How to find a good optician?
We will advise you on what is important – from the first eye examination to the fitting of spectacle lenses
State-of-the-art equipment, in-depth expertise, individual consultations and a bit of fashion sense – you can recognize a good optician in different ways. BETTER VISION explains: how do you tell a good optician from the others – from eye exams to lens fitting? How to find an optician in your area? How does an eye exam work? How do you get the best possible result?
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How do you recognize a good optician?
What matters most?
How do you get the best results from an eye exam?
How often should you get an eye exam?
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How do you recognize a good optician?
There are many opticians, but not all of them work with the same quality standards, the same philosophy and within the same specialization. Their professional knowledge, equipment and quality of consultation can also differ significantly. In addition, choosing new glasses and a specific optician are always a very personal choice – just like choosing a doctor. Therefore, your optician should not only be an expert in his field, but should also be friendly. We have put together the most important points that will help you choose a good optician.
Check by phone
Once you’ve found an optician you think will be friendly – for example on the internet or using our search function – we recommend checking everything over the phone first. After speaking with your potential optician, you will immediately know if you “sat down” and if the optician took the time to answer your questions. Take your time and tell the optician your ideas. Ask what systems he uses to analyze patients’ eyes and fit frames, such as for refraction or centering of spectacle lenses. Compared to traditional systems, innovative systems offer significantly more accurate vision analysis and adaptation of spectacle lenses to the wearer’s eye. If you feel that the optician did not give you satisfactory answers, do not make an appointment. Keep looking until you find an optician who will take the time to answer all your questions.
First impressions matter
Take a look at the optician upon arrival. Do you have positive feelings? Is the environment pleasant, clean and tidy? Is this a place where you won’t mind spending an hour or two?
What matters most? – Time
The most important part of buying new glasses is finding an optician who will spend enough time with you and give you a detailed consultation. Every eye is unique and quality glasses are as unique as a fingerprint. Good vision through new glasses is affected by a number of factors, which is another reason why a thorough consultation and clarification of all questions by an optician is of such importance. Finding the right lenses takes time – your optician should be prepared to spend that time with you. If your optician seems stressed or impatient, if he only uses technical jargon that you don’t understand or won’t explain, we recommend ending the consultation and going elsewhere.
4. Adaptation of glasses
The last step before the actual purchase is to adapt the selected frames to your face. Customization is extremely important because no two faces are alike: everyone’s nose, eyes, and ears are shaped differently, and each eye has a different pupil distance. The point of view of the eye, which is where you look through the lenses, is also different. All these parameters must be measured, because only in this way can the spectacle lens manufacturer produce perfectly adapted lenses and thus guarantee you optimal vision.
1. Your medical history (creation of your personal vision profile)
The consultation should begin with a thorough history. For example, a good optician will want to know where you will wear your new glasses? Are you looking for glasses for everyday wear or would you like glasses for work, driving or as a special visual aid? Describe in detail the place where you will use the new glasses. Do you have any eye defects? And if you already have glasses: What do you like about your old glasses? What don’t you like about them?
Remember: if you feel that your optician is in an unnecessary hurry, you have come to the wrong place. A thorough anamnesis can easily take a quarter of an hour.
2. Eye measurement
Po provedení anamnézy optik začne s objektivním měřením vašeho zraku, na základě něhož určí váš předpis. Dobrý optik pracuje se špičkovými měřícími nástroji, jakým je např. systém i.Profiler®plus společnosti ZEISS. V případě tohoto systému se díváte do stroje a jednoduše se soustředíte na konkrétní bod v obraze. Je to velmi jednoduché a během chvíle je vytvořen profil vašeho zraku připomínající 3D otisk prstu. Takto je možné zjistit každý nepatrný detail vašeho zraku, včetně odchylek od normy, zvláštností, povrchových vlastností a jak dobře vidíte v noci. Tyto faktory jsou důležité a při volbě vašich budoucích brýlových čoček hrají klíčovou roli.
I když systém i.Profiler zachytí každý detail vašeho zraku, k určení rozlišovací schopnosti oka je zapotřebí další analýzy: subjektivní refrakce. Tento termín označuje „tradiční“ měření očí prováděné optikem. Do obrub jsou umístěny čočky s různým počtem dioptrií a poté je proveden test, jak dobře s nimi vidíte. Pokud jste někdy nosili brýle, tento krok vám je dobře známý. Optik se vás např. ptá: „Přes kterou čočku vidíte ostřeji, pravou nebo levou?“ – A takto se pokračuje, dokud si nejste jistí, že jste dosáhli nejlepšího výsledku. Případně může přijít řada na „foroptr“. Foroptr je pomůcka připomínající neobyčejně velké brýle se zaměnitelnými čočkami s různými předpisy, které vám optik může umístit před obličej. Záměna čoček v obrubách je optikem provedena stiskuntím tlačítka namísto ruční výměny.
Mějte na paměti: pokud si nejste jistí, které čočky jsou lepší, nebo pokud stále nevidíte ostře a jasně, nezatajujte to! Optikovi to sdělte. Nebojte se, tento krok může trvat velmi dlouho. Pamatujte si: každé oko je jedinečné, což znamená, že někdo vhodné brýle najde rychleji a někdo k tomu může potřebovat trochu více času. Dobrý optik vás nebude pohánět, protože je jeho prací najít vám vhodné brýlové čočky, které vám pomohou k vynikajícímu zraku.
