Buy genuine, buy quality

With Adidas offering a 2 year guarantee on its children's frames, I thought I should mention again that quality never goes out of style, that value lasts and that the bitterness of poor quality lasts long after the sweetness of the cheap price is forgotten.

Some bargains are great - I'm a big fan of buying shoes in the sales - but you need to realise that "bargain" isn't always the same as "cheap". Ends of line are of good quality, stock clearance is a valid reason to special off goods, manufactures or distributors trying to clear stock, all can give you great quality at great prices. But these will all be covered by NZ law (especially the CGA) and you will be made aware at the time of purchase if parts are unlikely to be available. Then buy at your own risk, but be aware that most business will still want you as an on-going customer and will try to help out if something happens.

Parallel imports and buying on-line (from overseas or from a private individual) are not covered in the same way.

We know that patients have told us that they can get this brand on-line at such and such a price. Great - but is it a colour still available in NZ? Is it a discontinued model? Is it genuine? (We know about the re-branded contact lenses or the actual fakes available on line with "slightly odd" packaging.....)

You might pay more for genuine products, but you have a relationship with the trader who will do her best to solve any problems that arise. Some good brands do have the odd "Monday morning" frame - and these become obvious quickly and will be replaced with no dramas. But some product is of such poor quality that it is just no point putting good lenses in it, trying to adjust it, trying to repair it if it breaks....caveat emptor.

Adidas Kids Eyewear 2011/2012

New Collection of Adidas Youth Metal Fullrim Coming Soon

Every purchase of Adidas kids frame* comes with

2 year warranty

NO QUESTIONS ASKED

* Selected models only

Spring brings winds and dust and pollen...anti-allergy drops work if someone actually has an allergy, but they are not much help if you have "irritated eyes" from the wind or windblown dust.

Sometimes simple things are the best - avoiding going outside on a day with a high pollen count or a dry, windy day. Wearing your prescription glasses or sunglasses blocks some of the irritant reaching your eyes. Every few years a "breakthrough" is announced where a frame manufacturer produces an "anti-allergy" spectacle frame - either sealing the frame tightly to the face so no irritants from the air can reach the eyes, or having a fan or a puffer to blow clean air across the eyes.

These haven't caught on.

If your eyes are red and sore, sometimes just putting a cool compress, maybe a used cooled teabag or a cool facecloth, over the shut eyelids gives relief. If simple techniques like this don't work, make an appointment with your optometrist - we can give advice or prescribe anti-allergy drops (if appropriate). Pharmacists can help, but they cannot see the eyes as well as optometrists can (we have the equipment) so can advise more appropriately to give people eye relief in the spring.

Year round, really.

Conference 2011

As registered health professionals in NZ, every optometrist must complete at least 20 points (roughly 20 hours) of continuing education every year. This ensures that the registered person you see for your eye health needs is up to date with clinical techniques and understanding of the science behind these. Hearing about a company's wonderful new frame or lens product doesn't count!

So, NZAO organises an annual conference along with its AGM, and we were in Wellington for this last week. Speakers included Australian and NZ academics, NZ clinicians and NZ optometrists sharing their stories of disasters (fire and earthquakes) so we learnt some tips as to how to support staff and patients during and after these.

Some of the presentations were very scientific/research orientated - and these are likely to provide clinical tests in the future. And others were of the "this is what you see, now what do you do?" variety. Very useful for the patients even this week back at work!

There is also a social component in a conference - and you learn a lot from discussing the day's lectures over a quiet sauvignon blanc at day's end. And we enjoyed the presentation at the Weta cave in Miramar - thanks to the Taylors in setting up such a great film-making facility in suburban Wellington.

Wardrobe thoughts

Well into spring days in October, so winter clothes are back in the wardrobe and summer colours are not only in the shops but on the streets. I am always amazed that people expect to update their wardrobes with the seasons, but expect one pair of frames to do duty morning, noon and night, summer or winter, going out or staying in, summer or winter, meeting the Queen or washing the car.

I know that updating a whole wardrobe at once can be a huge expense, but many people choose to do it slowly - layby, or buying the skirt one week, the tops the next and the shoes after that.

How many pairs of shoes do you have? Do you wear the same ones for going out, beachwalking, in the garden, at work, to Church...not likely. Not all your shoes will have been bought in the same season, or even the same year - some are old faithfuls, some get downgraded from "best" to "work" to "casual" to "washing the car"...but you always have a spare (or several) and you have different shoes for different tasks or different looks.

I am always amazed (and dismayed) when we have a patient who says that she can't be without her glasses even for half an hour for a repair because she "needs them for driving" and "doesn't have a spare". Often practices can provide a second pair, less fashionable, at a cheaper price for a spare, or keeping an older pair is very practical too. And the time to talk spare pairs is never when the patient comes in having broken her only pair two days before Christmas...the labs are closed and what happens if she is the only driver in the family needing to head away for the Big Day...?

You might not have 2 watches (although a lot of people have), two tiaras, several leather jackets or three motor vehicles "just in case"...but telling your optometrist that you can't go to work because your glasses are broken is similar to saying that you can't go to work because your one pair of trousers is in the wash with your one shirt and one set of underwear.

Maybe you don't need to buy 2 pairs of super high fashion frames with duplicate lenses with all the bells and whistles. But you do need something as a spare that lets you function - driving, cooking, reading - as well (or nearly as well) as your usual pair does. Treat yourself for spring, if you don't have a spare at present.

