Like the rest of NZ, we are all very excited to move to Level 2, which means that we are back OPEN, and starting our “next normal”. As optometrists this means things here are a bit different, with super-clean disinfecting processes, contact tracing, physical distancing and ideally appointments for everyone coming to see us.

To keep you and us safe, we’ve set up some specific changes, firstly that if you’re unwell, please wait until you’re better before you have an appointment. If you can’t wait and have vision concerns, please phone us and we’ll work out how we can help. It may well be that we can help with contactless service, as we’ve all been adapting to in the past 7 weeks anyway.

Then, entry to our place is limited to ensure we can keep the physical distance, contact trace and keep up with all the sanitising needed to keep things super clean. From wiping hard surfaces, to our testing equipment and sanitising all the glasses frames, there’s a lot more to do in a people orientated work place. So with all this, we are asking our clients to book appointments, for their convenience and to enable us to provide a smoother and more efficient service. We’re loving the new floor signage that goes with this, and as Wellingtonians, the yellow and black colour theme feels like we’re supporting a sports team.

With all the disinfecting, washing, splashing around we’ve also made a change for our team work-wear. For now we’ll be looking a little more casual, with very washable tops for all. Once we’ve all had our hair cuts caught up, we’ll all feel a lot more glamorous!

Our optical dispensers and optometrists are available over the phone for queries. And for vulnerable people, we have the option of a free 10 minute phone consultation with the optometrist, so we can work out how best to help you.

To make on line booking even easier, there are links on our website for all 3 branches, and if we send out our reminder notices, either by email or text, we now have links directly for this. Comments abounded from our lockdown lives – things need to be simpler, so we think booking on-line is a simpler way to find times that suit you.

All of our team at CapitalEyes have said how much they miss being at work, they miss meeting new people every day, and so are very keen to be back. Ready to put all the new routines into action, spray lots of disinfectant and sanitise our way forwards. Yay Thursday 14 May 2020

Day 41 & settled into Level 3

We're settled into Level 3 – which opens us up to being able to help you better – for urgent eye appointments or if you need your eyewear to be able to function, then we can now help you.  Whether that’s with new glasses or repairs. Contact lenses and solutions are available – again we can arrange most things by phone or email – just let us know.

It’s not business as it used to be- we need to keep you safe, so we have contactless arrangements, and if we do need to see you in-store, it’s appointment only.  We have excellent disinfection processes, supported by being able to discuss things further by phone before and again after your appointment if needed.

For the routine eye care appointments, we have been advised that we need to wait until the Levels are lower.   But in the meantime if you have any questions or concerns, please phone or email us and we’ll see what we can do to help.

If you are over 70 or vulnerable, and need our assistance, please do contact us and we’ll see what we can work out to help you, without breaking your bubble.  Again, we’re only a phone call away.

Level 4 Lockdown meant different things for everyone in NZ.  We’ve new words like “bubble”, which sounds so nice, and learning to “sit & stay” like we train our puppies to do, was harder than you’d think.  While at CapitalEyes our doors are still closed, our computers have been working hard.  We’ve been answering emails from our clients, and pleasingly using our pre-arranged direct delivery for contact lenses.  Broken glasses are a bother, and we’ve had a few people who have checked about repairs, which we’re now able to do at Level 3.  The many people who have back up glasses – we’re proud of you! 

As we return we’re getting to see all the creative repair techniques that the no 8 wire people have used – glue tends to go everywhere and permanently damages the lenses and frame, sellotape is better, blue tack doesn’t usually last.  Paper clips and wire instead of a screw can strip out the thread, so also less than ideal.  Our recommendation is stick to tape!

Our staff have all been working on their optical knowledge with on-line learning, and Zoom is our new way of catching up.  Strange times, but what an unprecedented opportunity to have the time to spend learning from home. We are very much looking forward to re-opening our actual doors, and even if everyone is 2m away, some normal again will be great.  However it is likely to be a slow path with lots of disinfecting going on for what we used to think of as a “normal” eye examination.  The guidelines are there to keep us all safe, so will continue to be our “normal”.

It has been commented that the effects of lockdown are like a tornado – some people and businesses will be severely affected, to the point of destruction and others barely touched.  Some parts of NZ will be affected more severely than others, with tourism all but stopped.  Perhaps in Wellington as we miss the sight of the cruise ships, we’ll also miss the slightly lost people wandering along Lambton Quay.  And for our over 70s staying safe at home, it’s tough.

As the doctors are saying 2020 stands for “20 seconds of hand washing, 2m and zero excuses”.  And we thought it was going to be the year of eye jokes – the cornea the better!

Interesting times, and thought we’d blog a few thoughts from the perspective of optometrists– as we all see the world through our own lenses!  Thank you for the many lovely messages we’ve received since the COVID-19 lock down was announced, and we’ll continue to try and help as best we can moving forward.

So kids and teens – we’re still concerned about you developing myopia (short sightedness).  It’s well known that a lot of time on your phone, ipad or reading is more likely to make your eyes change and develop myopia.  But the GOOD news is that time outdoors is protective.  So while you’ll likely be doing more screen time than usual, having 2 hours a day outside will help your eyes long term, even on cloudy days.