3. Výběr obrub a čoček
Poté přichází část, na kterou se všichni těší nejvíce. Brýle jsou konec konců také módním doplňkem a vzhledem k široké škále velikostí a barev, ze kterých je možné vybírat, je konečné rozhodnutí vždy obtížné. Dobrý optik ví nejen, které obrubythey ideally complement your facial features and glasses lenses, but also help you narrow down your choices. The optician will also show you which frames are best for your vision needs. Unfortunately, most people do not realize that not all frames are suitable for all eyeglass lenses. The optician should therefore tell you a sufficient amount of information about the solutions, surface treatments and shades of the spectacle lenses. A good optician will also offer you good, high-quality lenses. After all, they are the most important part of the glasses. Based on your specific vision needs and how you use your glasses, the optician will suggest suitable options, inform you of their benefits and details, and ensure that you enjoy optimal vision and are satisfied with your frame choice. Sometimes inexpensive lenses, such as reading glasses, are perfectly suitable. A good optician stands out from the rest when he explains everything step by step so that you understand his recommendations. If this doesn’t happen, don’t hesitate to ask. If an optician doesn’t discuss his choice of frames with you, or sells you lenses without explaining why they’re the best fit for you, that’s not a good calling card for him.
4. Adaptation of glasses
The last step before the actual purchase is to adapt the selected frames to your face. Customization is extremely important because no two faces are alike: everyone’s nose, eyes, and ears are shaped differently, and each eye has a different pupil distance. The point of view of the eye, which is where you look through the lenses, is also different. All these parameters must be measured, because only in this way can the spectacle lens manufacturer produce perfectly adapted lenses and thus guarantee you optimal vision.
1. Your medical history (creation of your personal vision profile)
The consultation should begin with a thorough history. For example, a good optician will want to know where you will wear your new glasses? Are you looking for glasses for everyday wear or would you like glasses for work, driving or as a special visual aid? Describe in detail the place where you will use the new glasses. Do you have any eye defects? And if you already have glasses: What do you like about your old glasses? What don’t you like about them?
Remember: if you feel that your optician is in an unnecessary hurry, you have come to the wrong place. A thorough anamnesis can easily take a quarter of an hour.
Warranty and service
Ask about guarantees and their duration, for example: “Can I bring my glasses in for repair?” and when placing an order, make sure that all services and individual prices are listed on the receipt. A good optician wants you to be happy with your new glasses and should offer to make any possible improvements or adjustments.
Edition
When issuing glasses, it is the optician’s responsibility to check several things, for example: How well can you see overall? Were the spectacle lenses and frames optionally fitted? An extremely important question in the case of multifocal eyeglass lenses is: “Is the centering perfectly accurate”? “Are the lenses firmly seated in the frames?” If not, the optician must make the necessary adjustments. The same applies if the edges of the lenses are too visible when wearing glasses, if the glasses do not fit well, or if they press too much on your nose or behind your ears.
If the optician has addressed all of these questions, then your search is over: you’re in good hands.
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How do you get the best results from an eye exam?
Many glasses wearers know the feeling of taking two vision tests in a row and getting different results. The reason: the visual performance of our eyes varies slightly throughout the day. The maximum deviation is usually 0.25 diopters. Objective measurement using the ZEISS i.Profiler ®plus system compensates for these differences and takes them into account in the design of spectacle lenses with i.Scription ® technology. Below are our tips for getting the best results when measuring:
- Try to be as rested and relaxed as possible before your first eye exam. The less time that has passed between your waking up and your visit to the optician, the less “work” your eyes will do.
- Contact lens wearers should wear glasses instead of lenses for 24 hours before the eye exam. Contact lenses change the shape of the cornea, thereby affecting your visual performance during an eye exam.
- Do not go to the examination on an empty stomach or thirsty. Lack of nutrients or dehydration could affect the result.
- Diabetes can also have a significant effect on fluctuations in visual performance. Diabetics are advised to have their eyes examined at different times of the day and under certain circumstances.
- The use of certain medications can also affect visual performance. Depending on the drug, its use is recommended only after an eye examination.
- If the optician does not ask you, tell him about all the medicines you take and also about any diseases you have, such as diabetes.
- Give time to the eye examination. A good optician will take about an hour to perform the vision analysis, including the consultation.
How often should you get an eye exam?
- Adultswithout vision problems or eye diseases should have an eye exam at the following intervals: people aged 20-39 every six years, people over 40 every two to three years, and people over 65 every year or two.
- Glasses wearersare recommended to have their eyes examined by an optician every year. The optician should also check the glasses you wear and readjust them as needed. Regardless of your age or vision problems, you should always have your eyes checked if you notice that your vision is getting worse or you notice that you are experiencing eye strain more often than usual.
- Childrenshould have eye examinations regularly from the age of two to three and a half and then before starting school and then every two years until adulthood. This is the only way to detect early warning signs of visual impairment or eye disease. Premature infants and children whose parents or siblings squint or suffer from severe visual impairment should regularly see an eye doctor for a vision examination starting at six months of age.