Eye Care Blog
Optimax news and insights provide a flavour of how life can be brighter and more enjoyable after treatment with us...
We hope these updates help provide you with better an understanding of our vision correction treatments and their benefits.
19 November 2019
Should you risk going abroad for laser eye surgery?
At first, the idea can seem quite attractive. Jet off to a warm country, soak up a bit of sun, and return (hopefully) with 20/20 vision. What’s not to like?
Read more14 November 2019
High precision laser tech with 6D eye tracking
We know that choosing where to have your laser eye surgery is an important decision and can feel quite daunting. That’s not to mention making sure you know which type of treatment to opt for – be that LASIK, LASEK, PRK or SMILE – or choosing your specific surgeon.
Read more12 November 2019
What is Nystagmus and what causes it?
Nystagmus is a condition whereby a person suffers with involuntary, uncontrollable eye movements. The condition can often make someone’s eyes look like they are shaking, moving quickly either from side to side, up and down, or in a circular motion.
Read more07 November 2019
5 reasons why laser eye surgery is nothing like that Final Destination scene
We see it all the time on laser eye discussion threads – people saying they could never consider vision correction treatment because of one thing. One film that’s traumatised them and left them scarred for life… it’s Final Destination 5.
Read more05 November 2019
Which 8 eye conditions are most common in children?
Keeping an eye on your child’s vision is perhaps even more important than monitoring your own, as often they can’t or don’t communicate that there is anything wrong at all. This especially goes for young children who might have been born with an eye condition or severe refractive error...
Read more31 October 2019
Monofocal vs. multifocal lens exchange: What's best for your eyes?
At Optimax, we offer a range of lens surgeries including implantable contact lenses, cataract surgery, and refractive lens exchanges. The processes for cataract surgery and a refractive lens exchange (RLE) are the same, both involving the removal of the eye’s natural lens and replacing it with an artificial lens.
Read more29 October 2019
The real fright this Halloween: How coloured contact lenses threaten your sight
Halloween is very nearly upon us! You’ve no doubt already carefully considered your costume, and might have even laid it out ready for the big day. Whether you’re donning a witch’s hat, devil’s horns, or simply draping yourself in a ghostly white sheet, you need to think about whether or not you’ll be enhancing your outfit with coloured cosmetic contact lenses...
Read more24 October 2019
5 reasons why crying is actually good for you and your eyes
People cry for a whole host of different reasons, whether that’s feeling happy, sad, overwhelmed… or maybe they’re just chopping onions. We actually produce three different types of tears which are all triggered by various factors.
Read more22 October 2019
Stye eye infections: Symptoms and how to treat them
A stye is a relatively common eye infection and is usually harmless. Styes are caused by a build-up of the Staphylococcus bacteria which can be found in your nose. It is often transferred when you touch the inside of your nose and then your eyes, causing a stye to develop.
Read more17 October 2019
Putting laser eye surgery on the menu for chefs
It’s now that time of year when the Great British Bake Off is back on our screens, as well as Celebrity MasterChef making its 2019 return. All our favourite TV chefs are starting to share their top winter recipes, and there’s certainly no shortage of food-related programmes at this time of year.
Read more15 October 2019
Can you brighten your eyes naturally? All about the dangers of artificial sclera whitening
The sclera is the white part of your eye that you see surrounding the iris (the coloured section which houses your pupil). Humans are actually the only primates to have a visible sclera which is thought to come hand in hand with our status as the most social beings.
Read more10 October 2019
New treatment for Keratoconus at Optimax: Small-incision LIKE with the XENIA implant
Keratoconus is an eye condition affecting around 1 in 2,000 people in the UK. The front part of your eye, the cornea, becomes weaker and thinner, gradually losing its shape and becoming more cone-like.
Read more08 October 2019
What to expect at a child’s eye test
Eye tests are absolutely crucial in maintaining good eye health, and we’ve written previously about the importance of them. They can detect all sorts of hidden eye problems, even revealing the presence of brain tumours and diabetes.
