Even if you are not aware of any eye problems you should ideally have an eye test every two years. You may need to have an eye test more regularly depending on your age and medical history.

Your eyes aren't very good at telling you when something is wrong. Usually, the change is gradual so you become accustomed to it over time. Therefore regular eye tests are important because they can detect any change or problem as soon as possible and get it treated before it affects your vision.

Yes, you do. At the hospital, they are focusing on any changes in your eyes affected by diabetes. They don’t necessarily check your general eye health or your vision overall. This is what we do during your regular eye test.

If you haven't had an eye test with us before we recommend bringing your current glasses, a copy of your most recent prescription (if you have it), and a list of any medication you currently take. If you visit us regularly for an eye test, be sure to bring along your glasses as well as a note of any changes to your medication.

A good time to book an eye test is before they start school. This ensures that their vision is as good as possible ready for all the learning they are going to do. Of course, if you notice any signs that your child might be having difficulty with their vision you can bring them in for an eye examination at any age. We would be happy to see them.

Some schools do a short vision check but it is not a full eye test. It is more likely that certain conditions would be diagnosed and treated during a full eye test at an optician’s. Also, it is no longer mandatory for a school to provide vision checks. So, you might think your child is receiving this service but there is a good possibility they aren't.

We would ask that you give us an hour of your time to carry out a home visit. In some cases, it may take a shorter amount of time. It depends on what we find during the visit.

We would usually take two to three weeks for glasses delivery. It depends on the time it takes for our manufacturers to make the lenses. When your glasses arrive back to us we will ring you to let you know and arrange a time for us to deliver them to your home.

You may have an OCT scan done at the hospital but, unfortunately, the hospital doesn’t share the results with us. In order for us to give you the best care possible, we would always recommend you have an OCT scan done with us because then we can assess all the information and provide the best treatment.

In Wales, provided you are eligible, a low vision assessment will not cost you anything.

OCT stands for Ocular Coherence Tomography.

It is an advanced, non-invasive, simple, and quick scan of the back of your eye which could be added to your routine eye examination.

OCT uses light to illustrate the different cellular layers that make up the back of your eye. There is also a digital photograph of your retina taken at the same time to cross-reference any areas of concern.