People with dementia

When you have dementia it is important to make the most of your sight. Wearing any glasses you need makes sure your sight is as good as it can be. Without glasses some people would have to cope with blurred vision all the time. Blurred vision may also worsen the symptoms of dementia and may increase a sense of isolation and confusion.

Having an eye examination with dementia

It is possible to have an eye examination at nearly all stages of dementia. If you find communication difficult then an optometrist can make changes to the eye examination to help perform it.

If you are thinking of having an eye examination and you have dementia then the following may help

• Let the us know about the dementia at the time you book your appointment.
• Book your eye test at a time of day that suits you best, you may be better in the morning than the afternoon for example.
• If you’re not able to complete all the tests in one sitting, we may need to see you another time to continue and complete your examination.
• You might want to invite your carer or someone who knows you well to come with you to the test. They can help you to answer questions about how your sight is day to day, what medications you take and the activities you enjoy. They may also be able to remind you of any problems you or they have noticed.
• Let us know how well you can answer direct questions, or follow instructions. This will help the optometrist plan how to perform the tests to suit your need.
• It is possible to test the health of your eyes and check your glasses prescription even if you can’t speak.

Eye examinations make sure that glasses are up to date and that everyones sight is as clear as it can be. Making sure that glasses are correct and up to date, may help to make sure that someone isn’t coping with needless sight problems as well as dementia.

If you’re reading this on behalf of someone else and would like to make an appointment, please give the practice a call or email us – it would be helpful if you could complete this form and bring it with you, as this will help the person get the most from their eye examination.