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…

- 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.

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 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.

Being a part of the Leightons Opticians team, I recently got to know more about one of the latest technology in eye care, and would like to take this opportunity to introduce it to those few of you who might be interested.

We recently introduced Optical Coherence Tomography at some of the Leightons Opticians branches, and are proud to be able to provide advanced eye examination to our customers.

During an eye examination, an optometrist routinely studies the interior of your eyes to look for any sign of abnormalities, in many instances; the health of your eyes can begin to deteriorate before you notice your vision suffering, with the installation of the latest “Nidek RS-3000 Optical Coherence Tomographers at the Leightons Opticians branches, we are now able to 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. The OCT screening, as it is called, helps us to check for all kinds of eye diseases such as Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinography, Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Retinal Detachments and much more. The images generated by the OCT screening are stored on your file so when you see us again for your next appointment, the images from the latest screening can be compared with the images generated in past to see if anything has changed or deteriorated.

As sophisticated an examination as this may sound, the OCT examination is completely non invasive & painless as nothing touches your eye at all. The examination lasts for only a few seconds, after which the images generated are examined by an optometrist.

The benefits of this technology are many and the information available through the OCT screening can prove to be invaluable in identifying abnormalities with eyes at a much early stage.

To know more about Optical Coherence Tomography call 0800402020 or to book your Eye Test at one of the Leightons Opticians branches click here.

For any of you, who can relate to the above mentioned symptoms, it is always good to Book your Eye Test and get your Opticians advice, but below is a list of some very simple but very important things you can do to minimize the risk of suffering visual distress.

1)      Adjusting the seating is one of the most important things you can do to protect your eye sight from screen fatigue. Always adjust your seating such that you are neither too far, nor too close to your computer screen. As a rule of thumb, sitting at a arm’s length distance from your screen produces the best results.

2)      Adjust the screen brightness so that it’s neither too bright nor too dim for you to strain your eyes. Setting the font size to 12 points or more might help.

3)      It is surprising how many of us ignore ensuring that the room has the correct lighting. It is always great to have enough natural lighting at the same time avoiding any glare or reflection on the screen.

4)      Most of us spend majority of our working hours in front of a computer, and therefore it is very important to take regular breaks, every half hour or so. Work can be balanced such that we spend some time on other manual work after every hour or so spent on the computer.

5)      It is very important to have the desk positioned such that you have enough space behind the computer screen to be able to look up at regular intervals and focus on something at a distance.

6)      As trivial as it might sound, please blink regularly while working on your computer. Our blink rate substantially drops while working on a screen, being conscious about this is very critical as blinking helps provide moisture to the eye by irrigation using tears and a lubricant the eyes secrete. If you use Contact Lenses this is even more important than usual.

While all these measures would definitely help maintaining a healthy eye sight & vision, we still would highly recommend getting your eye tests done very regularly to avoid any further damage.

If you have any questions related to your eye care, would like to speak to one of our qualified Optometrists, or would like to Book your Appointment for an Eye Test, you can click here.

When I was 12 years old my school wrote to all parents asking them to book an eye examination for their child. I had never had an eye test before because neither my parents nor I had thought there was any need. My parents were staggered when I could only read the top letter on the chart. 

I had become gradually myopic (shortsighted) and anything much beyond arms length was a blur. I had managed by screwing up my eyes, sitting close to the television and copying notes from a classmate instead of the board. I had no idea that other people could see so well. When I received my glasses two weeks later I was amazed I could see that trees had separate leaves and houses had separate bricks.

In one respect I was fortunate. Glasses completely corrected the myopia and the lack of glasses over the previous few years had not caused any permanent damage to my eyesight.  I could read the bottom line on the chart with both eyes and had developed normal binocular 3D vision.

Other children are not so lucky. 

Children who are hyperopic (longsighted) can often see normally in the distance by using the focussing mechanism in the eye that should only be needed for close work. If the amount of hyperopia is small there is usually not a problem and glasses are not needed. However, large degrees of hyperopia can make close work blurred and feel like more of an effort for the child. These children are very likely to shun reading and have problems with concentration. And there can be other problems.

Eyes that are very hyperopic are much more prone to having squints. The excessive focussing effort can cause one of  the eyes to turn inwards towards the nose. This can happen when the child is still a baby. Squints are not always obvious. Small squints may not show at all while straight eyes can sometimes appear to squint in babies and young children.

Squints go on to cause other problems.

