Leightons are delighted to announce that the Leightons Opticians Poole Branch are the proud recipients of the Poole “Top of the Shops Award for Customer Service”.

Tracey Gore at the Branch entered the category ‘Best Customer Service’ in the Independent Sector, but unbeknown to her they were judged to be multiple and the team were moved into the next category.  This meant that they were being measured alongside Marks and Spencer’s and Beales to name a few of the big retailers that they were to be compared to.

The Judges were impressed with the way the team “offered a superb service, clearly explaining products, benefits and options, as well as going the extra mile for customers”.  Tracey Gore, Michelle Ramsier and Lindsey Ridley accepted the Award on behalf of the branch and our congratulations goes to the entire team at Poole.

We are proud of our professional staff; we encourage a friendly, understanding and consultative attitude; and we seek to support the local communities in which we live and work.

Why not visit one of our many branches and ask how Leightons Opticians can help you and your eye care. Call us on 0800 40 20 20, book an eye test or pop into one of our branches to view our latest range of prescription glasses, designer sunglasses and contact lenses, and experience the Award Winning Customer Service…

At Leightons we are passionate about the care of our customers. That’s why we have invested in OCTs (Optical Coherence Tomographer) to take revolutionary scans of your eyes just like an MRI scan for the rest of your body. We recommend this advanced OCT scan with all eye examinations as it offers significant benefit:

- We have more detail than ever before about your overall eye health

- We can instantly show you the 3D High definition scans of the front and back of your eyes

- An OCT scan allows us to detect and monitor any changes to your eye health earlier than other methods of eye screening

- We can very accurately compare your OCT images at your next visit to Leightons allowing to easily monitoring any changes in your eye health.

Since 1928 Leightons Opticians have always strived to offer the best possible eye care, so our customers have the total piece of mind knowing they have received the highest standard of eye examination.

In the past, the only way to access the health of the retina (at the back of your eye) was to use a traditional ophthalmoscope which can be difficult to accurately monitor any changes in the eye. More recently retinal photography has been used to take a 2D photograph of the surface of the retina and doesn’t allow you to look deeper into the layers of your retina. An Optical Coherence Tomographer allows us to see beneath the surface of your retina. This isn’t possible by any other means and allows us to detect signs of conditions and diseases such as Glaucoma and Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and a great deal more.

The state of the art technology shows amazing high definition 3D imagery that can be used to detect very small changes earlier than using a traditional ophthalmoscope or standard retinal photography.

During an OCT scan nothing touches your eye and it is completely painless. The scan takes just a few seconds and displays 3D scans of at least 6 layers of your retina which you can see instantly on the screen – these images are saved so they can be compared to future scans to accurately determine if anything has changed.

We and many other optical and healthcare organisations strongly recommend it.  To book your OCT Screening at your local Leightons Opticians Branch ring our freephone number 0800 40 20 20, alternatively you can book your test online.

Well, if you are already thinking, what you just read above, is an absurd question, we would try and explain the correlation, but let us first of all, take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy New Year, we hope you have enjoyed the festive season with lots of quality time with family and friends, and of course exchanged lots of gifts.

Coming back to our question, is there really a correlation between Christmas and children’s eye sight, well if you think, there is an indirect correlation, and we have already touched on the answer above. We all gave lots of gifts this Christmas, especially to kids. Within the last few years the children’s wishlist have dramatically changed. The Rubik’s Cube & a Tricycle are now displaced by gaming consoles, handheld devices, PSP’s, Tablets, iPod’s & more.

Children’s consumption of media has dramatically increased, a recent study conducted by Nielsen suggests, around 36% of children with the age group of 2 to 11 use both media, that is, television and internet simultaneously, a report also states that 60% of children under age 3 watch videos online, of which 20% consume media on handheld devices. Research also suggests that 73% of households have a gaming device. With hours spent in front of television sets, computer screens, gaming devices and all other electronic gadgets, children’s eyes are vulnerable more than ever before. It is very important to understand that a child’s visual development directly affects learning, growth and development in other areas. While it is getting very difficult keeping children away from excessive use of these devices, and the harm caused, the least we can do is take measures to identify any deterioration in a child’s eyesight or vision.

During the first 12 years of life, up to 80% of our learning is visually based, many children struggle at school simply because of eye sight related problems, thankfully, for children under the age of 16, or under 19 and in full time education, eye tests are absolutely free through the NHS. Regular eye tests for children would mean that, any deterioration is detected in an early stage, and corrective measures are taken to avoid further damage.

