An OCT or Ocular Coherence Tomographer is a state of the art eye scanner that can take cross sections of your retina, optic nerve and cornea. This microscopic detail allows us to pick up eye diseases such as macula degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy earlier and monitor your eyes with more accuracy than ever before. The scans only take a few seconds and there are no puffs of air or bright lights.

We have had OCT in our Southsea practice since last year and it has been incredibly useful. We are now delighted to have taken delivery of an OCT scanner in our Portchester branch meaning we can offer this amazing technology at both practices.

OCT is part of the eyeplan and private eye examination as well as the enhanced NHS examination.

For more details follow this link to a previous blog on OCT. http://www.cameron-davies.com/news/oct-update-cameron-davies-southsea.html

Glasses steam up when we experience a change in temperature. Drinking a hot drink, opening the dishwasher or walking into a warm room from outside can all cause this. For many hobbies and jobs ‘fogging’ can really get in the way.

The award winning Optifog treatment from Essilor has solved this problem. This is where anti-fog particles are imbedded just under both front and back surfaces of the lens. All you need to do is clean the lens at least once a week in the Activator solution and your glasses won’t steam up again!

It really does work! (We have seen many similar products in the past that haven’t)

Optifog is available as an upgrade on a wide variety of lenses in both Southsea and Portchester branches. Just phone us or pop in for more details.

For more information watch

http://youtu.be/Ww8GO673P8Q

(Images courtesy of Essilor)

We have offered colorimetry at Cameron-Davies for over 15 years but have recently invested in a new state of the art colorimeter. This means we now offer colorimetry in both Southsea and Portchester Cameron-Davies practices.

What is colorimetry?

The use of colour to alleviate problems with reading and migraine can produce spectacular results for children and adults. Colorimetry is how we measure the specific colour that is most effective at reducing visual stress. This colour varies greatly between individuals. We can then make glasses that are tinted with this precision colour to help with reading, using computers and other concentrated work.

What is visual stress?

Visual stress is sensitivity to visual patterns. It can result in still patterns seeming to move or blur and causes tiredness, headaches and sore eyes. People who suffer from significant visual stress will often miss words, re read lines and have problems with prolonged reading or computer work. This can often cause frustration and low self esteem in children as it makes learning to read more difficult.

Who suffers from visual stress?

25% of us suffer from some form of visual stress. If you stare at the pattern to the left you may notice the lines appear to move and your eyes may feel strained. This is visual stress. 5 % of people suffer from significant visual stress and looking at text in a book or on a computer screen can cause these problems. Visual stress is not the same as dyslexia but it is more common in those who are dyslexic.

How does a colour help?

One current scienfic explanation is that visual stress is caused by an over action of the vision centre in the brain. A precise colour (which is specific to each individual) helps to reduce and dampen this over action. This makes vision more comfortable.

I feel my child may benefit from colorimetry what should I do?

The first step is to book a full eye examination. If after this we feel colour may be of benefit we perform an overlay assessment. This involves reading with many different coloured overlays and assessing which colour helps the most. You are given the most helpful overlay to take home and try. If this makes a significant difference we can perform colorimetry and prescribe precision tinted spectacles.

I work with children that I feel may benefit from colorimetry, what should I do?

We take referrals from a wide range of professionals including teachers and educational psychologists. If you feel colorimetry may be of benefit you should advice the child’s parent or guardian and give them our contact details.

If you would like any further advice please phone us on 02392 825939 for our Southsea branch or 02392 373015 for our Portchester branch.

We will be closing both Portchester and Southsea branches at 1pm on Wednesday the 21st of September for staff training.

We will be open as usual on Wednesday morning and for the rest of the week.

Many apologies for any inconvenience caused.

OCT at Cameron-Davies Southsea.

In January we invested in an OCT eye scanner in our Southsea branch. This state of the art technology is allowing us to see your eyes in great detail and monitor conditions such as glaucoma and macular degeneration with more accuracy than ever before.

In the 6 months we have had the OCT scanner it has been incredibly useful. To show some of the benefits of OCT below are examples of some OCT scans that have all been taken by us in our Southsea practice in the last 6 months.