The squinting eye gets ‘shut down’ by the brain in order to prevent double vision and the vision does not develop normally. It becomes an amblyopic eye – sometimes called a lazy eye. Even with glasses, the vision will be poor. Binocular, 3D vision is absent or greatly reduced – these children can never seem to catch a ball. Treatment is usually glasses and patching the ‘good’ eye- Occasionally squint surgery is required. 

The key to a successful outcome is early diagnosis. If the problem is discovered and treated quickly there is a good chance that the vision in the squinting eye can be preserved and 3D vision will not be lost. However, all too often optometrists see people who have a squint that has never been diagnosed and treated. The vision is often very poor in the squintng eye and they have no 3D vision. Treatment at this stage is much less effective.

Most parents will be told that their child has good eyesight after an eye examination at Leightons. However, if your child has a problem, you may have saved them from having difficulties at school and possibly poor vision for the rest of their lives.

Leightons offer free eye examinations under the NHS for children up to 16 years (or 19 years if in full-time education) and offer an attractive range of glasses at no charge with the NHS voucher.

There really is no excuse for not booking your child in for an eye exam at Leightons Opticians- click here to book online

Optom at Leightons Opticians

Parents will have to rethink how they can ensure that the later years of their child’s life are not ruined by avoidable health problems. Good parents may become those who plan carefully for their child’s 101^st rather than 21^st birthday.

One of the problems of very old age is failing eyesight.  Many eye diseases, rare at 70 years are common 20 years later.  Any increase in the lifespan will have a dramatic effect on the numbers suffering from serious eye disease.

Yet parents have a simple way of ensuring that their child has every chance of maintaining good eyesight. 

Sunlight has a very damaging effect on the ocular tissues. It increases the rate at which cataracts form and, even more importantly, it is thought to have a significant impact on the development of macular degeneration. 

Sunglass protection is so important for a child because their young eyes are much more vulnerable.  Pupils are much larger in younger people and the eyes are clearer letting more sunlight through to the back of the eye. Also, children tend to spend much longer outside that most adults. It has been estimated that up to 80 per cent of UV damage occurs before the age of 18 years.

Top tips

Get children to wear their favourite sun hat with a wide brim or a peak.

Choose children’s sunglasses that are robust and comfortable to wear (let the child have the final choice).

Ensure the children’s sunglasses are comfortable – qualified dispensing opticians in Leightons will always be happy to adjust sunglasses you have purchased from us no matter how many times your little one bends them out of shape.

Wear sunglasses yourself to set a good example.

On bright winter days the hat and child’s sunglasses should be worn as the low sun can be especially dazzling and damaging.

Adults today often blame their parents for their poor teeth.  Perhaps the next generation will blame their parents for their poor eyesight? To avoid this, get your children’s eyes tested regularly- Click here to book an eye test

Some try to pretend they cannot see – perhaps because the parent is putting them under pressure to achieve at school or perhaps just to get attention. Some want glasses because their friend at school has them.

In the typical scenario, the child will make a great play of screwing up their eyes and leaning forward but can apparently only read the biggest letters on the chart or none at all. There are various clinical techniques to determine their true ability to see but bribery can often work wonders. The child unable to read any letters on the chart can suddenly read the bottom line if offered 5p per letter or a sweet incentive. Parents are often shocked that their child could be so mercenary!

Other children, who fear they will be given glasses, try to remember letters on the bottom line as they walk in or will report that any lens placed before their eye makes the chart look more blurred. Often these children have been given a very negative image of glasses from their parents and react accordingly. Saying to your child that you, “so hope they won’t need glasses”, before the eye examination is just asking for trouble. 

Optometrists at Leightons will be really friendly and make the eye examination a positive and fun experience for your child. The children’s eye test is adapted to age & ability and your child should go away with a real sense of achievement and asking how soon they can come again. This is important because regular eye exams can pick up conditions that can cause problems at school.

We place great emphasis on the quality of the children’s eye examination and our optometrists have long appointment times so that your child will not feel rushed and you will have plenty of time to ask questions.

Most parents are told that their child has healthy, normal eyes but, if children’s glasses are needed, your child will be seen by a registered dispensing optician.  Finding a pair that is comfortable and your child wants to wear is crucial. We try very hard make the whole process a pleasure for you and your child.

Leightons offer free eye examinations under the NHS for children up to 16 years (or 19 years if in full-time education) and offer an attractive range of children’s glasses at no charge with the NHS voucher.

 If the glasses later need adjusting – children are not terrific at looking after them – we will do this without any fuss and at no charge.

There really is no excuse for not booking your child in for an eye exam at Leightons Opticians- click here to book online