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In trying to connect with more people around our local area, and because Tim and I love racing (watched the movie "Secretariat" last night), wehave decided to sponsor a race at the Otaki Maori racing club meeting at Otaki this Saturday 25 February.
If it's sunny (not that the forecast says it will be), everyone will be out in force in hats, sunglasses and sunscreen. If not, inside wearing raincoats and fewer happy smiles. However, binoculars to watch the action will still be the order of the day.
I will have my Transitions lenses, if it's a dull day as they will be clear unless the clouds break, when they will darken. And my Convertibles frame with clipon sunglasses in case the Met Service is wrong. All set.
I know that I am lucky enough to have several pairs of spectacles for different uses, but in many cases, a clear or Transtions pair isn't quite dark enough (especially behind the windscreen of a car) and having just a dark pair is too limiting when you walk inside or at night.
And it's fun to wear something a bit different - high heels, fascinator, racewear, elegant but fun sunwear....or a rain coat and something "practical". And happy smiles if my $1.00 investment comes in!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Computers and glasses
Most of us are using a computer now - at work or for leisure. Those of us with long memories can remember monochrome screens with bright green text and data entry workers with sore eyes, headaches and inability to work comfortably. Now the colours are better, the contrast isn't so shocking and most patients with binocular vision problems have these detected before they get a 9-5, Mon-Fri job.
Computers don't cause visual problems but can show up ones that are latent in "everyday life". If your eyes don't co-ordinate well, or you have a slight visual prescription, using a computer will be between harder than it is for your colleagues to impossible. As more of us use computers, this can be shown up as early as primary school, so these people can be helped before they get put off reading or screen use.
Sometimes visual training can be a help. Other times changing the work-station (for example, eliminating glare from the screen or a reflection seen in it) can help. Some people just need a mild visual aid (spectacles for example) while using the machine for a prolonged time. Your optometrist can advise you.
There are modern lens designs for people who use computers. Bifocals (again, those of us wotrking in the 80's) were often a problem on the screen due to head-up screens and the dividing line came across the screen - not to mention that the reading part was focussed too close for the screen and the distance part too far...Progressive lenses were a great improvement as they gave clear vision on the screen (as well as the text to be imput - it was the 80's, remember) and bank officers could still see their customers in the queue...And now we have lenses designed for the way we use computers now, with wider clear areas for the wider screens, some closer-focussed parts for desk work and a range of options for the top part of the lens depending on a person's prescription and visual needs.
Computers are being designed to give better human-machine interfaces. Lenses are being designed to also hep the human in the system. See Winnie or me at your next exam to discuss your needs on the computer, and remember, what was modern 3-5 years ago has been superceeded now.
Computers don't cause visual problems but can show up ones that are latent in "everyday life". If your eyes don't co-ordinate well, or you have a slight visual prescription, using a computer will be between harder than it is for your colleagues to impossible. As more of us use computers, this can be shown up as early as primary school, so these people can be helped before they get put off reading or screen use.
Sometimes visual training can be a help. Other times changing the work-station (for example, eliminating glare from the screen or a reflection seen in it) can help. Some people just need a mild visual aid (spectacles for example) while using the machine for a prolonged time. Your optometrist can advise you.
There are modern lens designs for people who use computers. Bifocals (again, those of us wotrking in the 80's) were often a problem on the screen due to head-up screens and the dividing line came across the screen - not to mention that the reading part was focussed too close for the screen and the distance part too far...Progressive lenses were a great improvement as they gave clear vision on the screen (as well as the text to be imput - it was the 80's, remember) and bank officers could still see their customers in the queue...And now we have lenses designed for the way we use computers now, with wider clear areas for the wider screens, some closer-focussed parts for desk work and a range of options for the top part of the lens depending on a person's prescription and visual needs.
Computers are being designed to give better human-machine interfaces. Lenses are being designed to also hep the human in the system. See Winnie or me at your next exam to discuss your needs on the computer, and remember, what was modern 3-5 years ago has been superceeded now.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Summer in February
Well, after a few days of sunshine I am impressed to remember how many people I have seen wearing sunglasses. At the Paekakariki Waitagi day celebrations, very few of the crowd hadn't "slipped, slopped, slapped and wrapped".
Hopefully all the sunglasses, like the sunscreen lotions, met the Australian/New Zealand standards for UV protection. Dark tinted lenses that don't block UV can be more of a problem to the eyes than no glasses at all, as the pupils enlarge behind a tinted lens and this lets in more UV to the eye (and there is evidence that cumulative lifetime exposure to UV causes cataracts in the lens and retinal changes at the back of the eye).
I think I have said it before, but getting a cheap frame that can't be adjusted leaves the sour taste of poor quality long after the sweetness of the cheap price is forgotten. Paying a little more, and getting something robust and that can be adjusted, makes sense - unless you want to replace broken glasses several times a season! And we have patients that tell us that - they don't want to spend a lot because they go through several pairs - I always wonder why they don't spend a little more, take more care with them and have them last a year or two!
Brand names always cost more (unless they are parallel imported - where there might be no support interms of parts - or "copies"). It is buyer beware, even with the Consume Guarantees' Act. Our practice likes to sell value for money product - should last several seasons and still look good. I'd love to have a practice that could sell hundreds of high-fashion sunglasses each year, but Kapiti is too small a market.
So I'm happy to provide good quality products and excellent service - and know that patients will be happy with their choice for years...not days.
Hopefully all the sunglasses, like the sunscreen lotions, met the Australian/New Zealand standards for UV protection. Dark tinted lenses that don't block UV can be more of a problem to the eyes than no glasses at all, as the pupils enlarge behind a tinted lens and this lets in more UV to the eye (and there is evidence that cumulative lifetime exposure to UV causes cataracts in the lens and retinal changes at the back of the eye).
I think I have said it before, but getting a cheap frame that can't be adjusted leaves the sour taste of poor quality long after the sweetness of the cheap price is forgotten. Paying a little more, and getting something robust and that can be adjusted, makes sense - unless you want to replace broken glasses several times a season! And we have patients that tell us that - they don't want to spend a lot because they go through several pairs - I always wonder why they don't spend a little more, take more care with them and have them last a year or two!
Brand names always cost more (unless they are parallel imported - where there might be no support interms of parts - or "copies"). It is buyer beware, even with the Consume Guarantees' Act. Our practice likes to sell value for money product - should last several seasons and still look good. I'd love to have a practice that could sell hundreds of high-fashion sunglasses each year, but Kapiti is too small a market.
So I'm happy to provide good quality products and excellent service - and know that patients will be happy with their choice for years...not days.
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