Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
If you are in doubt about what is troubling you with your eyes, please get in touch with us.
Yes, there is a charge for patients to see our optometrists.
During your appointment our optometrists offer more than just the basics, that is why we allow a longer time for our eye examinations. The extra time provides our optometrists with the opportunity to ensure your prescription meets your needs.
We thoroughly examine the health of your eyes and talk with you about any questions or concerns you may have. We use state of the art optical equipment to help us provide a thorough and comprehensive eye examination. We screen for conditions such as cataracts, dry eyes, diabetes, glaucoma, macular degeneration among others.
Our focus is on good eye health and maintaining that health into the future.
You do not need a referral to see us, and we can provide on-the-spot Medicare Rebates for those who are eligible.
We offer a range of appointments.
Appointments for patients who are new to the practice, or for comprehensive eye examinations are usually between 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Children’s eye test appointments are usually 60 minutes long.
Contact Lens examinations include a check-up and usually take 40 minutes.
Appointments for a general check-up are usually booked for 40 minutes.
It takes approximately 10 working days for your custom-made glasses or contact lenses to be ready for you.
You will receive a text message or phone call to let you know that your eyewear has arrived at our practice.
When you come in to collect your glasses, we will ensure the fit is comfortable for you.
We specialise in children’s eye care, as their vision can impact the rest of their lives.
Children aged between 3 and 5 should be tested to ensure their vision is as good as it can be. Just before your child starts school is also a key time to make an appointment for a vision check.
Our optometrists have paediatric (child) management qualifications which means that they are trained to prevent vision and eye problems from deteriorating or developing, and can diagnose and treat problems that may be causing learning difficulties.
Yes – we can help you with your eye health, all our optometrists are therapeutically endorsed. This means they can diagnose your problem and provide you with eye medication scripts and review your recovery if necessary.
Our optometrists work closely with GPs and ophthalmologists providing details of your eye management with them, so you receive the best outcomes.
The eyeball is either too long or the cornea and crystalline lens power are too strong, causing light rays to focus in front of the retina. This can be corrected with concave, diverging or minus (-) lenses.
The eyeball is too short or the cornea and crystalline lens power is too weak, causing light rays to focus beyond the retina. This can be corrected with convex, converging or plus (+) lenses.
A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye. It usually occurs as people age. A cataract is not harmful, and treatment may not be needed in the early stages, but as the cataract progresses it may affect vision. If this happens we would refer you to an eye specialist who can treat the cataract surgically.
Glaucoma describes a number of conditions that damage the optic nerve and affect vision. It is typically seen in people over the age of 45 and occurs when the fluid in the eye builds up and adds increased pressure on the optic nerve. It can also occur because of a weakness of the optic nerve due to a poor blood supply, or because of some other type of weakness of the nerve.
The condition can present in two ways.
- In the acute form (which is rare), it shows up as a painful, red eye with reduced vision.
- In the more common, chronic from, a patient may not be aware that they have the condition. It may only be detected during a routine eye examination.
The chronic form of glaucoma usually progresses slowly causing irreversible damage to the visual field. However, if detected early, it may be treatable. Once the pressure that is causing the problem is controlled, further damage to the eye and visual field is usually prevented.
Looking after your eyes is important when you have diabetes as those who have the condition are at increased risk of developing eye problems. If left untreated, this can lead to poor vision and blindness.
Often the patient may not experience signs or symptoms of problems. Most vision loss from diabetes can be prevented with regular eye checks and early treatment.
Diabetes can cause a range of eye problems. The most common is diabetic retinopathy, where tiny blood vessels in the back of the eye are damaged and may cause vision loss. It’s important that it is identified and treated early. The early stages don’t generally have symptoms, but in the later stages, people may notice blurred, hazy or double vision or they may have sudden loss of vision. The only way to know if you have Diabetic Retinopathy is to have a diabetes eye health check.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common condition that affects many people, usually over the age of 65.
This condition affects the macular area, a small part of the retina at the back of the eye. Damage to these cells causes distortion of central vision and in some cases can cause a painless loss of central vision.
There are two main types of AMD: “dry” and “wet”.
Dry AMD is the more common type. It develops very slowly and causes a gradual change in central vision. In more severe cases, dry AMD causes a blank patch in the centre of your vision in both eyes. It doesn’t affect the peripheral vision and it does not lead to complete blindness.
Wet AMD develops more rapidly, so it impacts central vision in a shorter time. Neither type of AMD will cause the loss of peripheral vision and blindness.
Blepharitis, or dry eye, is an inflammation of the eyelid margins.
Many patients do not display symptoms of eyelid inflammation, but instead experience irritation, foreign body sensation and burning of the eyes. Typically, symptoms are worse in the morning, but can occur at any time of the day.
It is a common condition but harmless to vision.
Dry eye is often characterised by redness, crusting and itching of the eyelid margin. It can be treated with drops that supplement natural tears and make the eye feel more comfortable, lubricating the ocular surface and treating the dry eye symptom. However, eyelid-cleaning techniques are often advised to help keep crusts and inflammation to a minimum.
There are ways you can lessen your symptoms.
Astigmatism occurs when the front of the eye, the cornea, has an uneven curvature. Instead of being spherical, it is egg-shaped. When light hits an irregularly curved cornea, it is not focused correctly onto the retina which results in blurred vision. This can be corrected with a lens that allows light to correctly focus on the retina.
This is when the crystalline lens of the eye becomes stiffer and loses its ability to focus on close objects. This condition usually becomes noticeable in the early to mid 40s and is a normal part of ageing. Presbyopia can be corrected with reading glasses, bifocals or progressive lenses.
