The document provides information on eye health and eye care, including facts about vision and the eye, common eye conditions, eye exams, lifestyle factors that affect eyesight, eye safety, and eye health for children. It emphasizes the importance of regular eye exams in detecting potential vision problems and health issues. Many of the facts highlight the importance of prevention and healthy habits for maintaining strong vision and eye health.

1. Look after your eyes!
Professional Excellence in Eye Health

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• in the right conditions and lighting, humans can see the
light of a candle from 30 miles away
• 80% of what we learn is through our eyes
• you see with your brain, not your eyes.
• about half of your brain is required for seeing
Did you know?

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• most parts of your body need to warm up to their full
potential - your eyes are working at 100%, 24/7
• a fingerprint has 40 unique characteristics – your iris
has 256
• the human eye can detect more than 10 million colours
• at least 50% of sight loss is preventable.
Did you know?

9. HOW WE SEE

10. THE EYE EXAMINATION

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• 78 per cent of people say sight is the sense they fear losing
most*
• 53% of us struggle to see the TV**
• Brits check their teeth more often than their eyes*
• 13% of us have never had our eyes tested**
• at least half of all sight loss is avoidable*.
• * The State of the Nation Eye Health 2017: A Year in Review (RNIB and Specsavers).
• ** Research undertaken by Censuswide on behalf of The College of Optometrists, 2014
Vision facts

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• Regular eye examinations make sure that you can see as
clearly and comfortably as possible.
• They can pick up early signs of potentially sight thretening
conditions such as: glaucoma, cataracts, macular
degeneration.
• It may also detect underlying health problems, such as high
blood pressure and diabetes.
• Look for the letters! Find a local MCOptom or FCOptom
The eye examination

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The eye examination
Your optometrist will:
• ask about your general health, family history and
lifestyle
• assess your distance and near vision
• check your eye movements and co-ordination
• check the health of your eyes
• possibly carry out tests for chronic glaucoma

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Common eye conditions

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Myopia (short sightedness)
• light focuses in front of
the retina
• third of people in UK are
short sighted
• playing outdoors may
reduce risk in children

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Hyperopia (long sightedness)
• light focuses behind the
retina

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Presbyopia
• natural part of the ageing
process
• lens loses elasticity
• affects near and far
vision
• managed with glasses or
contact lenses

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Astigmatism
• very common
• eye is shaped like a
rugby ball
• light focuses in more
than one place

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Flashes and floaters
• flashes
• a flash of light in the corner of one or both eyes
• floaters
• small dark/transparent dots or strands in the
vitreous gel inside your eye
• usually harmless – can be sign of detached
retina

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• increased pressure inside
the eye
• chronic - symptomless in
early stages
• acute - can cause
pain/discomfort and blurred
vision.
Glaucoma

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Macular degeneration
• leading cause of sight
loss in the UK
• early (dry) AMD - near
normal vision - no
treatment
• late Stage (wet or dry)
AMD - rapid loss of
central vision can be
treated if caught early

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Other common eye conditions
• blepharitis - itchy, sore eyes due to red, puffy,
sometimes crusty, eyelids
• cataracts - the clear lens inside your eye becomes
cloudy or misty
• dry eye - scratchy or irritated eyes due to lack of
tears or tears evaporating too quickly

23. LOOK AFTER YOUR EYES

24. Children’s eye health
• new born – blurry, black and white vision
• vision continues to develop into adulthood
• common conditions include lazy eye (Amblyopia)
shortsightedness, longsightedness.
• eye examinations at any age - paid for by NHS

25. DIY and eye safety
• DIY activity in the home and garden is the cause of more
than 20,000 eye injuries each year
• when carrying out DIY:
• wear protective eye wear
• don’t touch your face until you have washed your hands
• don’t work alone
• keep a first aid kit and phone handy.
• in the case of an accident:
• do not rub your eye or wash a cut or punctured eye
• go to A&E as soon as possible.

26. Driving and vision
• you are breaking the law, if you are driving when your
vision isn’t good enough
• drivers must be able to read a normal-sized number plate
at a distance of 20.5 metres
• have regular eye examinations
• wear your glasses - even for short trips - and keep
some sunglasses in the car

27. SUN EXPOSURE
Lifestyle and eyes
• Maintain a healthy weight and cholesterol levels
• Dietary supplements may be helpful for some people who
have existing AMD.
• Smokers are more likely to develop AMD and cataracts.

28. SUN EXPOSURE
Lifestyle and eyes
• drinking alcohol can cause dry eye – especially for contact
lens wearers
• increased risk of sight loss due to AMD, cataracts, optic
nerve damage
• drinking while pregnant may permanently affect baby’s
health

29. Screen use
• there is no evidence that viewing a screen can
damage your eyes.
• adjust font size and brightness to make
viewing more comfortable
• apply 20-20-20 rule
• blink regularly

30. UV light
• protect your eyes from the sun - all year round
• look for the BS EN or CE mark
• don’t forget your children
• wear a winkie!

