Many of the Australians that Specsavers optometrist Simon Kelly treats aren’t aware that anything is wrong with their eye health until they come in for a check-up.
“Probably about half of the time when I’m seeing patients, they don’t know the issues that they have in their eyes,” Kelly says.
That’s because a lot of eye diseases and eye health problems don’t have visible symptoms until they’re advanced – meaning there could be something going on with your eyes without you knowing it.
But the good news is that about 90% of vision loss in Australia can be prevented or treated if detected early. It’s a statistic that demonstrates the importance of regular eye tests.
Simon Kelly, Specsavers optometrist
For the most thorough exam, you want to be tested using optical coherence tomography (OCT), Specsavers says. It’s a relatively new technology that has significantly improved detection rates for serious conditions such as diabetes and glaucoma.
“It’s like an MRI or ultrasound for the eye,” Kelly says.
OCT allows optometrists like Kelly to see the eye in microscopic detail in just a couple of seconds. In the past, optometrists and ophthalmologists used conventional microscopes for eye exams, which offered a “helicopter view” of the eye. OCT, by contrast, allows them to use computer enhancement, and zoom right into the eye to see detail at a much closer “ground level”.
“That basically is a complete game changer for diseases like macular degeneration and glaucoma, because these conditions are some of the leading causes of blindness and they’ve historically been quite hard to detect,” Kelly says.
Before OCT, Kelly says, studies had shown that up to 50% of people living with glaucoma were undiagnosed. Specsavers began rolling out OCT in 2017 and by the end of 2019 it was in all its stores.
“Since the advent of us using OCT technology in Specsavers – we use it routinely on all our patients – we’ve doubled our detection of glaucoma,” Kelly says. “We’re catching pretty much all the glaucoma that’s out there these days. So it’s just completely changed a problem where for years upon years, we weren’t making any headway.”
Over the past 12 months, more than 281,000 Australians have been referred for avoidable and treatable causes of blindness after eye tests at Specsavers using OCT technology, and 17,362 patients have received diabetes referrals in the same period.
“Every single day, I see people with diabetes in my clinic here on the Gold Coast because it’s such a common condition in modern society,” Kelly says.
“People with diabetes, they can get tiny little bubbles in the back of the eye – what we call cysts. And they are very hard to see. But with the OCT technology we can pick up on it nice and early, and then actually use OCT to help determine and monitor treatment. The good news about diabetes is if we catch it early, 97% of vision loss is recoverable or reversible. That highlights the importance of having regular eye tests.”
OCT technology can also pick up very serious conditions including tumours and melanomas in the eye, as well as strokes and retinal detachment. And with many Australians behind on their eye tests due to Covid lockdowns – a concerning 50% reduction in the number of first-time glaucoma referrals in Victoria and New South Wales in 2020 and 2021 suggests a large number of people are living with undiagnosed and untreated glaucoma – it’s extra important to make the time for a test this year.
“Really, you’ve just got to find the right person and the right equipment to look after your eyes,” Kelly says. “And there’s no doubt that OCTs are one of those things that really does help us. It’s surprising that a few years [after their introduction] we’re still not seeing them routinely used in every optometry practice. A lot of places that charge for OCTs are not using them as often as they could be.”
An eye test usually only takes about half an hour, and most Australians under 65 only need to have a checkup once every two years. It’s a quick and painless appointment that could be the difference between keeping and losing your vision.
“Eyesight is precious,” Kelly says. “So it’s important to go for routine checks with places that have OCT for a thorough, comprehensive eye exam. And it’s especially important to have a checkup if you have any symptoms, because something that can seem quite trivial … could be something more serious. And if we catch that early, it makes such a difference.”
For quality optometry and care, book your next eye check at Specsavers.