Read more03 October 2019
Surgeon profile: Meet Dr Ilango, Medical Director for cataract and lens surgery
Dr Ilango is our Medical Director for Lens Surgery at Optimax, having worked with us for 25 years. He is also a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, specialising in cornea and lens implants.
Read more01 October 2019
The sharp rise of short sight: Is myopia becoming a global epidemic?
An epidemic is defined as a “widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time”. While myopia (also known as short-sightedness) doesn’t qualify as an infectious disease, there’s no denying that it is becoming more widespread with each year that goes by, with reported cases growing exponentially.
Read more26 September 2019
The impacts of high alcohol consumption on your eyesight
Drinking alcohol is a normal part of life for many British adults. While 20% of people surveyed by Drink Aware said that they didn’t drink at all, 57% of respondents had had at least one drink in the week leading up to being interviewed.
Read more24 September 2019
Optimax surgeon Dr. Bhojani treats her niece with LASIK surgery
At the beginning of August, we treated 19 year old Zahra in Optimax Leicester. She had worn glasses for the past 12 years and knew that vision correction treatment was something she had wanted for a long time.
Read more19 September 2019
Is your eyesight legal for driving? The roadside dangers of cataracts, AMD and glaucoma
Deteriorating vision is a normal part of the ageing process, be that in the form of cataracts, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, or another sight-related condition.
Read more17 September 2019
What are the benefits of Laser Eye Surgery for sportspeople?
There are many sports where having good eyesight is absolutely crucial to succeed. Attempting to track a tennis ball on court, intercept a football player and tackle them, or follow the lines of the running track all become very difficult when your sight is compromised.
Read more12 September 2019
How to read your eye prescription
We get lots of questions about optical prescriptions, exactly what the letters and numbers on that piece of paper mean, and whether or not, based on these numbers, someone is suitable for vision correction treatment with us.
Read more10 September 2019
12 signs that your child is struggling with their eyesight
It can be difficult to know that your child is struggling with their vision because they may not even be aware themselves. If the problem is something which has been present from early in their life, they might just take it as the norm and not give you any indication that something is wrong.
Read more05 September 2019
Do you drink enough water to keep your eyes healthy?
We’ve all heard that we should be drinking 2 litres of water a day to stay hydrated, keep our organs healthy, our body temperature regulated, and our energy levels high. Water is what enables our bodies to function, flushing out waste products and delivering oxygen throughout the body.
Read more03 September 2019
Mother, father and son have their vision corrected together at Optimax
Sometimes, treatment at Optimax really can become a family affair. We recently caught up with a mother, father and son who all had treatment with us, and had a chat about their Optimax experiences.
Read more28 August 2019
What is Eye Sleep, and should you be worried about it?
We’ve all woken up in the mornings feeling a bit sleepy, only to find some crusting or gunk in our eyes. Sometimes called “eye sleep”, the substance is a combination of eye debris and hardened tear film which falls into the eye’s inner corner and then dries up overnight, forming the crust.
Read more21 August 2019
The negative effects of makeup on your eyes
Makeup has been around for thousands of years and is used in almost every society in the world – from colourful tribal makeup through to the Kardashian-style contouring we know today.
Read more14 August 2019
Meet the Hawthorns: 3 sisters undergo Laser Eye Surgery at Optimax Glasgow
Earlier this year, we treated three sisters at Optimax Glasgow. Older sister Stephanie, and twins Louise and Pamela, all opted for LASEK treatment in a bid to ditch their glasses for good.
Read more07 August 2019
What are the symptoms of Dry Eye Disease?
Dry eye is a common eye condition whereby the eyes do not produce enough tears for the eye to be sufficiently lubricated. This occurs for a number of reasons and can cause several uncomfortable symptoms. It’s estimated that around 7% of population suffer from dry eye.
Read more31 July 2019
Eagle eyes: Where does the saying come from?
We’ve all heard someone with excellent eyesight described as “eagle eyed” by others – but how much truth lies in this well-known idiom? The saying harks back to the Elizabethan era, where it was first reported being used in 1598.