31. Vision and falls
Increased likelihood of falling:
• start wearing glasses or change your
prescription
• difficulty adapting to changing light/needing
more light
• develop certain eye diseases such as
cataracts and AMD
Top tips to help you stay on your feet:
• get used to your new glasses
• switch the lights on
• boost the contrast
• diminish the dazzle!

32. Ethnicity and eye health
• research in USA showed following prevalence of AMD
among participants: 2.4% (black), 4.2% (Hispanic),
4.6% (Chinese), to 5.4% (white)
• African-Caribbean people are eight times more likely to
develop primary open angle glaucoma and to develop
glaucoma 10-15 years earlier than other ethnic groups
• East and South Asian people are more likely to be
diabetic than the general population. Diabetes can
affect the eye.

33. FURTHER INFORMATION
lookafteryoureyes.com

34. The following sets of slides have been
developed for particular audiences – for
example, parents and teachers and
school children choosing their exam
options.
You can select those that you want and
drop them into the presentation above
(deleting any that aren’t needed) or use
them as a short standalone slide show
as part of your presentation.

35. CHILDREN’S VISION

36. Developing vision –
genetic influences
• eye colour
• eye conditions
• myopia
• colour blindness

37. Developing vision –
prenatal
• Development starts at week four of pregnancy
• By week 26, the eyes are fully formed
• Take care!
• eat well
• fresh air and sunshine
• no smoking
• Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

38. Developing vision –
babies
• New born babies – blurred, black and white vision
• At three months - able to focus
• At six months - eyes are fully developed, can judge
depth and see in 3D, can follow you around the room
• Seven months onwards - see small things, have
improved hand-eye co-ordination.

39. Developing vision –
toddlers
Judging distances with precision
Recognising familiar objects - and scribbling
Has sustained visual interest

40. Developing vision –
starting school
• Good vision important for social and academic
development
• Vision screening carried out at some schools
• Short sight most likely to develop between 6 – 13
years
• Children can wear contact lenses

41. Developing vision –
things to look out for
• one eye turns in or out.
• rubbing their eyes a lot
• watery eyes
• clumsiness and poor hand-to-eye co-ordination
• avoiding reading, writing or drawing
• screwing up their eyes to read or watch TV
• sitting close up to the TV, or holding objects close
• behaviour/concentration problems at school
• blurred or double vision, headaches.

42. Developing vision –
common conditions
• shortsightedness (myopia)
• longsightedness (hyperopia)
• astigmatism
• colour blindness
• lazy eye

43. A CAREER IN OPTOMETRY

44. What kind of people become
optometrists?
“I think you need to be a people
person who likes to interact with
others. If you’re anything like
me, you’ll talk a lot and care
about how to improve
someone’s life.”
Tahira Sultana MCOptom
optometrist at Specsavers

45. A career in optometry –
the facts
• Minimum 5 GCSES (science), two or three
science A levels (AAB) or AABBB SQA Higher
• Optometry degree (at least 2:2), work
experience, final assessment
• Starting salary around £25k

46. Life at university
“A big aspect of optometry
courses is independent
learning. You have scheduled
lectures and lab sessions
where you learn techniques
and then go into the lab and
practice. You spend a lot of
time practising with people and
revising or learning together,
so you end up being really
good friends.”
Sohail Ramzan, University of
Bradford University of

47. Career opportunities
• Community optometrists
• Hospital optometrists
• Domiciliary optometrists
• Researchers

48. What’s it like working as a
community optometrist?
“My patients range from young
children to the elderly. I mainly
see patients for sight tests, but
I also see contact lens
patients and patients needing
special care for cataracts and
glaucoma. I also get involved
with a bit of dispensing.”
Dan Varcoe MCOptom,
optometrist at Boots

49. What’s it like working as a
hospital optometrist?
“Working in eye casualty is
very exciting. We see a
range of different things
coming through the doors!
The best thing about working
in a hospital is working with a
large team. You get to
interact with all different
departments and you are
constantly learning.”
Krupa Mistry MCOptom,
hospital optometrist

50. What’s it like working as a
researcher?
“The best parts of my job as a
researcher are the fun,
interesting people (especially
the children) I meet and the
travel. I get to attend and
present my research at
national and international
conferences.”
Dr Lesley Doyle MCOptom
Researcher

51. Other roles
• dispensing optician
• optical technician
• orthoptist
• ophthalmologist

52. Find out more:
college-optometrists.org/careers