Or treat yourself for summer, autumn or winter...or because it's your birthday (or will be next year)...or because this frame goes so well with your new hair colour...

Spare pairs...maybe not to match everything in your wardrobe but to at least function and still look good when you leave the house.

Do Children Need to Wear Sunglasses

As we know that the sun can do harmful damage to our skin, so whenever we go out we often put on sun block to protect our skin.

But have you ever consider that our eyes are more sensitive than our skin.

To some parents , they often think how cute and trendy to have children wearing shares but they actually may be more than just a fashion accessory for our kids, it can also protect their eyes from harmful UV rays.

Do you know our eyes are naturally 10 times more sensitive to UV light , children are most at risk.

70% more UV light reaches the retina through a child's un-obscured crystalline lens.

80% of a lifetime's UV rays are absorbed by a child's eyes before age of 18.

The World Health Organization ( WHO) says children are at especially high risk of damage from UV radiation, recommend they wear children sunglasses and states that over exposure to the sun can cause or accelerate;

- inflammation of the cornea

- conjunctiva in the eye

- cataract development

- corneal sunburn ( photokeratitis )

- cancer development

Every year Visique runs Back to School campaign with great hope to educate the young about the importance of eyecare. Good habit starts early.

If your kids are enrolling as new entrant during first term of 2012 , make sure your school have registered with us for the quality free sunglasses with UV400 protection that meet Australian guidelines.

Local/community optometry.

Winnie has been back in Malaysia for the last couple of weeks - look forward to hearing her adventures when she comes back tomorrow. We have had several patients asking after her, hoping that she hasn't left permanently - she's made fans and friends from patients.

That's the thing about community optometry - we all live here, are local and are in for the long haul. Some of the large optical chains like employing graduates who are great clinicians, but get burnt out with seven day a week mall trading and being moved from one branch to another as holiday cover, and they never get a chance to develop relationships with their patients. Most of my day is spent talking to people whom I've come to know over the years, and it is a joy to see a familiar name in the appointment book.

It's the same with other health professionals. Once you have developed a relationship with your GP, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor or whoever, you want to see that person again as you do not need to "reinvent the wheel" in your treatment or health programme. Seeing the same person for your care means that you know that both you and your practitioner are "on the same page" and you do not need to keep explaining your history again and again.

Hospitals often annoy patients for this reason - they feel that they are not being heard as the medical staff have to keep asking the same questions as new practitioners come on shift. It might be in the notes, but most of us want to hear the story and see it being told by the patient rather than just bald numbers on a chart.

So, your local Visique optometrist (Visique Kapiti Eyecare here) is part of your community and here for YOU, your eyes, your family, your eyecare.

Canine visitors and cataracts

We have had a couple of special guests coming into the practice this week. A lovely bear of a New Foundland dog - we have photos of 60kg of calm sitting in reception - and Oliver, my parents' Shih Tzu, who is more enthusiastic to see us (he's also younger).

Speaking of dogs, it can be obvious when your elderly dog has cataracts. Because they use smell rather than sight (in general) their behaviour doesn't change much until their vision is really poor. My in-laws' dog would only bump into furniture when she was really concentrating on a scent and her vision was poor, to be kind. But you can see a thick greyish sheen inside the eye - the pupil looks light not black - all the time, not just in certain lights.

This is very rare in humans, except in very poor parts of the third world. Most people are very disadvantaged visually with a cataract that is not apparent to the outside observer.

So if someone tells you that they could see a cataract in someone else's eye, it much more likely to be a problem of the cornea or even the conjunctiva, all anterior (front) of the eye rather than the lens (inside the eye).

Nearly spring! And the weather is as changeable as any spring already.

Sunglasses are being put into practices, new frames are being launched in lighter, brighter colours, we are getting enquiries about contact lenses...maybe summer IS on its way!

Optometry is not really a 'seasonable industry". Health care happens all through the year, but many people take stock of their wardrobes and spring-clean their clothes (and make-up) and getting a new look for spring can involve a new hair cut and a new look ....and new glasses or a change to contact lenses.

Fashion is becoming a bigger part of optometry. People don't always have one watch or one handbag, so why not have different frames to match an outfit or a mood? Everyone is different, and some people prefer a classic look that goes with everything they do and everything they wear, but this doesn't apply to every person. Your optometrist will be happy to check your prescription and eye health before you get an updated look, so don't worry that he or she will think you are "vain" at "just wanting new glasses".

You will be surprised at the range of frames as well as the options for lenses (an anti-reflective lens option always looks better than the "blank look" from standard lenses) that we can offer.

Hope to see you soon so you see (and look) your very best!

Visique Conference this weekend!

Visique's annual conference is being held in Auckland this weekend. As you gathered, I'm not attending but I was up in Auckland yesterday for the owners' meeting, which gives us an overview of what Visique's plans are for the coming year.

As all optometrists who are members or who work for a Visique practice are NZAO members, all of us agree with the standards of care being the absolute best for each and every patient. Visique was set up to provide a national network of like-minded optometrists who work nationally together but act locally. Hopefully the new ideas that are being discussed this weekend lead on to better products and service for our patients, which means that Visique will be the first choice for New Zealanders who value their eye health and eye care.