Behavioural optometry offers a proactive approach to eyesight that, in certain cases, reduces the chances of vision problems developing in the first place, and when its precepts are applied to children, its benefits can have particularly far-reaching implications.

It would be a mistake, however, to see behavioural optometry as a field that only benefits kids who need help in putting their eyes to work for them. Sportspeople, office workers, and people with neurological problems are among those who might benefit. Not everyone needs intervention from a behavioural optometrist, but those who do are likely to experience its evidence-based medical benefits. 

Beyond Deciding if They Need Glasses

While behavioural optometrists like Jacqueline Gattegno are able to prescribe glasses and contact lenses when they’re needed, their qualifications and experience have progressed further to include the diagnosis and treatment of issues ranging from poor eye coordination to focusing problems, lazy eye, turned eye and difficulties in tracking texts sequentially. 

Behavioural optometrists are also trained to assess what we do with information from eyes: for example, how we use it to coordinate movements, or how we synthesise visual information and auditory information. Finally, the things people use their eyes for are assessed and linked to skills that can be improved and risks that need to be combatted.

In short, behavioural optometry examines the ways in which we use our eyes, and offers therapies that include but also transcend prescription eyewear in order to help us to use vision more effectively. It can even prevent progressive deterioration in vision that may otherwise have led to a need for glasses or glasses stronger than the ones already worn. 

According to the Australian College of Behavioural Optometrists (ACBO), behavioural optometry has three goals: preventing the development or deterioration of eye and vision problems; treating the ones that are already present; and developing visual abilities, particularly those needed by children to fulfil their academic potential.

Jacqueline confirms: “From children striving to get the full benefit of their education, to active adults who realise that visual training may be as important as physical training in boosting performance, office workers who spend long hours in front of computer screens, and older people who are working to take care of their visual health, behavioural optometry can have benefits,” says Jacqueline. “It all begins with an examination in which your visual skills and needs are assessed.”

Specs, and More Than Just Specs

Apart from prescription eyewear, which is sometimes tinted to help address the impact of certain conditions on the eyes, behavioural optometry offers eye health advice, and therapeutic techniques that help with vision and vision-related challenges.

“The diagnostic methods, the therapies, and the options we offer at Eyes in Design Bondi are not unique,” says Jacqueline, “but the general public is largely unaware of them. If they don’t have problems with their eyes, they don’t need to know. But it is of concern that many adults and children are struggling with unaddressed eye-related issues.”

HEAR: Ultra106.5FM Interview with Jacqueline Gattegno – Changes in Eyesight Due to a Rise in Stress Levels

For more information on vision therapy and how it works, or to book an appointment, visit the Smart Vision website: Optometrists Sydney: Optometry Services For Children and Adults | Smart Vision; for specific information about Myopia treatment and prevention visit Myopia Prevention: Solutions, Control And Treatment In Sydney; and for detailed information about Myopia Treatment visit Orthokeratology In Sydney: The Non Surgical Alternative.

To book an appointment for a thorough eye check-up, click here or Call the Bondi clinic on (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic on (02) 9969 1600.

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He says glaucoma comes in various forms and progresses very slowly, sometimes taking as much as 20 years to complete its damage to the optic nerve, a vital part of the communication system between the eyes and the brain, and the one that allows people to see. 

But its slowness doesn’t make it any less of a threat, he says. Instead, with about 15 percent of those who have it eventually losing their vision even if they have had treatment, glaucoma is now considered to hold second place to cataract as the world’s top cause of blindness. 

Glaucoma Seriousness Leads to Many Studies

Glaucoma’s second place position as a potential killer of sight has given rise to a large number of studies in the past few years in an attempt to discover more information about this eye condition, its causes, and how its development and progression is affected by its relationship with other eye problems and people’s behaviour patterns, including sleep. 

“Glaucoma is the result of built-up pressure in the eyes caused by an imbalance between the production and drainage of aqueous fluid. And although the fluid production levels tend to drop during sleep, the imbalance isn’t necessarily rectified. Instead it can be exacerbated, and the intraocular pressure increased, if the body is in a position that blocks the drainage system still further, and it stays in that position for too long,” Rodney says.

How Sleeping Patterns Affect Glaucoma

Rodney says a US study which assessed glaucoma and its progression in close to 7,000 people, all in their 40s, has produced broad insight into the glaucoma/sleep relationship and how it affects the progression of the eye condition. 

The study indicates that what makes the relationship between sleep and glaucoma complicated is that in order to control the progression of glaucoma, the sleep pattern also needs to be controlled. This requires careful planning based on how quickly (or slowly) a person falls asleep; what position that person sleeps in; and exactly how long the sleep lasts. 

