Dear LPG readers,

I always thought that it was a potential visit to the dentist that put people off, but I read today that about one fifth of retired people don’t take advantage of the bi yearly free eye tests either.  And I know one of them…

My eyes have always been so bad that a regular visit to the eye doctor has been a necessity if I ever wanted to see anything, but I have a friend who you just have to spend a little time with to know that her eyes are not the best.  We spend quite a bit of time in each other’s company and I have noticed that, even though she wears glasses, she screws her eyes up when looking at some of the details printed on the boxes and tins on the shelves at the supermarket that even I have no problems seeing, and her eyes aren’t relaxed when she is looking at the television either.

The last thing that you want to do is embarrass your friends, and I have mentioned my concern in passing and got the age old response, ‘I will get round to it soon’, but it is obvious that she does not want to talk about it which is why I found myself taking a look on the internet for answers.  

One website pointed out that there might be reasons for a person’s reluctance to get their eyes checked.  It might be the cost.  We all know that the test is free every two years after you reach the age of 60 but new glasses aren’t cheap.  I read that another reason people are sometimes reluctant to visit might be because they are worried that they might give the wrong answers during the eye test and end up with new glasses that don’t really work that well.  I recently read an article on your pages which went some way to explaining how the person being tested can get the best outcome from the test and I think that it is worth mentioning again at this point (►►►). 

Not wanting to start wearing glasses after a lifetime of not having to is another reason noted, or fear of hearing the news that you are seriously losing your ability to see.  Then there is that thing about being confident that your eyesight was always perfect and still is, which can also be the problem.  I think that my friend suffers from that sort of denial but, with any health concern, forearmed is forewarned. 

My internet search also reminded me that an eye test can forewarn about many other conditions and we are all being told that it is better to know because, knowing that something is not right, gives us the opportunity to nip it in the bud.   

All that said, convincing someone you know to do something about getting checked out without appearing to be that nosy person who is always moaning at you, can be a problem. 

While looking on line, I found a few basic tests that might help if you feel the need to persuade someone like my friend that something might be wrong and, offering to go along for moral support when they visit the optician, could be a way forward. 

I found a few basic tests that I got her to try with me at home and I think that they went some way towards getting her to listen to my suspicions.  At least they were a reason to bring the subject up again.   Getting my friend to have a go helped me to get her to allow someone else to take a look at how well she can see…  

SY Deptford

SY offers some of what she found online…

(►►►)   (►►►)     (►►►)    (►►►)