Home > eYE cARE

Eye tests

The eye is a complex part of the body and damage can occur without any apparent symptoms. Eye diseases can progress quickly if left untreated, which is why it’s so important to stick to your routine check ups. We allow a minimum of 30 minutes for an adult eye exam, ensuring that our optometrist will have the time to conduct a thorough and in-depth examination.

During your consultation, we’ll cover the following:

1

Symptoms
and history

2

Vision
check

3

Eye health
check

4

Discussion and conclusions

We’re also proud to work alongside the NHS – which means that, if you qualify, you can receive a voucher that will cover the cost of your eye test. The cost of glasses – if required – may also be covered, but this will be dependent on your personal circumstances and eligibility. The voucher can also be used towards the cost of contact lenses if this was a preferred option.

To quality for a free sight test, you must fall into one of the following categories:

  • Are aged under 16
  • Are aged 16, 17 or 18 & in full-time education
  • Are aged 60 or above
  • Registered as partially sighted or blind
  • Diagnosed with diabetes or glaucoma
  • Are aged 40 or over – and your parent(s), sibling or child has been diagnosed with glaucoma
  • Advised that you’re at risk of glaucoma by an ophthalmologist
  • Prisoner on leave from prison

Find out more about NHS eye tests here >

You’re also entitled if you or your partner – including civil partner – receive, or you’re under the age of 20 and the dependant of someone receiving:

  • Income Support
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Pension Credit Guarantee Credit Universal Credit and meet the necessary criteria

Expert eye care
advice

To ensure sharp vision and healthy eyes, it’s advisable that you have regular examinations – with the NHS recommending you get your eyes tested every 2 years (this may change depending on advice given by your ophthalmic practitioner or optometrist).

We’re trained to recognise if there are any changes or abnormalities with your eyes, so one of the benefits of regular eye tests is being able to identify any potential eye diseases early. From glaucoma and allergies to dry eyes and even diabetes, the eyes are one of the key ways of identifying that there’s a problem. An early diagnosis means that treatment can be advised where necessary and this can help to delay or prevent further damage.

If you have any concerns or queries about your eye health, we’re here to help. Call us on 0207 613 3553 or pop into the opticians to book an appointment today.

Your eye test
explained

An eye test allows us to check the health of your eyes and we allow a minimum of 30 minutes for an adult eye exam. This ensures we have sufficient time to conduct a thorough and in-depth examination.

During your appointment we’ll carry out a variety of tests and discuss your history and any symptoms you may be experiencing, carry out a comprehensive vision and general eye health check and then discuss how to proceed based on our findings.

Your prescription explained

Your prescription is written once all the necessary tests and checks have been carried out by our in-store optometrist and you’ll be given a copy of this. Your prescription will often come with abbreviations and numbers which are used by optometrists and if you have any difficulty in understanding what your prescription means for you, we’ll be happy to explain.

We’ve broken down some of the abbreviations below to help you better understand your prescription:

Rx

Prescription

L

Left eye

R

Right eye

SPH

Sphere: shows how long or short sighted you are

CYL

Cylinder: measures the amount of astigmatism you have that needs to be corrected

AXIS

measure in degrees, this tells us the direction of the astigmatism