Frame Selection and Adjustment

On occasion, a patient will receive their glasses and they will report something isn't right, even if the prescription is the same as the old one. I have seen if the frame is a different size and shape, the patient might have a problem adjusting. This does occur occasionally. Just changing the size of the frame can make a difference to the patient.

The other variable that needs to be looked at is the adjustment of the frame. This is especially true of strong prescriptions. I have learned that how the frame is tilted and wrapped around a patient's head could make a big difference in how a patient sees.

Also if a patient has been wearing contact lenses for a long time and hasn't tried on their glasses for a while, this could cause a problem. This is because glasses magnify or minify what you're seeing more than contact lenses do.

Medications taken could certainly effect one's vision

The general health of a patient as well as medications taken could certainly effect one's vision. There has been several times that patients came in when a sudden change occurred in their vision. In these cases it was undiagnosed diabetes. The vision returned to the patients previous prescription when the condition was treated. Long term diabetes or hypertension could certainly have a dramatic effect on a patient's vision if not treated. Many times the vision worsens and the loss becomes irreversible. Any condition that can affect the body including the heart, liver or kidneys could certainly affect the eyes.

He spends a good part of his day looking with one eye through a telescope

I had a 29 year old patient who came into the office yesterday. His chief complaint was that he noticed an increase in headaches, especially over the left eye. He spends a good part of his day looking with one eye through a telescope. He also mentioned that he had more trouble focusing his left eye from near to distance. There was a very small far sighted prescription found for distance for the left eye and the right eye had no prescription. When I put this prescription in front of him, he found an immediate, significant relief.

What's interesting is that many of my patients wouldn't have noticed the difference with this small a prescription. However, there are a number who do. Even at this young age, the patient even needed more prescription to be able to read comfortably. Thus, we prescribed a bifocal. Helping this type of patient, in part, is what makes optometry such an interesting and rewarding profession.