Vlad Zorzoliu - Optometrist

Optometrist Vlad Zorzoliu has joined us. Vlad completed his Optometry studies at the University of Auckland and has been working at Central Otago Optical in Alexandra.

Vlad loves the way as an optometrist you can help people see better; in his words ‘be an advocate for eye health’.

Vlad is experienced in contact lens fitting including speciality and hard lenses. He has a natural rapport with children, drawing on skills gained through coaching tennis.

We are delighted to have Vlad on our team, particularly as our appointment book has been very busy! Another optometrist will mean less wait time for a consultation.

Vlad, Sally and Claire are available for online bookings.

Book an Appointment Online

or call us on 09 425 9646

Should I see an Optometrist or a GP?

A common question! Think about it this way, a GP is a general practitioner and an Optometrist is an eye practitioner.

Often someone will go to their GP with an eye problem only to be referred to us. There is a (unfortunate) misconception that Optometrists only sell glasses. Even though that is part of what we do, finding the right prescription for your glasses probably only accounts for 20-30% of your appointment time. The rest is spent on the health of your eyes.

When to see whom?

Red eye: Optometrist

Something in your eye: Optometrist

Tired achy eyes: Optometrist

Black spots floating in your vision: Optometrist

Dry eyes/itchy eyes/burning eyes/tearing eyes: Optometrist

Anything to do with your eyes: Optometrist

It’s not that your GP does not know about eyes - they do. But as Optometrists we are specialised in eye health. We have qualifications to prescribe appropriate medications - usually eye drops - when needed. So we don’t need to refer you to GP to get a prescription.

We have the equipment to make assessments, aiming to manage things correctly from the the start so you get the best results sooner.

If the situation needs a referral to an eye specialist - an Ophthalmologist - we can take care of that too.

Bring eye problems to us. You can book online or phone for an appointment.

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Book an Appointment Online

or call us on 09 425 9646

Contact lenses create confidence for children

Children do surprisingly well with contact lens wear.

We are talking about children aged 8-12 years of age, and studies show this group of youngsters do as well as their teenage peers in managing contact lenses. Studies found some positive outcomes. Children in one study reported improved self perception in terms of their physical appearance, their athletic competence, and their social acceptance.

What about safety and hygiene?

Here children also do well. It is widely understood they will take a little bit longer to master handling contact lenses, and we will review the handling and care instructions more often, and more carefully with children. But their problem rates are not higher than the teens.

Cost and commitment?

We will fine tune the pricing once we know the exact contact lens prescription, but re-usable soft disposable contact lenses start from $3 per day, and daily disposables from $2 per day. This includes appointment fee and contact lens solutions (where appropriate) and eye drops.

Cost per day goes down in the second year as fewer appointments are needed.

For new contact lens wearers there are usually several appointments needed. Firstly to fit and teach you how to insert and remove and care for contact lenses. Then follow up visits after one week and one month. For more information see our FAQ page.

Would you like to hear a second opinion? Dr Kate Gifford is an Australian Optometrist and Researcher with extensive experience fitting children with contact lenses. She is a gifted communicator too - in this video she talks about children and contact lenses.

Holly's Telescope

Not only is Holly immersed in optics at work and studying in her own time, to relax she still turns to optics! She has a telescope and enjoys the chance to gaze skyward. Here are some stunning photos she took recently on a clear night.

If you are interested in details here are the specs from Holly:

The telescope is an Astronz Dobsonian 6' Newtonian telescope.

I typically have bright wide-field views of deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebulae and at times the spiral structures of some galaxies. My view of the moon and planets are sharp, seeing the detail in the moon's craters to Saturn's rings and Jupiter's atmosphere.

The telescope has a 6 inch primary mirror located toward the bottom end of the barrel. The mirrors are made with optical quality BK7 glass, which is considerably better than the industry norm.

The telescope is easy to carry around. The tube is 9kg and 1100mm long (it just fits in my Swift). The plyboard base is a bit heavier at around 14kg.

Level 3 Optometry

We are open - here is an update on how we are operating safely in Level 3, phase 1 (until Wednesday 3 November 2021).

Appointments

We can now see you to check your vision, eyes and glasses prescriptions. We can investigate any concerns about vision and eye health. If you have noticed changes in your sight, or if you are struggling with your glasses, we can help you now.

We will be asking you screening questions: any symptoms? and are you waiting on a Covid test result?

We meet all the Ministry of Health requirements:

• Fully vaccinated team

• Maximised natural ventilation

• Infection Prevention and Control procedures

Please phone or email us to book an appointment, or if have any concerns, we are here to help. Phone 09 425 9656 or email admin@mcdonaldadams.co.nz

Protect your eyes from Blue Light on your Screen

Not all blue light is bad - some exposure is good for our health. 

Sunlight is the main source of blue light but there are also man-made sources. Fluorescent and LED lighting, flat-screen televisions, computers, smartphones and other digital devices all emit amounts of blue light. The amount of blue light from these devices is small compared to levels from sunlight.

Exposure to blue light from the sun during the day is good for us, helping us to stay alert, perform well and stay in a good mood.

With people spending increasing amounts of time on digital devices, this raises concern about possible long-term effects of blue light over-exposure on eye health.  Exposure to blue light from these artificial sources can disrupt the internal body clock, particularly in the evenings – tricking our brains into thinking it’s still daytime, with potential to disrupt sleeping.

It does this by inhibiting the natural production of melatonin, a hormone in our bodies that regulates sleep.

Studies have shown that wearing blue light blocking lenses when you use digital devices will reduce this effect.

Over-exposure to artificially made blue light (even during the day) can also contribute to headaches & migraines, and dry or fatigued eyes leading to blurred vision and discomfort. This collection of symptoms is becoming known globally as Digital Eye Strain, or Computer Vision Syndrome.

We have a solution. Avatude Blue Light Eyewear combines comfortable & stylish frames with quality UV400 and UV420 blue light blocking lenses to reduce digital eye strain. These are perfect for people who do not use prescription glasses.

Check out our range, which is also available in our online store.