A Matter of Time

Sleep latency, or the time people take to fall asleep, holds the biggest threat for those who fall asleep almost instantly and those who take too long to do so. Those who fall asleep in 9 minutes or less after climbing into bed, as well as those on the other extreme, who take longer than half an hour to do so, face double the risk of getting glaucoma when compared with people who fall asleep within the middle zone (between 10 and 29 minutes).

However, Rodney says that the threats don’t stop there. The amount of time they stay closed also seems to affect the level of damage caused by glaucoma.

According to the study’s results those who have glaucoma, and once asleep, stay that way for 10 or more hours a night, treble their chances of optic nerve damage as a result of glaucoma. They also have three times the likelihood of missing areas of vision, in comparison with those who sleep for 7 hours. 

Again, the same applies to those who only manage to sleep for three hours every night. They also face the same three-times odds on missing vision in comparison with the 7 hour a night sleepers.

 HEAR: Ultra106.5FM Interview with Gary Rodney – Covid and Myopia: What you need to know!

For more information on eye health, visual skills and therapy, or to book an appointment, visit the Smart Vision website: Optometrists Sydney: Optometry Services For Children and Adults | Smart Vision; for specific information about Myopia treatment and prevention visit Myopia Prevention: Solutions, Control And Treatment In Sydney; and for detailed information about Myopia Treatment visit Orthokeratology In Sydney: The Non Surgical Alternative.

To book an appointment for a thorough eye check-up, click here or Call the Bondi clinic on (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic on (02) 9969 1600.

Syndicated by Baxton Media, The Market Influencers, Your Digital Marketing Agency.

Outside Injury to the Cornea

According to Gattegno, injury to one or both eyes can cause a great amount of damage to eyes and vision, whether it’s caused by objects, abrasions and scratches, or chemical burns. The cornea, the outer lens which controls the light entering the eye and provides about three quarters of the eye’s focusing power, is very vulnerable to almost anything that enters the eye. These invaders can take the form of small pieces of sand or dust blown into the eyes by the wind, chips that fly off materials while working, or by accidentally touching the eyes when applying cosmetics with a finger, eyebrow pencil or other item.

Symptoms include sudden blurring, red eyes, tearing, and sensitivity to light. And while the many which only slightly affect the outer layer of the cornea may heal in less than three days, the injury can turn into a serious matter if the damage has gone deeper and given rise to erosion and scarring or an infection develops.

Chemical burns are caused by liquid or powdered chemicals which enter the eyes at work or at home, where they are found in cleaning materials, nail polish removers, vinegar and any other items which contain either acids, alkalies, or strong irritants. Alkalies like ammonia, potassium, lime and magnesium hydroxides, found in fertilisers, drain and oven cleaners and plaster or cement are considered the worst.

If the burn goes too far into the eye and caused a large amount of damage, the impact on the eyes can lead to long term pain, scarring, glaucoma, and even blindness. Even slight damage can result in pain and discomfort, and continue to blur the vision for some time. 

Damage Within the Eyes

According to Gattegno, sudden blurring can also be the result of damage within the eye itself, like when the retina at the back of the eye tears or becomes detached. This is the tissue which receives the messages carried to it by rays of the sun about what we see, for forwarding to the brain for processing. When firmly attached and nourished by attached blood vessels below it, the retina is able to function as both collector and forwarder of these messages, but when it is detached, blurry vision is the outcome. Other symptoms of a torn or detached retina include sudden flashes of light, speckles that seem to float through the picture that’s being seen, or dark shadows which creep into the eyes from the edges.

Breakdowns in blood supply caused by this detachment or by clots in the blood vessels, Gattegno reports, can severely impact on sight and vision, resulting in blurred vision and difficulty with coordination. They can also cause strokes in the brain, which also impacts on the eyes.

For more information on eye injuries and impairments, and how they can be treated, or to make an appointment for a regular eye check, visit the Smart Vision website: Optometrists Sydney: Optometry Services For Children and Adults | Smart Vision; for specific information about Myopia treatment and prevention visit Myopia Prevention: Solutions, Control And Treatment In Sydney; and for detailed information about Myopia Treatment visit Orthokeratology In Sydney: The Non Surgical Alternative.

To book an appointment for a thorough eye check-up, click here or Call the Bondi clinic on (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic on (02) 9969 1600.

Syndicated by Baxton Media, The Market Influencers, Your Digital Marketing Agency.