At Julian May Opticians, we believe in providing a first rate eye examination. Expect your eye examination to last about an hour. We begin outside the consulting room by asking a few relevant questions regarding what you do with your eyes, whether you are having any difficulties either from an eye health point of view or with your spectacles. Your optometrist will add this information to your records and then ask you additional questions about your general health, any past and current eye problems and any relevant family eye troubles.
Next, your optometrist will carefully check your vision and spectacle prescription followed by a thorough check of your eye health. Finally you’ll get a full explanation of our findings and how they relate to those initial questions we asked and any visual problems you may have been having
Your eye examination can also be enhanced with high resolution Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). We will take both a digital photograph and a three dimensional cross sectional scan of the back of your eye in one sitting. This allows us to instantly diagnose a number of common conditions and tiny changes can be discovered and monitored. The scan is non-invasive, painless, simple and quick.
Our Professional Fees
Private Eye Examination (standard) – £38.00
When conducting an eye examination, we will perform an internal and external examination and carry out such additional examinations as appear to be necessary to detect signs of injury, disease or abnormality in the eye. We will also assess your binocular vision and any spectacle prescription. We conduct this following The College of Optometrist’s guidance.
NHS Eye Examination (standard)
As above but the fee is covered the NHS (National Health Service) due to either certain eye health conditions or whether you are in receipt of certain benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) – £22.00
This is a high-definition scan of the eye. It will include digital photography and a three-dimensional cross-sectional scan of the back of the eye in one sitting. This can instantly diagnose a number of common conditions and tiny changes can be discovered and monitored. The scan is non-invasive, painless, simple, and quick. You can decide on the day of your eye examination should you wish to have this scan. This scan can only be accompanied by an eye examination.
Enhanced Eye Examination add on – £40.00
You may wish to supplement the standard eye examination with a more in-depth check.
This will include:
- Pupil dilation with drops to get an even better view inside the eyes.
- We will perform an internal and external eye examination using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scans to show more about your eye health.
- Contact Tonometry (as used in eye hospitals) for more accurate intraocular pressure measurements.
- Enhanced visual Field test a good indicator of eye and general health.
Enhanced Diabetic Eye Examination – £40.00 added on to the NHS fee
Diabetics may wish to supplement the standard eye examination with a more in-depth check.
This will include:
- Pupil dilation with drops to get an even better view inside the eyes.
- Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) performing four images of the retina and Posterior scans to show more about your eye health.
- Slit lamp microscope examination including peripheral retinas.
- The optician will discuss the scans and results and a report will be sent to your GP for their information.
- Our opticians recommend that you attend your annual diabetic eye screening with the NHS.
Enhanced Glaucoma Examination – £40.00 added on to a private eye examination fee or the NHS fee
If you have glaucoma yourself of have a family history of it you may wish to supplement the standard eye examination with this more in depth check.
This will include:
- Pupil dilation with drops to get an even better view inside the eyes.
- Anterior and posterior Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scans to show more about your eye health.
- Contact Tonometry (as used in eye hospitals) for more accurate intraocular pressure measurements.
- Enhanced Visual Field test (Sita 24) specifically for measuring your visual field as this is effected with the onset of glaucoma
Macular Pigment Screening – Initial £25.00, subsequent £15.00
If you are at increased risk of developing Macular degeneration our Macular pigment screening will measure the amount of macular pigment present in your eyes to monitor your eye health. It is recommended that this is done every 6 months.
It is advisable for anyone aged over 50 to check their Macular pigment levels and particularly if one or more additional risk factors are present. A healthy macular is good news.
However, should your macular pigment be declining we can advise you on changes to lifestyle and dietary supplements to reduce your risk of developing macular degeneration.
Dry Eye Assessments – £100
If your eyes feel sore , gritty, look red or are watery you may be experiencing dry eye (meibomian gland disfunction) . We can assess your symptoms with various diagnostic techniques to establish what is causing your discomfort and offer you a treatment plan to bring your symptoms under control.
Blephex Treatment – £75
Blephex is a eye lid cleaning procedure that gently cleans the eye lid margins effectively removing build up of bacteria and debris. This in turn helps to give relief from Blepharitis an eye condition where the eye lids become inflamed and sore. The Blephex treatment also helps with the treatment of dry eye disease as the small glands which help regulate the moisture on the surface of your eye are cleared of debris.
Axial Length with Myah – £25
We can take a specific measurement within the eye which indicates whether you would be at risk of developing more advanced myopia (short sightedness). This scan is used to support our patients using Myopia control contact lenses or spectacle lenses.
It can also be used to check for signs of Keratoconus a non-inflammatory eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped clear window of the eye (cornea) progressively thins causing a cone-like bulge to develop. This eventually impairs the ability of the eye to focus properly, potentially causing poor vision.
Every 2 years for adults (may be shorter in specific circumstances) & every year for children.
From about the age of 2 or even younger if you are worried about your child’s eyes. Obviously the younger a child is, the less they’ll be able to do (not least because they can’t concentrate for very long!) but it’s often amazing how much more a child will manage at almost any given age if they’ve already previously had an eye examination.
Our optometrist will be with you for 40 minutes if an adult or 20 minutes if a child. Additionally you may opt for a more in depth examination and that will take longer to complete due to the nature of the extra tests done.
Yes, if the problem is affecting the eyes. I think most people expect eye related health problems (like glaucoma) to be detected in an eye examination even when there may be no symptoms but a lot of people don’t realise that many general health issues fairly regularly show up in an eye examination. Common examples, are blood pressure problems, high cholesterol, strokes, diabetes and certain cancers.