To feel frustrated about opticians?

[wonderingagain21]

My dd14 has always been very long sighted +8 to +9 in both eyes. Despite frequent eye tests to ensure up to date prescription, she still has some limitations at school with both close work &distance. School want to make plan to ensure she has all the help she needs & asked me to get advice from optician on what assistance she might need. The optician seemed completely perplexed and insisted that she shouldn't be having any problems. AIBU to think that being able to read letters on on eye chart at 3m does not mean you have perfectly corrected vision???

Take her to a different opticians, I know from experience that some are better than others,

I agree but how do I find someone good? I've really struggled to find a decent optician. The only good one I found refused to see us again because we couldn't afford their ridiculous prices so got prescription made up elsewhere.

What ‘limitations’ does she have, though?

I was extremely short-sighted at that age, so I sort of know how she feels. Being -10 in both eyes was pretty shit. But as long as I was wearing my glasses, I can’t think of any accommodations I might have needed.

She's longsighted. It affects distance & close work. She finds it hard to see lines on protractors & graph paper. She can't always see the board properly or make out the hands on the clock.

I am very short sighted so a bit different, but I find I can't read things close up if they haven't corrected for my astigmatism correctly. So I can see fine generally but I notice reading a book or computer screen goes a little blurry. It's not just a case of getting the strength of the lense right, it's also the shape (note this is my very basic understanding).

As I said her prescription including astigmatism is up to date. My understanding is that glasses cannot always fully correct poor vision but I may have that wrong.

Yes, I get that: if you’re long sighted, your distance vision is better than your close vision, and vice versa if you’re shortsighted.

If her prescription is correct, surely she should be able to make out the board & the hands on the clock (distance vision).

I think that’s why the optician is perplexed. If her prescription is up-to-date, none of these things should be a problem.

I don't know. I guessed that a 3m sight test in a dark room doesn't really replicate a bright classroom.

My understanding is that glasses cannot always fully correct poor vision but I may have that wrong.

I could be wrong as well, I’m no optician. But in my (unfortunately extensive) experience with them, glasses should absolutely correct poor vision enough so that she isn’t having these problems.

It’s not about brightness. Their tests take that into account.

Honestly, if she is having that many problems, I’d get her eyes retested elsewhere.

(Sorry, not trying to sound like a know-all - just have had very strong prescriptions since I was 4!)

That's ok. We've had prescriptions since she was 2 as well. Brightness does affect her a bit as her eyes don't dilate properly but I am planning to get her tested elsewhere. It's just hard to know who will be good / not so good.

Specsavers don't just get you to read a board at 3m these days. They test all sorts of things. I think it would be best to get another test elsewhere. I don't know who you have used to date but I have always had brilliant service at Specsavers. I have an eye condition that they take account of.

I agree that you should try another optician - can anyone you know give you a recommendation? My DSis went to a well known national chain optician: when she got her new glasses she couldn't see straight, took them back saying there was something wrong. They checked them ... no, all was as it should be, told her she was just adjusting to them. A few days later still the same ... turned out they had put the lenses in the wrong way around.

DD inherited my short-sightedness (-we're both about -5 in both eyes - not extreme but can't see a flipping thing without glasses). When she was younger went to fairly large local independent opticians, they were lovely and their prices were competitive. We found it via recommendation from a friend, maybe try looking for good reviews online, local FB group, local friends etc. I seem to remember them doing part of her eye tests with the lights on before turning them off when she was younger (she also had problems seeing the board). She was tested every year as a kid, but she's 20 now and happily wears standard fashiony frames and generic contacts.

I used to have glasses and lost them in secondary school... ever since they’ve said I don’t need them anymore even though I cannot read at a distance.
I don’t trust opticians and am going private this year.

Can you ask your GP? It sounds as though she needs somebody more specialist to see her - in London I'd be looking for a referral to Moorfields

I'm a -10 in both eyes and glasses give me pretty much perfect vision.
I'd try and get her retested as it sounds like her prescription isn't right. I realise I'm short rather than long sighted but she should be able to see the hands on a clock.

Maybe worth seeing eye doctor. Your DD is still growing and so are her eyes.

you need to know what her VA (visual acuity) is....are there any other numbers on her prescription like 6/6 6/24 or N5 or N8 ???

size of prescription is a bit of a red herring for quality of vision in that, ideally, when corrected everyone should see perfectly, and specific eye issues aside whether she is looking at/in classroom/test chart/bright/dark then she should see properly regardless, however , there can be issues that mean her vision will never correct properly, but I would expect any optometrist to be aware of this and to be able to explain why

If your dd's optician is perplexed then it seems to me unlikely there would be any issues like poor VA or maybe a lazy eye, but obviously without her records and complete history it is impossible to say for sure

Has she ever been referred to see anyone at the eye hospital? That would indicate to me there may be more issues than just a strong prescription to consider.

You definitely need to see a different optician. Different places don't all make glasses the same way, they can use different material for the lens etc which some people are sensitive to.

I have severe astigmatism and have worn glasses since I was 5 or so. Last year I needed a new pair of glasses so I took my prescription to Boots. Only, when the glasses came I felt they weren't right - my vision seemed slightly swimmy/blurry and although I could see out of them OK I just knew I couldn't see as well as I had. I complained and they were helpfulness itself, told me perhaps it was the thickness of the lens. Well, they remade these darn glasses THREE times for me, checking the prescription each time, trying different thicknesses etc. Still exactly the same. They told me perhaps I just needed to adjust to them, but I've had enough new pairs of glasses in my life to know that these just weren't right.

So, I took the exact same prescription to Asda and their glasses (same style, shape etc as Boots ones) were perfect, first time. Now I know I cannot use Boots opticians as for some reason their manufacturer just does not agree with me.

Its fairly possible with a +8/+9 prescription that she may not see the bottom line of the test chart even with glasses on, especially if your daughter has been treated for a squint or had patching treatment before. Her binocular vision may also not be 100%, which can make vision more blurred compared to those who are fully using both eyes together.

You can get distortions especially around the outside of glasses, especially if the fitting isn't optimal. Sometimes vision can be a little better in contact lenses as you get less of this peripheral distortion, although in longsighted people the image size is smaller with contact lenses.

Simple things, like sitting closer to the board will help. A tint or a coloured overlay may help her with close vision.

Anyway, you need another through eye assessment with someone who has an interest in binocular vision. It probably won't be covered under the NHS, but before you go get her to write down all the things she has difficult with and ask the Optometrist to make suggestions that could help each individual problem.

She may need cardio also for school with clear glass or astigmatism correct in top as she may be peering over the top of the glasses to read the board and causing eye strain. I have indoor/office varifocals, outdoor/regular varifocals and driving glasses. A really good optician will not just prescribe a single pair of glasses to fit all situations.

Damn spell checker she may need varifocals for school.

I'm an optometrist and it's true that spectacles do not give everyone perfectly corrected vision. But your optometrist should have told you if there are limitations. If they think the vision should be fine, I suggest getting retested elsewhere.
Also make sure your child is wearing the glasses properly. The specs being wonky or pulled too far away from the eyes will also affect the vision