So if your child already uses any gadgets extensively, or if you just gifted him one, this Christmas, please make sure, that its affects on his eye sight or vision are not unnoticed.

At Leightons Opticians, we understand that having an eye-test is not always a child’s idea of fun, so our friendly qualified opticians, will be on hand to help make sure, your child’s eye test is as easy and straight forward as possible.

You can now book your child’s free eye test online at your nearest Leightons Opticians Branch.

Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is an eye condition that affects “Macula” which is a tiny part of the retina situated at the back of the eye.

Age Related Macular Degeneration is a major cause of visual impairment in adults over 50 years of age. The condition does not result in total loss of sight but affects the central vision, whist the sufferer still has enough peripheral vision to carry on routine activities of daily life. Since the macula is the central area of the retina that helps with the central vision, people suffering from Age Related Macular Degeneration experience problem while looking directly at something, for instance, faces, photographs or watching television. Below is an example of how AMD would affect vision,

Below are two versions of an image to help you understand how AMD affects the vision, the first image is what someone with a normal eye sight would see, and the second image is an example of how a person affected with AMD will see it,

 There are types of AMD like wet AMD & Dry AMD which can be caused because of various factors like, Age- AMD usually affects adults over the age of 50, Genes – It could be genetic, Smoking – research indicates, stopping to smoke, greatly reduces the risk of developing AMD and many other factors like Hypertension, Stress, Exposure to sunlight etc.

Symptoms of macular degeneration are often unnoticed till it starts affecting both eyes. Some of the symptoms are listed below,

1) Straight lines start to appear distorted

2)Dark blurry patches appear in the centre of vision

3) Diminished or changed color perception

4) Difficulty reading, recognizing people’s faces, driving, looking at small objects and watching television etc

Results from Age-Related Eye conditions research suggests that taking supplements containing high level of antioxidants and zinc can reduce the risk of advanced AMD. There are supplements available, for instance Macushield, which combines powerful antioxidants that help protect eye tissues and is designed to support macular health in later years.

As in many cases, prevention and early diagnosis is very important, so anyone concerned about Age Related Macular Degeneration should visit the local optician and get a complete eye test done for best results.

• Myth 1: We are, biologically destined to have the same eye problems our family has had!

Our eye sight or vision gets affected due to various direct and indirect reasons. Based on our family history, we do face a genetic higher risk for certain conditions however we are not absolutely destined or determined to get affected by the same conditions our parents did. By all means we should be aware of the family history related to eye problems and mention it to the Optometrist during the routine eye tests, identifying any conditions affecting the eye sight at an early stage help to slowdown or correct most causes of vision loss. Further with the advancement in the medical technology it is now possible identify conditions at an extremely early stage. For instance, at Leightons Opticians we recently installed the “Nidek RS-3000” Optical Coherence Tomographers, the OCT; image the very back of your eye, including the retinal layers, enabling us to study your eyes in incredible detail from the surface of your retina right down to the underlying surfaces, not visible by any other means. The OCT instruments use the most advanced technology to detect abnormalities at an incredibly early stage. Ask your Opticians about the Optical Coherence Tomography Test while you visit your Optician for your next eye-test.

• Myth 2: Sitting very close to the television will cause the vision to deteriorate!

This is most common belief amongst mothers, who worry about kids sitting too close to the television screens while watching their favourite cartoon characters. However, there is no strong evidence that watching TV from close deteriorates the eye sight permanently. Besides kids seem to have a much better ability to focus, close-up, and therefore they naturally develop the habit to watch TV closely. This habit might get their eyes tired sooner, and therefore it is definitely a good idea to make them sit at a substantial difference, however there is no need to panic that the kid’s eyes will get affected permanently.

• Myth 3: Eyes can be transplanted!

Majority of the people tend to believe that it is possible to transplant an eye. As much advanced as the Medical Science is, it is still not possible to transplant an eye. There are more than 1 million nerve fibres that connect the eye to the brain, and there is no technology currently that can enable doctors to reconstruct those connections. As a result if an injury or diseases causes damage to an extent that the eye must be removed, then the person can only use a prosthetic eye for cosmetic purposes. Corneal transplant, however, is a possibility and performed very routinely across the globe.

There are many more myths about eyes & vision that we will keep busting, so please watch the space.

You can always speak with our eye experts on 0800402020, or visit the Leightons Opticians branches for more info.