Katherine Franklin
06 June 2019
Often patients are unaware that they may be suitable for contact lenses. And of course, they don’t have to be worn every day to have a significant impact on someone’s life. Giving patients information about their options or even letting them see or touch a lens can change their mind about trying them.
Front-of-house staff are perfectly placed to strike up a conversation about contact lenses with all of their patients. Think about the bride or groom to be, the mother of the bride perhaps. How about the patient about to go on an exciting holiday? Or those thinking about a makeover? Not forgetting the fitness fanatics, from the gym obsessive to the running novice. The possibilities are endless…
Sporty kid
Consider a 10-year-old child who wears spectacles full time and has started playing rugby at school. In contact sports, such as rugby, wearing glasses is restricted due to safety issues so contact lenses can be a great option. Dailies are often the first choice for children as the lenses don’t require any cleaning and are, therefore easy to look after and more hygienic, reducing the risk of infection. It is important when thinking about contact lenses for children that they are motivated to wear them and that their parents are on board as they will need to be involved too.
The plumber
So, what can we do for the 46-year-old plumber who has just been given their first reading add? For plumbers, or for that matter, electricians, telecoms engineers, and so on, varifocal glasses may not be the ideal solution as these patients are often working in confined spaces or awkward positions and consequently their head isn’t always in the correct place to look down into the reading portion of the lens for close tasks. In these cases, multifocal contact lenses can be a good option as they allow the patient to see in the distance and up close regardless of their head position.
The footy fan
You will encounter many patients who ‘freak out’ at the mere mention of contact lenses. My mum was a classic example of this! However, she is an avid Shrewsbury Town FC fan and was always complaining that her varifocals would either steam up or get covered in rain while watching the game. After many months of persuasion, she agreed to try them and was fitted with distance only contact lenses, which she absolutely loves. She only wears them on match day for a few hours and has a pair of near vision glasses that she puts on if she wants to read.
Image credit: Shutterstock
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