And all the DIYers, please wear safety glasses.  The hospital doesn’t want to see you with an eye injury, unless they really have to.  If there aren’t any safety glasses in your work shop, find some eyewear to use and as long the lenses are resin/plastic and not glass, you’ll be safer.

If you need us, just email your local CapitalEyes, our doors are temporarily closed, but we’ll try and help you out.

Air conditioning and too much screen time won't help your tear film.  The front surface of the eye needs to be well lubricated with the thin tear film, and if it dries out too much then you'll be feeling it.

Eyedrops that lubricate the front surface will not only make the eyes feel better, but also improve your vision consistency.  We recommend preservative-free drops; either the single use type (pictured) or the clever and safe bottle-like Hyloforte, or the break-through new chemistry of NovaTears.

Watching your child's development is one of the joys of parenthood.   Children just assume that the way they see things, is just the same as everybody else. If the pages in a book or the board at school seem a bit of a blur, or reading is really tiring, they think it's that way for everyone.

Poor vision or poor visual skills can affect a child's development in many ways. It can make learning more difficult, it can make the child clumsy and un-coordinated and it can even affect the child's personality development. Our optometrists as parents understand just how important your child is.

There are many visual skills needed for complete vision development, starting from birth to age 7.  Then as they grow through into puberty there are further vision changes which can affect both school work and myopia development and progression can affect their adult eye health risks.

Your child's vision is precious and we want to help them be the best they can be. So a child's visit to CapitalEyes is different to elsewhere. We are looking to see if the visual skills are being learned, if they have clear and sharp vision but also accurate focusing and a high degree of co-ordinated activity of both eyes.  Once clear vision is developed, then the child's more advanced visual skills are assessed by our optometrists.  These checks include the ability to change focus, fix and converge the eyes (aiming the eyes), eye tracking and saccadic ability (eye movements) and also depth perception (important for sport).

Assessing a child's vision is much more than just reading a letter chart, and if your child does require glasses, regular review appointments to followup are very important to ensure that their vision development is optimised. Eyecare and vision is more than just buying a pair of glasses.

When your child's vision is so important, why would you have a free quick check when the underlying reality that it's free because selling glasses collects the payment? Yes, we do charge consultation fees at CapitalEyes, but we don't recommend glasses lightly for children.

Our desks have changed so much, and thus our vision demands have changed.

This video shows so it all, that you might need to watch it more than once.

Uploaded by Kevin O'Connor on 2018-05-10.

Myopia (short sightedness) is predicted to affect every second person in Australasia by 2050. Researchers in Sydney working with the World Health Organisation have predicted this to be a global problem. In our part of the world currently 20% of people are myopic, but the predicted rise to 55% by 2050 is very concerning. Worldwide the rate is predicted to be over 50%, and Africa with a very low level of myopia is set to increase 6 times from 2000 to 2050.

While we can correct myopia with glasses, contract lenses, or for adults with laser surgery, the bigger concerns are the underlying eye health changes that occur particularly with higher myopia - classified as those people with -5.00D of myopia or higher.

The eye health risks for our future children and grandchildren are very real causes of blindness, so as optometrists, we are working hard to slow down the progression of myopia in children and teenagers. These approaches are usually tailored to the young person following their regular eye examination. However the community messages revolve around the known risks of children not spending enough time outdoors, and too much near time.

There is also a genetic link, so if you are a myopic parent, your children have double the risk of developing myopia, and if both parents are myopic the risk increases to five time. We can't change our genes, but we can alter the environment for young peoples vision devleopment.

The "myogenic" environments we live in, can be modified - parents and schools just need to know how important time outdoors is, and balancing time spent on near work.

We're loving that there is more information for parents about children's vision, and especially myopia development.  Check out www.mykidsvision.org for up to date and key information to determine your child's risk of myopia development.

Caffeine is the most widely used drug in history, with more than 70% of New Zealanders consuming it daily in their coffee, tea, chocolate and caffeinated soft drinks - maybe more in Wellington where our coffee is so good! 

Interestingly there's emerging evidence that caffeine increases the eye's intra-ocular pressure (for a short period 1-2 hours after consumption).  Higher IOPs are associated with glaucoma, and the caffeine increase in IOP is worse in people with glaucoma, or who have a family history of glaucoma and seems to double their chance of developing glaucoma.  As they say "everything in moderation", more so for glaucoma risk people and their caffeine.

There is now new and developing research with options for slowing myopic progression. For a long time it has been known that there is a genetic component to myopia. Having one parent who is myopic doubles the risk of developing myopia, and having two parents increases the risk by 8 times.

If your child is myopic, the likelihood is that it will progress as they grow. For some children this is a slow rate of progression, while others have rapid vision changes.

The treatments which the research has shown to slow myopia progression include assessment of near binocular alignment which may benefit from glasses for close work. Also use of weak atropine eye drops used nightly, or contact lenses specially developed with advanced optics in soft daily disposables.

We recommend all children with myopic parents be examined before the age of 6, to establish risks for further vision changes. These are individual approaches and we are happy to discuss these further with you. 

Click HERE to read more about it.