Panoptic Vision at Lake Cathie has qualified optometrists, optical dispensers, accredited vision therapists and stockist for beautiful eyewear serving Port Macquarie-Hastings Our thorough examinations provide the necessary time to investigate all aspects of your vision needs.
We proudly practice as locally-owned, independent optometrists. We offer our patients a very personalised, high quality,
comprehensive vision examination. We continually invest in, and make available, state-of-the-art diagnostic technology to provide the highest quality of eyecare to our community.
In addition to services for all ages, we offer full-scope vision therapy programs for children’s vision and vision learning issues. Eyecare for Adults
Eye examinations are an important part of your health and well being. Adults should have their eyes tested annually to keep their prescriptions current and to check for early signs of developing eye disease. At Panoptic Vision, we have access to state-of-the-art imaging systems that offer an unobstructed view of the blood vessels of the eyes at high resolution. This enables us to detect early signs of chronic systemic conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension. Age 20 and above
After the age of 20, eyeballs usually stop growing and changing. Sight remains relatively stable from this time until the age of around 40 where most people experience problems with tasks up close. Younger adults not needing visual correction will rarely get their eyes checked. The increasing use of computers for studies and work can cause binocular vision issues (both eyes working together as a team). If not treated, this can lead to headaches, eyestrain, fatigue, increased error rates, and poor concentration and attention. Comprehensive assessment of the focussing and eye-aiming muscles will indicate whether the muscles systems are coping well or not. Early intervention often means simple, quick solutions can be provided, rather than waiting for major breakdowns in the system and the symptoms that come with it. Age 40 and above
Multifocal spectacles and contact lenses are for both clear distance and near vision. Eye health needs regular monitoring at all ages, but particularly after the age of 40. Family history of conditions such as macula degeneration and glaucoma become more relevant, and there are many signs of early changes that can be detected through a routine eye examination. Many systemic (whole body) conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes can directly affect the back of the eye. Other conditions such as arthritis and anxiety can have ocular side effects from the medications for these conditions. After age 40, the internal focussing lens starts to harden (cataracts) and the focussing muscles have to work harder if clear near-vision is to be maintained. People tolerate this for a while but as the lens continues to harden, and the muscles have to work harder and harder, vision fatigue symptoms (as mentioned above) start to occur, ending in a blurred vision. Over about ten years, the lens becomes completely hardened and during this time, spectacle support for near vision is gradually increased to keep up. For some people who don't do much reading/computer work, they will notice that they will need an increase in their prescription every 2-3 years but for others who need to do work up close for many hours a day, they may need a change in their prescription more frequently. While the glasses themselves don't make the eyes worse, it is very true that the dependency on them increases. The internal lens will harden whether glasses are worn or not. Eye exercises can always help to keep the muscles strong and flexible, but the hardening lens will always end up pushing them past their physical limit.
Age 60 and above
Cataracts are a normal age change that start to become noticeable when people reach their 60s with most having them removed in their 70s. The same focussing lens that hardens during your 40s gradually gets discoloured, yellowed and sometimes milky white, making your vision seem as though you are looking through a tint or dirty window. Cataracts are painless and often increase very gradually, so it is quite a surprise after one is removed and replaced with a new artificial lens to see how bright, colourful and clear the world now looks. There is about a 12-month wait list for cataract surgery in the public system and our monitoring of cataracts always takes this into account. An optometric eye examination will thoroughly assess the health of all the areas of the eye from front to back and if needed, a referral to an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) will be made.
How we can help
At Panoptic Vision, we have specialised equipment for taking digital images of the back of the eye, a topographer to map the front of the eye and to provide an extensive tear analysis for dry eye assessment, and computerised visual field analysis for detecting any peripheral vision problems as found in conditions such as glaucoma. If you have any eye health concerns, we will provide a thorough treatment or refer you to a specialist as necessary. Eyecare for Children
Development of Children's Eyesight
Babies are born with very limited vision. The first few years of life are critical in establishing good binocular vision (both eyes working together as a team). Many things can interrupt this and because both parents and children would be unaware of many of these problems, it is important to have regular check ups. Age 3 is a good time for an initial eye examination if there have been no previous signs of a problem (turned eye, clumsiness, squinting etc). Testing children's vision
Testing children's vision is painless and usually lots of fun for them! Many parents worry that due to communication problems, children won't be able to give reliable answers. Most of our testing involves "games" which don't require verbal answers. We use different targets at different distances, special lights which can measure the eye in many ways and, from as young as 6 months, we can assess eye health e.g. whether both eyes can see equally, move well together and whether the brain is processing vision normally for their age. The "big" chair isn't always needed. Many examinations for babies and toddlers end up happening on Mum's lap or even on the floor if that's where the child wants to be! Panoptic Vision is the first to use Children's Vision Auto Refractor
At Panoptic Vision we were the first in Australia to use a children's vision auto refractor. This is a hand-held device that is positioned a meter away from the child and all they need to do is look at the pretty coloured lights for two seconds. A reading of their refractive error (needed for prescription) and other important information regarding exact eye turn amounts is recorded. Technology never replaces traditional testing, but sometimes with tired toddlers who have been asleep in the car on the way to the appointment, 2 seconds at a time is all you have! Age 4 to 8
From age 4 to 8, children should continue to grow out of normal amounts of long sightedness. This is also when an enormous amount of visual processing develops. This is why we recommend annual checkups during this time. Many vision skills such as vision memory, sequencing, figure ground (judging the foreground from the background) and visual closure just to name a few, are all improving and are all needed for the complex task of learning to read. Sometimes children have a natural learning style that encourages some but not all of these vision skills to develop equally and so by the time they reach school age, they are not learning to read without compensations. This can lead to a struggle learning to read. There are many internationally used assessments that have been developed to test these skills and to provide developmental ages for each one. How we can help
At Panoptic Vision we offer a 90-minute Vision Processing Assessment which allows us to determine a child's visual learning strengths and weaknesses. If there is a problem, we can then offer vision therapy activities to improve those areas. Older school age children may also find that even after developing good reading skills, they may start to struggle with visual fatigue. Comprehensive assessment of the focussing and eye aiming muscles can determine whether spectacle support and/or vision therapy eye exercises can assist. School workloads are unpredictable and sometimes far exceed the comfort levels of eye muscles that were really only designed for hunting and gathering!