Read more25 July 2019
Which eye conditions affect women more than men?
When it comes to blindness and eye disease, it’s clear to see that women are at far greater risk than men. Two thirds of global blindness and visual impairments occur in women, and women are much more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, and cataracts than men.
Read more23 July 2019
How do smart phones damage your eyes?
Smartphones have become a staple item in everyday life, with 80% of UK consumers owning one in 2018. This number is sure to continue rising as the years go by, and smartphones become more affordable and therefore more accessible.
Read more18 July 2019
The effects of lash lifts and lash extensions on your eyes
A craze that has begun sweeping the world of beauty and makeup lately is the lash extension. Individual lashes made from either mink, silk or synthetic plastic fibres are glued to your natural lashes to create a longer, fuller look.
Read more16 July 2019
How can diabetes affect your eyesight?
Almost 5 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, equalling more than 6% of the population. This isn’t a small proportion, and it’s predicted that 5.5 million people will have diabetes in the UK by 2030.
Read more11 July 2019
Crossed eyes or lazy eyes? The difference between Strabismus and Amblyopia
Strabismus and amblyopia are frequently confused with each other, and people often use the terms interchangeably. They are, in fact, two different eye conditions, albeit with some shared characteristics.
Read more09 July 2019
What are the common myths surrounding your eye colour?
Eye colour is a funny, unpredictable thing and is influenced by up to 16 different genes. It’s hard to predict what eye colour your child might end up with, as even one sibling’s eyes can differ dramatically from the next sibling.
Read more04 July 2019
How can you protect your child's eyesight?
Monitoring your own eyesight is easy; you know exactly what you can see, and you’re aware of any changes that might occur. You’re also likely to know when you need vision correction – be that laser eye surgery, glasses or contacts – and you know how to communicate your visual problems.
Read more02 July 2019
Prevent sun damage to your eyes by wearing UV protection sunglasses
Summer is well and truly underway and we’re all enjoying the longer days, warmer temperatures, and sitting in the garden with the barbeque burning away. Nowadays, people are quite clued up on the risks of sun damage when it comes to severe sunburn and skin cancer, and sun cream is a staple item for British summertime.
Read more27 June 2019
Patient profile: Experienced nurse abandons her specs for better vision
Sue’s Refractive Lens Exchange
Read more25 June 2019
Sulcoflex Trifocal: New lens technology for Optimax cataract patients
The world of lens surgery is constantly developing, with advancements being made all the time. We like to make sure we can offer the latest lens technology to our patients at Optimax, so we’re working with Rayner, a British lens manufacturer, to bring this to you.
Read more20 June 2019
What are eye floaters, and should you be worried about them?
You might have noticed small black spots or tiny flecks in your vision, particularly when you look at bright, plain coloured backgrounds, like a white wall or the sky.
Read more18 June 2019
Which eye conditions are most common in different countries around the world?
Out of 7.5 billion people in the world, over 285 million are visually impaired. Of these 285 million, 246 million have low vision, and 39 million are blind. 80% of these forms of visual impairment are actually preventable or curable (and are usually treated in developed countries) meaning that, sadly, 90% of people affected live in developing countries.
Read more13 June 2019
How can chlorine damage your eyes?
The summer holidays are fast approaching and, for many people, this means a trip away. Whether it’s Butlins or Bali, it’s likely that you’ll be taking a dip in the pool to relax.
Read more11 June 2019
Patient profile: Barbara's laser eye surgery at Optimax Harley Street
Barbara is our clinic manager at Optimax Harley Street. She works both in the office and with our patients, as well as scrubbing up and assisting in the treatment room for laser and lens surgeries. It’s safe to say that Barbara knows vision correction treatments inside out!
Read more06 June 2019
How different are human eyes to animal eyes?
Animals suffer from many of the same eye conditions that humans do, from cataracts and glaucoma, to short-sightedness and scratched corneas. There are even veterinary specialists dedicated solely to animal ophthalmology!
