Moores Opticians – Walsall

Moores opticians which has been an established practice since 1950 has a very good relationship with patients. Many of our adult patients started their journey at a very young age and have stayed with Moores Opticians well into adulthood. They feel very much at home with Moores and a good example of how Moores Opticians has supported a patient that came as a young child and is now, a professional snooker player, is Mark Joyce.

Mark Joyce  who was born on 11 August 1983 in Walsall, West Midlands is an English professional snooker player who lives in Walsall. He began his professional career by playing Challenge Tour in 2003. Joyce enjoyed an outstanding amateur career, winning the European Under-19 Championship in 2001, the English Open in 2005 and the English Amateur Championship in 2006, beating Martin O’Donnell 8–3 in the final. Joyce also finished fifth on the 2005/06 Pontin’s International Open Series, winning the second of eight events, to book a place on Main Tour. Mark has been ranked in the top 40 in the world for the last 7/8 seasons with a high ranking of 29 in 2014.

Last season saw a drop in Mark’s ranking due to a change of coach but has started this season on a positive note, reaching his Maiden ranking event final in Riga, Latvia in July 2019. When Mark first started playing snooker, it was at Moores opticians that he was fitted with contact lenses after using snooker glasses (specs of a particular design to help him to see clearly at different angles). Mark took to wearing contact lenses quickly, and it soon became apparent that this would be successful for Mark’s career. Moores opticians saw the potential in Mark and realised he could become a professional snooker player for England and decided to sponsor him by providing free contact lenses.

As Mark’s lifestyle changed with him jet setting all over the world for tournaments so did the demand on his contact lenses. We refitted him with contact lenses that he can sleep in, so he doesn’t have to worry about cases, solutions or having to keep taking them in and out. These lenses, known as Extended wear lenses suit him perfectly and Mark has been very happy with these lenses and the service provided by Moores opticians over the years. If he has ever had any problems with his eyes, we have seen to him straight away, just like we see to any of our patients.

In his own words Joyce says ‘I have used Moores Opticians for over 20 years, from the early days of wearing snooker glasses to the transition of finding suitable contact lenses to suit my needs, Moores Opticians have been first class.

It is comforting to know that of any issues were to arise with my eyes or lenses, then Moores are always on the other end of the phone and available to help. I would recommend them to anyone who may require glasses or is considering contact lenses. I thank Shamina and Moores opticians for their continued support’.

It is great to see our young patients become successful over time and continue to provide great eyecare solutions to match their career and lifestyle. Mark Joyce is still a great personality who even though is very successful remains humble and a great patient to have. If you would like to try contact lenses, book in for a free consultation now, you would need to have an up to date sight test.

Written by our Optometrist Shamina Asif BSc MCOptom

Everyone thinks that carrots help with eye health, but, in fact, they are of no more use to our eyes than any other vegetable. 

The myth started in World War II when the Government famously responded to a temporary wartime oversupply of carrots by suggesting that the RAF’s exceptional night-flying and target success was due to eating plenty of carrots. 

The ruse worked: consumption increased sharply because people thought carrots might help them see in the blackout, thus taking the pressure off other more scarce food supplies. I am sure many of us were all told by our mothers growing up that carrots can ‘help improve your eyesight’ however this is merely a myth!

Spinach/Kale

What is actually good for your eyes are leafy green vegetables such as SPINACH AND KALE.

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These contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which help protect against age-related macular degeneration (AMD) — the most common cause of blindness in the UK. 

In macular degeneration the centre part of the vision is affected, the ability the ability to read, drive a car, and even recognise familiar faces can be lost. Since there’s no treatment for dry AMD, prevention could not be more essential.

Studies have shown that those groups of people that had the highest consumption of spinach had an 86% lower chance of developing AMD as compared to the study group that had the lowest spinach consumption. This is because the more spinach you eat, the more lutein increases in the macula area (this is the part of the eye where all our detailed vision is) helping to reduce any damage that occurs over time.

It is advisable to have spinach/kale at least once a week. You can have it cooked or uncooked with some studies suggesting that the bioavailability may be increased if cooked (it gets absorbed into the blood stream more easily).

