Eye & Contact Lens Factsheets
GRIEF CASES.
We refer to a patient as a Grief Case if they
have tried Contact Lenses before without success
- we've all heard of them! This fact sheet is
intended to explain some of the reasons and reassure
you why we can fit even the most complex patient.
WHAT CAUSES PEOPLE TO FAIL
TO ADAPT?
There are 5 reasons.
1. |
In
the past, the patient's eyes were too sensitive
for the old and more uncomfortable types of
lenses. |
2. |
Lack
of perseverance or insufficient motivation! |
3. |
The
material and design chosen was not harmonious
with the patient's corneal chemistry. |
4. |
The
patient failed to return for adequate after
care to allow their practitioner to either
correct any initial fitting problems or to
foresee anything that might cause problems
in the future. |
5. |
The
shape, fit and size of the lens was not ideal
or became inappropriate after a period of
wear. (It has to be understood that there
is a complex settling process of Contact Lenses
on the eye requiring careful check-ups. The
eye itself is also changing in shape all the
time which is why new contact lenses and glasses
are required at regular intervals.) |
60% of our new patients come to
us having once tried lenses and have either completely
failed or never achieved the comfort or wearing
times they expected. To understand the reasons
you need to appreciate a little about the difference
between our Specialist Practice and those opticians
who primarily concentrate on glasses and offer
Contact Lenses as a relative side line.
There are listed in the Manufacturers
Year Book over 660 different standard "brands"
of Contact Lenses, most of which come in several
different fittings - one particularly complex
lens for astigmatism comes in 6 million permutations
and combinations.
For an optician who's business
is mainly glasses there has to be rationalisation
of how many different kinds they fit and the vast
majority therefore only fit a very small handful.
This often means they simply will not have one
ideally suited for every patient.
In our unique Contact Lens Practice
we fit any one of the 660 kinds that has any clinical
merit. If there is not a lens form amongst these
to suit then a skilled technician in a specialist
Contact Lens Laboratory will make custom made
lenses, in anyone of dozens of different materials
- in other words our choice of lenses is in the
millions!
This explains why, no matter what
your requirements we have the choice of lenses
to suit you- FROM DAILY
DISPOSABLE LENSES, LENSES YOU CAN SLEEP IN FOR
WEEKS AT A TIME. WHETHER THEY ARE BIFOCALS, VARIFOCALS
OR SPECIALIST LENSES FOR ASTIGMATISM WE WILL LISTEN
TO YOUR REQUIREMENTS AND ADVISE YOU ON WHAT WE
THINK IS THE BEST CHOICE FOR YOU.
Despite our expertise which goes
back to 1966 and with over £150,000 of specialist
equipment, when a patient leaves with their first
Contact Lenses we can offer no guarantee that
our first choice is going to work. Ultimately
the only way we can decide if the fit and material
chosen is compatible with your cornea is for you
to wear the lenses for a week or so. Frequently
we have high hopes of our choice but at the first
check the lenses are not performing adequately,
in which case we either change the fitting or
move to a different material with different properties.
With the most difficult patients we keep doing
this until we find the one that really works best.
AMONGEST
THE MILLIONS OF LENSES AVAILABLE IN THE WORLD
TODAY THERE IS PROBABLY NOT ONE SINGLE LENS THAT
WE COULD GUARANTEE AS SUITABLE FOR EVERY PATIENT
- OTHERWISE WE WOULD BE USING THAT AS FIRST CHOICE
AND LIFE WOULD BE A LOT SIMPLER. WE FEEL THE BEST
ASSURANCE WE CAN GIVE OUR PATIENTS IS TO GIVE
THEM A PROPER HOME TRIAL AND PROMISE A REFUND
IF WE CAN'T, WITH ALL OUR SKILLS, GET IT RIGHT
IN THE END!.
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