Read more04 June 2019
Optimax Peterborough: Meet Tina and her team
We know that booking in for laser eye or lens surgery can be quite a daunting process, and there’s no doubting that it’s a big decision. It’s completely normal to feel nervous about the procedure and the appointments that come with it, but something that lots of our patients say is that it’s the Optimax staff who help them feel more positive about the experience.
Read more30 May 2019
Find out how smoking damages your eyes
We’re all aware that smoking is bad for our lungs, circulation and teeth – amongst a whole host of other body parts – but not a lot of people know how bad smoking is for their eyes.
Read more28 May 2019
Top 10 foods to keep your eyes healthy
We all grew up hearing that eating carrots helps you see in the dark, and we all know that getting our “5 a day” of fruit and vegetables is meant to help our overall health. But did you know that certain foods actually have specific benefits for your eyesight?
Read more23 May 2019
What are the risks of missing your regular eye tests?
Experts recommend that everyone has an eye test every two years, even if we think we have perfect vision. As well as being “windows to the soul”, your eyes are also windows to your overall health, providing indications of a range of diseases – both directly related to your eyes, and more general health.
Read more21 May 2019
What are the effects of poor eyesight on your mental health?
Good eyesight is something which a lot of us probably take for granted and isn’t something we really value until it begins to deteriorate. It’s a classic case of “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”, but worsening vision brings a multitude of other health concerns with it.
Read more16 May 2019
Is poor eyesight all down to your genes?
We all know that many of our characteristics are inherited from our parents, from our hair and eye colour down to the shape of our nose. They might also pass down certain personality traits or athletic and academic abilities, but what about other aptitudes?
Read more14 May 2019
Learn about the risks of hay fever to your overall eye health
Spring is well and truly upon us and, while it’s lovely to have the blossoms out, the birds chirping away, and the lighter, brighter mornings, the allergies that come with the season aren’t quite as popular. Around 13 million people in the UK suffer from hay fever, which is essentially an allergy to pollen.
Read more09 May 2019
Laser eye surgery: Knowing the difference between LASIK and LASEK
When people talk about laser eye surgery, lots of them aren’t aware that there is more than one type available. We offer two at Optimax – LASIK and LASEK – and we’re going to discuss the variations between them, as well as identifying the different advantages for each.
Read more07 May 2019
Which British celebrities have had laser eye surgery?
We’ve been looking into which other celebrities have had laser eye surgery and there’s no shortage of people to choose from! You may be surprised at some of the following names, and which procedures they’ve had.
Read more02 May 2019
Costs as clear as your new vision
People put off laser eye surgery or lens surgery for a number of reasons. There’s no denying that it’s a big decision, not least because we all know how important our eyesight is, but people also question the financial cost.
Read more30 April 2019
How does the ageing process affect your eyesight?
The natural ageing process is something which none of us can hide from. The physical and mental changes it brings are normal and, while you can combat some of them with cosmetic surgery and laser eye or lens surgery, it’s important to monitor things to ensure that you’re still healthy and that the changes are normal.
Read more25 April 2019
What can you do to keep your eyes healthy?
We all know how important our eyes are. Our sight is the sense that we rely on most on a day-to-day basis and, whether you’re considering eye surgery or not, your eye health should be up there amongst your top priorities. 74% of people in the UK wear glasses or have had laser eye or lens surgery to correct their vision.
Read more23 April 2019
Ultimate guide to eye surgery at Optimax
Do you rely on glasses or contacts to see properly? Have you been considering vision correction for a while but haven’t known how to go about it? We’ve got a full list of all our procedures in one place to help you determine which treatment is best for you and your eyes.
Read more18 April 2019
Is summer the perfect time for laser eye surgery?
If you’re a wearer of glasses or contacts, you’ll probably know that hauling eye care supplies around on holiday can be a bit of a task. The time of year when people start to go away is approaching, and your holidays are likely to involve sea, sand and sports.
Read more15 April 2019
Q&A: Presbyopia, cataracts and astigmatism
We get lots of questions from prospective patients about different eye conditions, and whether or not we’ll be able to help them achieve clear, natural vision again. We’ll be able to determine your suitability for different procedures if you book in for a consultation.
