Theresa Villiers, the Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet since 2005 and a government cabinet minister recently visited the Visioncare practice in New Barnet to understand the importance of eye care in the local community
Prakash Rughani senior optometrist and partner at VisionCare Medical Eye Centre with Rt Hon Theresa Villiers Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet
Prakash Rughani and Theresa Villiers with the practice staff at VisionCare New Barnet
Mrs Bullis, who has been a loyal patient of the Vision Care Medical Eye Centre practice in New Barnet for over 30 years, was recently presented by Prakash Rughani (senior partner /principal optometrist) and his practice staff with a bottle of champagne and some flowers to thank her sincerely for choosing VisionCare as her eyecare provider.
Keratoconus is a degenerative non-inflammatory eye condition in which changes within the cornea structure (the clear window at the front of the eye) cause it to progressively thin and change its shape from a normally round surface to a more conical.
The condition is prevalent in up to 1 in 1,000 people and is observed more often in patients of and Asian origin, those with allergic and connective tissue diseases and in Down’s syndrome. Exact causes are uncertain but genetic and environmental factors all play a role. It is usually first diagnosed in adolescents at a routine eye examination.
The thinning and shape changing of the cornea associated with Kerataconus impairs the eye’s ability to focus clearly, causing deterioration in vision. Symptoms which are often reported by the patient can include substantial vision distortion, with multiple images and light sensitivity to light . If both eyes are afflicted, the reduction in vision can affect the patient’s ability read normal print and drive.
In the early stages, spectacles or soft contact lenses can provide good vision; however, as the cornea becomes thinner and steeper with the progression of the condition, special custom made rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses are required to provide good vision. Vision Care Medical eye centre is a specialist practice for Keratoconus lens fittings – with Mr Bharat Rughani partner and principal optometrist, having over 20 years’ experience in fitting Keratoconic eyes, at Moorfields Eye Hospital and in private practice
For more information on the treatment for Kerataconus available at Vision Care visit this page.
Image source: webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu
EyeRounds Online Atlas of Ophthalmology
You may be wondering why you need to dispose of your soft contact lenses when they seem perfectly ok and still fell comfortable This is a question which many contact lens wearers ask.
There is actually a real reason for disposing of your contact lenses your optometrist has prescribed, even though they still look and feel ok.
Soft contact lenses are exceptionally permeable. In many ways they are similar to sponges and absorb everything with which their surface comes into contact with. You may regularly follow a hygiene regime to clean the contact lens surface, but this will not thoroughly clean the internal pores in the lenses. When these pores get blocked, the soft contact lens loses its breathability. You can be using a permeable and very healthy soft contact lens, but if you are using them for longer than the time prescribed by your optometrist, then you are reducing the vital oxygen to the cornea that is required for optimum eye health. This over use of the lens makes it more likely that you will develop eye infections and other ocular health complications.
Most soft contact lenses currently prescribed are for daily, fortnightly or monthly replacement. A an example to help you remember if you are on a fortnightly replacement schedule, dispose of your lenses on the first and then on the 15th day of each month you are wearing them. Even daily wear soft lenses need to be replaced annually for the same reasons.