Rainbows

Monday evening saw the visit of the local Mirfield Rainbow pack to the practice. The girls had a great time riding on the consulting room chair, trying on glasses, designing their own specs and, I hope, learning a little bit about eyes and the importance of looking after them.It was surprising how many of the girls had never been for an eyetest.

It is really important to bring your child for an eye examination early on, certainly before they start school. Even if you haven't noticed any issues with their vision, the earlier a potential problem is spotted, the better. Eye examinations can be done at any age, their is no lower limit and children don't need to be able to read or even speak for us to be able to carry out a meaningful test. For example, many practices,ours included,will have a test chart based on pictures rather than letters.Best of all it is free, paid for by the NHS.

Visits from local groups like this are great fun and are our way of contributing to the local community. Please get in touch if your group would like to visit.

20:20:20

Helen, my Optical assistant is off today partying at a wedding so I have had a non-testing day catching up with the mountain of paperwork I have been putting off all summer. As a result I am left with the dull frontal headache and scratchy eyes all my regular VDU using patients complain of. I don't know how they do it day in, day out.

Needless to say, I haven't been following my own advice which is to follow the 20:20:20 rule
i.e every 20 minutes take a break and spend 20 seconds looking at a distance of 20 feet.
The idea behind this is to relax the eyes and give them a break from looking at one distance for long periods. My screen position is also lousy, with the screen well below my eye line leading to a stiff neck and the dull headache.

A bit of googling has lead me to the workrave app  which can be installed on your pc and reminds you to take regular "microbreaks" and longer breaks periodically. I'll try it tomorrow and let you know the results.

Olympics & Shows

Well, It's back to reality after a lovely family holiday including a day out at the Olympics. It was really inspiring and the message of " you can achieve anything you set your mind to if you are prepared to work hard " came through loud and clear.

Only two weeks to the Paralympics, can't wait!

We are really busy at work preparing for our stall at the Mirfield Family Agricultural Show. It should be a great day. We are running a Guess the Celebrity specs competition to win a pair of sunnies and a Lucky dip for the kids with proceeds to the local society for blind people. Mirfield show is always a great day out and really draws the community together. 

We are hoping to promote the importance of regular sight tests for Adults and Children alike. People often have the misconception that an eye examination is all about getting a prescription for specs which, though an important element, is only part of the picture. During an eye examination we are also looking at the general health of the eye and can often pick up signs of problems such as Hypertension occurring elsewhere in the body.

Come along and see us if you can.

Hello

Hi and welcome to my very first blog post. Here I hope to post informative and hopefully not too dull posts on all things eye related. 

First, a bit about me.I am an Optometrist owner of a small but growing independent practice in the fine town of Mirfield, West Yorkshire. I am married to Richard and have two small boys who keep me very busy.

It has always been my ambition to own my own practice and after much deliberating, decided to take the plunge in 2008 in the depths of the recession, maybe not the brightest decision but one I have no regrets about. 

Owning my own practice has given me the freedom to do things my way. I have the time to build relationships with patients, free from the rush and sales targets of a busy multiple.  I love the challenge of running a business and am always looking for ways to improve and grow. 

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough for now. Please pop back in the next few weeks and catch up.