Read more11 April 2019
Laser eye surgery: Common fears and myths
We know that choosing to have laser eye surgery is a big decision and it’s something that people spend years putting off for a whole host of different reasons. But when we speak to our patients after their procedures, the thing most of them say is “why did I wait so long?”
Read more09 April 2019
What is Keratoconus?
Keratoconus is an eye disorder which affects around 1 in 2,000 people. A person’s cornea, the transparent front part of the eye, gradually becomes thinner, weaker, and begins to bulge forwards in a conical shape.
Read more04 April 2019
Cataracts: Is your car insurance valid?
A cataract occurs when the lens inside your eye becomes cloudy, interfering with your vision and getting progressively worse. They usually affect people in their seventies, but can occur at any age.
Read more02 April 2019
Optimax director pioneers new cataract technique
Our Medical Director at Optimax, Balasubramaniam Ilango, has been busy pioneering a new technique for cataract treatment. He believes that the issue of negative dysphotopsia, or arc shadows, can now be significantly reduced by a modification of capsulorrhexis (CCC), which he is pioneering.
Read more29 March 2019
The Great British public’s quest for eternal youth
It’s no secret that the UK has an ageing population; the median age of the people living here is rising all the time. In fact, the largest age group in in 2017 was made up of people aged between 50 and 54 years old, totalling over 4.6 million out of 66 million people.
Read more26 March 2019
Love your lenses... Love lens surgery?
Love Your Lenses Week runs from 23rd to 30th March this year and encourages discussion around all things lenses – from looking after your eyes and getting regular check-ups, to understanding the long-term health effects of contact lenses.
Read more02 January 2019
Amazing eye facts
For organs so small, it’s amazing how fascinating our eyes are; there’s so much to know.
Read more10 May 2017
Optimax Clinic Leicester
Optimax Clinic Leicester has now re-opened after an extensive refurbishment and the addition of a state of the art Lens Surgery theatre.
Read more07 July 2016
Dry Eye treatments now available at Optimax
Optimax has recently expanded its range of treatments to include procedures to relieve eye conditions. We now offer treatment options for conditions such as dry eyes and blepharitis.
Read more30 June 2016
Brighten up your summer with Laser Eye Surgery
Four reasons why Laser Eye Surgery can help you make the most of the holiday season.
Read more22 June 2016
Stay in the shades for healthy eyes this summer
Serious eye conditions can take many years to develop, and can gradually worsen without protection. Babies and kids in particular need to wear hats and sunglasses, although people of all ages should take precautions whenever they are outdoors.
Read more04 June 2015
Top UK poll-vaulter has treatment at Optimax
Top Scottish Athlete Courtney MacGuire recently had treatment with Optimax, with an eye on becoming the UK No.1 in her sport.
Read more27 March 2015
Introducing Symfony Lens on BBC TV
This week our medical director Mr Amir Hamid introduced the Symfony ‘Extended Range of Vision’ lens on BBC News South East.
Read more27 October 2014
Optimax Boxer Takes Title
Optimax Boxer and ambassador Marianne Marston won a spectacular victory this month, beating Hungarian #1 and European #3 Marianna Gulyas in a tense, 10-round thriller.
Read more20 October 2014
Big win after treatment
Racing driver, Optimax Ambassador and occasional ‘Made in Chelsea’ star Paul Rees made a pit-stop at our London head office last week to tell us how his career has accelerated since having laser eye surgery at Optimax.
Read more16 October 2014
UK Championship Triple – Jumper
Optimax Athlete Makes The Leap for Great Vision Ricardo Twumasi, UK Championship Triple – Jumper, recently had treatment with Optimax via the BAC Scheme, set up by Optimax to help British athletes reach their potential.
Read more01 October 2014
Congratulations to Alice Anderson
We’re delighted by the reaction from Alice Anderson, after receiving free treatment as winner of our monthly Laser Eye Surgery competition.
Read more