Eggs

Eggs are a very useful source of both Lutein and Zeaxanthin and because of the fat contained in eggs its bioavailability is one of the highest meaning it gets absorbed easily into the blood stream.

See table below for other foods that contain Lutein and Zeaxanthin.

Food	Lutein Trans (µg per 100 g)	Zeaxanthin Trans (µg per 100 g)
Asparagus, cooked	991	0
Spinach, raw	6603	0
Spinach, cooked	12,640	0
Kale, cooked	8884	0
Green beans, cooked	306	0
Orange pepper, raw	208	1665
Lettuce, romaine, raw	3824	0
Broccoli, cooked	772	0
Parsley, raw	4326	0
Corn, cooked	202	202
Pistachio nuts, raw	1405	0
Egg whole, cooked	237	216
Egg yolk, cooked	645	587
Egg whole, raw	288	279
Egg yolk, raw	787	762

So why not try a spinach cannaloni, spinach and potato curry, or lamb and spinach curry this weekend? The creators of ‘Popeye’ certainly got one thing right, Spinach is good for you!

Written by our Optometrist Shamina Asif BSc MCOptom

Moores Opticians – looking after the health of your eyes and offering free retinal photography with each eye test making it easier to monitor the health of your eyes over time.

References: Lutein and Zeaxanthin—Food Sources, Bioavailability and Dietary Variety in Age-Related Macular Degeneration Protection, Nutrients. 2017 Feb; 9(2): 120, Bronwyn Eisenhauer,¹ Sharon Natoli,¹ Gerald Liew,² and Victoria M. Flood

What is Diabetes?

Having Diabetes which is not controlled can not only affect your body, it can also affect your eyes.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when

• You do not make enough insulin for your body’s needs or
• The cells in your body do not use insulin properly. This is called insulin resistance. The cells in your body become resistant to normal levels of insulin. This means that you need more insulin than you normally make to keep the blood sugar (glucose) level down, or both can happen at the same time.

Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1 diabetes and develops mainly in people older than the age of 40 (but can also occur in younger people).

• In England, about 1 in 10 people aged 45-54 years have diabetes and about 1 in 4 people aged over 75 years have diabetes.
• Type 2 diabetes is now becoming more common in children and in young people.
• 9 out of every 10 people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.

The number of people with type 2 diabetes is increasing in the UK, as it is more common in people who are overweight or obese. It also tends to run in families. It is around five times more common in South Asian and African-Caribbean people (often developing before the age of 40 in this group).

How does Diabetes affect my eyes?

People who have diabetes are more likely to develop cataract than people who do not, and people who have diabetes may develop diabetic retinopathy. They are also more likely to develop glaucoma.

A patient with poorly controlled diabetes risks damage to the retina (diabetic retinopathy).

Diabetic retinopathy is when the small blood vessels in your retina leak fluid into the retina. Although this does not affect your vision in the early stages, if it is left untreated it may lead to sight loss. This complication of diabetes is caused by high blood sugar levels which over time causes damage to the back of the eye. It can lead to blindness if undiagnosed and untreated. How long a person has had diabetes and how well controlled the condition is are the most important risk factors. After 20 years, diabetic retinopathy will develop in almost all people with Type 1 diabetes, and around 60% of people with Type 2 diabetes. 

You can reduce your risk of developing diabetic retinopathy by keeping your blood sugar under control as much as you can.

A picture of the back of the eye of a patient who has uncontrolled diabetes, the yellowing at the arrow are fatty deposits, and if this continues to stay uncontrolled it could affect the patients sight permanently.

Diabetic Eye Screening

With a few exceptions, the NHS arranges for all people who have diabetes and are aged over 12 to be invited to have screening for diabetic retinopathy. It is very important to have this done regularly, as early detection of diabetic retinopathy means that treatment is more effective. Moores opticians offers Diabetic Screening so if you have not had this book now! Your pupils will be dilated with drops so you cannot drive after a screening appointment.

Written by our Optometrist Shamina Asif (BSc MCOptom)

Reference: www.patient.co.uk