Blurred vision - Doctor or Optician

[Merryoldgoat]

I honestly don’t know who I need to see - can anyone advise?

I’ve been having blurred vision on and off for a few days now - it comes on at different times of the day and I can’t seem to find a trigger. I don’t have a headache with it.

I have high blood pressure which is controlled and I don’t wear glasses.

Who should be first port of call or does it not matter?

@Shoppingwithmother

That’s not really true. It’s very rare for an optician to actually refer someone to their GP for treatment. They might refer them for eg blood pressure or blood sugar checks. Or headaches if there is no ocular cause found. Yes, you might write a letter to someone’s GP if they had high pressures, but only to say “please arrange an appointment with an ophthalmologist.” The GP doesn’t see them or contribute anything to the care of their eyes, they just add anything relevant from their medical history and pass it on to the hospital. It’s only really a technicality that optometrists refer these things via the GP, and that depends on your local rules anyway.

If it’s an emergency then opticians will refer urgently to the hospital without going via the GP, and it is the quickest way to get to the urgent treatment if it’s needed.

This! It is important to establish the difference in care between doctors and the cause for the referrals. Eye health can be a sign of many other problems, from neurology to endocrine, so yes... you may be referred to a doctor, but that would be for cause -vs- effect measures compared with a routine GP appointment.

Opthamologists are specialist doctors dealign with the eyes. Yes - a doctor, but this is different to general practice. They are also different to optometrist's who do general checks of the eyes; i.e., eye health, early signs of significant problems and eye diagnosis and management to a certain degree, but they are not doctors and they are, in fact, healthcare professionals.

FYI - Swollen optic nerves are classed as a medical emergency. That would be a straight to ED for ruling out for nasties that you don't want.

Specsavers are fantastic imo. They swiftly recognised my cataracts were deteriorating faster than normal. They gave me a letter for the GP to refer on, and I was seen and had the first surgery quickly.

Optician - my brother recently had blurred vision and pain and his optician diagnosed a detached retina and referred him directly to hospital - he had it operated on the very next day.

Ps so there you go, opticians do refer onto the GP for treatment. I'm living proof!

Optician or eye hospital. If it becomes shadowy go straight to a&e

@Spidey66

Ps so there you go, opticians do refer onto the GP for treatment. I'm living proof!

I think you have misunderstood me.

Your GP did not treat your cataracts, they just passed the optician’s letter on to the ophthalmologist who did treat them.

In the region where I work, we just refer people directly for cataract surgery and the GP is not involved at all.

PS so there you go(!)