes the score. Generated by the online tool and the magical number is 50.
It seems arbitrary, but the online scoring tool is helpful so we can give you a realistic guide to the expected wait time for an appointment at the Eye Clinic.
What happens if the score is too low? Often we can help with advice about improving your vision through updating glasses, or using different tinted fitover glasses to improve clarity of vision when you have cataracts.
by Claire McDonald, Optometrist, Warkworth
Being independent
We often describe ourselves as independent optometrists. We are of course talking about our business. But does that make sense, what does it mean to people other than ourselves?
I thought about this as I collected my student son from his shift at a local fast food franchise. After two weeks working in this part time job, in his opinion, the opening hours of the business don't make sense, at least not for this Warkworth location. Our hours at McDonald Adams are set to serve our clients here in Warkworth, Wellsford, Snells and the surrounding areas. We open late on Tuesday evening, to be available for commuters, or people who work rurally. Weekday closing at 5.30pm gives more time in the day for people to collect glasses, and fit in the after school and after work eye appointments. Saturday mornings 9.00am to 12.30 is popular and convenient. We are closed for long weekends though, we all need a break and our clients understand this.
This is one example of what it is to be an independent optometrist. We are not dictated to by a set of franchise rules. I think this allows us to provide a service in Warkworth tailored to our unique location and our local community.
by Claire McDonald, Warkworth Independent Optometrist