OCT helps us to detect glaucoma earlier. Glaucoma is a common disease that damages the nerves in the eye, if untreated it can result in tunnel vision and eventually blindness. The first OCT scan to the right shows a healthy eye, the second OCT scan shows an eye with Glaucoma. You can see glaucoma causes the nerve layer to become thinner and the light grey area within the optic nerve to enlarge. Early detection of glaucoma allows prompt treatment to take place which greatly reduces the risk of significant vision loss.

OCT also allows us to see the macula in great detail. The macula is the central part of the retina responsible for seeing small detail. It can be affected by a variety of diseases the most common of which is age related macular degeneration. The top OCT scan shows a cross section of a healthy macular. You can see all the layers of the retina are intact and there is a uniform dip in the middle.
The second OCT scan shows a cross section of a macula with 2 problems; fluid under the sensory retina and dry age related macular degeneration (ARMD).

Two common problems that cause fluid to accumulate under the sensory retina are CSR (central serous retinopathy) and wet ARMD. CSR causes the retina to be pushed forward resulting in blurry distorted vision. It doesn’t normally require treatment however it does require close monitoring and the best way to do this is with OCT. Wet ARMD on the other hand does need urgent treatment. Dry ARMD is a very common disease as we get older where the pigment layer of the retina (seen as the orange line on the healthy picture) gets damaged and becomes bumpy. It causes a loss of central vision.

The third image shows a 3D scan of just the pigment layer with all other layers stripped away. You can see the bumpy pimpled appearance caused by dry ARMD clearly. Again the OCT is a brilliant way to monitor any changes with the macula.

As you can see from the images OCT gives us a unique insight into the health of your eye.

We offer OCT as a part of our Eyeplan and private eye examinations in Southsea. It is also included in our enhanced NHS examination.

We are so impressed by the benefits of having the OCT in Southsea that we will be purchasing one for our Portchester branch in the near future.

Recently our largest eyewear manufacturer, Luxottica, held a training evening for Cameron-Davies staff, focussing on two of their most popular quality brands – Versace & Prada.

These luxury frames are  made in Italy where Luxottica has been manufacturing spectacle frames since the 1960’s. We were surprised to hear that all the tiny jewels, which help to create such striking frame styles, are still fixed on by hand – machines were tried but the company has come to the conclusion that nothing can compare to the delicate human touch!

We also found out that the new frame designs from these brands often complement the annual themes on the catwalk from the fashion houses; several of this year’s styles from Versace are incorporating ‘bows’ as they are featured on Versace clothing this season.

Many thanks to Stuart Graham for presenting the evening, a good time was had by all!

Our trainee, Laura Ruse,  recently sat her final theory and practical dispensing exams, set by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians.  

We are delighted to announce that she has passed with flying colours and now joins our team of qualified Dispensing Opticans– entitling her to use the letters FBDO (Fellow of the Board of Dispensing Opticians) after her name.

Well done Laura!

On June 23rd a group of our dispensing opticians attended a Tom Davies Bespoke Frame workshop at their head office in Boat Race House, Mortlake, London. During the day they fine- tuned their ability to dispense and order truly unique hand-made Tom Davies spectacle frames.

The website www.tdtomdavies.com is well worth a look; however the best way to find out more is to visit our practices to talk to our dispensing opticians, try on our ‘ready to wear’ Tom Davies range, & discuss the many possibilities for creating a bespoke frame of your very own.

The Financial Times described Tom Davies bespoke frames as ‘the most exclusive glasses in the world’.

Ørgreen Optics was founded in 1997 by a young Danish trio and is now represented in more than 40 countries. It is a world-leading eyewear company, famous for innovative design and colour combinations, using more than 300 different shades of colour. The frames are constructed from titanium, beta titanium and acetate, making them ergonomic, lightweight and comfortable as well as architectural and edgy pieces of art. They are handmade in Japan, taking 4-6 months to individually craft as each one undergoes more than 100 production steps.
We carry a great selection of frames from this contemporary company at our Southsea practice, and are delighted to see that the stars can also have an excellent taste in specs, judging from the following news item :-

‘Sam Worthington, star of “Avatar” and the upcoming “Clash Of The Titans”, wore Ørgreen Chill 34 while presenting at the 2010 Oscars!’

Why not drop in and try on some of the models we have in stock – maybe you could look as good as Sam !