Blended Vision Becomes The Main Topic Of Networking Session

“It’s a trick – you’re cheating!” The woman sitting to my right was peering directly into my eyes through her reading glasses as she made the accusation.

Although her words were not said harshly but more in bewilderment, I was still somewhat taken aback.

So what had I done to cause such a reaction? No, it was not a piece of breath taking close up magic; I had merely read her the menu and the phone numbers on a couple of business cards that were lying on the sunny terrace table. She had set the test and asked me to prove that I could see to read reasonably small print with ease and without the help of any visual aids. Clearly she was finding the result hard to swallow.

For a few moments I felt almost ashamed to realise that these days I sometimes take my good eyesight for granted. It has been several years since I threw away my collection of aging reading glasses after happily adapting to the London Vision Clinic’s blended vision procedure.

“No, honestly these are normal sunglasses – there is no hidden prescription – and you can see I’m not wearing contact lenses”.

This encounter happened recently at a “Women in Business” meeting in Marbella. As I had not attended one of these monthly luncheons for several years, I was asked to speak for five minutes on what I do.

The trickiest bit was condensing a rather diverse writing career into the allotted time span, so I decided to concentrate on sharing my connection with the London Vision Clinic. I felt – correctly, as it turned out – that the audience of working women of all ages and expertise would like to know more about the latest developments in Laser Eye Surgery and how nowadays virtually no one needs to be tied down by glasses or contact lenses.

My words struck a chord with many of the members. One told me of the sad result of her sister’s habit of swimming in contact lenses: she had contracted the extremely nasty infection passed by the acanthamoeba parasite which is found in swimming pools, hot tubs, rivers and even tap water. This parasite can stick to the contact lens from where it can burrow into the cornea. As well as being very painful, left untreated, the condition ultimately leads to blindness. Fortunately in this case, my new friend’s sister appeared to be responding to the hospital treatment of constant disinfection of the eye and it was not yet known if there would be any permanent damage.

It was a good moment to spread the word about the importance of cleaning contact lenses properly as infection can also be caused by just rinsing them in tap water, as well as showering and swimming in them. Holiday makers and those of us lucky enough to live in a warm climate are especially at risk as the parasite thrives in tepid temperatures. Early signs of the condition are blurred or cloudy vision.

Other members of the networking club asked me about the actual Laser Eye Surgery operation and – as always in such conversations – it amazes me how much misinformation still circulates. That said, I had never before met with total disbelief about the possibility of correcting presbyopia and having to prove that I no longer need reading glasses of any strength.

After passing the reading tests with flying colours, my lunchtime neighbour was suitably impressed and confided how much she hated her unflattering and aging reading glasses. I discovered that this woman works in Marbella’s somewhat deflated real estate market. However, she told me that, as soon as property sales pick up she is determined to spend her next commission on a visit to the London Vision Clinic.