Ask An Expert

Shirley Loh national professional services manager, Optometrists Association Australia How old do children have to be before they can be fitted with contact lenses?

Radical Eye Treatment Keeps Josepha In Focus

THREE years ago optometrists told Wollongong woman Josepha Senden she was going blind.

Optometrists Can See The Writing On The Wall

FOR optometrists, the proposed new law will be ``the banks all over again". City dwellers will notice little difference, where large dispensing companies such as OPSM have close

I-care Volunteers Help Children See The Outback

Australian eyewear group OPSM is sending teams of volunteer optometrists to conduct Australia's first large-scale eye-testing clinics for children in isolated communities around the country including Tennant Creek, Kalgoorlie, Swan Hill and Derby.

Elsie `dosent' Need Optometrist

LOVE it or hate it, you can't help but notice the quirky TV ad for Illawarra optometrists Dirk and Aurora.

All Eyes On Vast

IF you did not spot Vast getting to the line last start then pay for your trip to the optometrists with your winnings from her trip at Warwick Farm tomorrow afternoon. The Paul Perry-trained mare turned in a sensational effort a fortnight ago at Warwick Farm, on the very same track she goes arou

Optometrist Helps Sports Spectacle

NEWCASTLE optometrist Susan Walton will play a major role off the field at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in North Carolina. She will be one of 49 optometrists involved in Operation Opening Eyes at the 10th multi-sport event for people with intellectual disabilities. It will be her s

Spectator Sport

Eyewear designers have found a new, more colourful face. Forget advice that an elongated face should sport round shapes or that a round face equals rectangular rims. Optometrists and eyewear designers alike now say anything goes, and suggest you invest in a wardrobe of colours and shapes. Jus

Blinded By The Light: Why Teams May Lose After The Sun Sets

Ever since the world's top cricketers began playing day-night matches, the team batting second - that is, at night under lights - has been more likely to lose. Sports scientists now think they know why. It all has to do with eyesight. Optometrists studying the problem say cricketers who bat at n

Fuddy-duddy, Old World, Melbourne Club - It's The Look

THEY are the new badge of power - as much a part of the uniform of authority as the steely gaze and the dark suit. They are the half-lens, usually wire-framed, glasses now sported by everyone from Premier Jeff Kennett to AFL chief Ross Oakley and businessman John Elliott. Optometrists say the tr

Anger At Natural Therapies 'gag'

HEALTH professionals who speak out against the establishment say they face expulsion from their unions, deregistration, closure of their practices, and personal harm. Health practitioners, including doctors, dentists and optometrists, have told The Northern Herald they feel their freedom of spe

Windows Eye-testing Software

IF YOU have ever stared at a video display unit for hours on end, you probably know the kind of problems prolonged usage can cause - blurred vision, itchy eyes and headaches. Vision Screener is a Windows-based software package developed by optometrists to diagnose VDU-related eye problems throug

Invisible Retailers Unite To Make Themselves Seen

AUSTRALIA'S independent optometrists are the invisible retailers. Banned by government regulations from using any form of advertising, optometrists have been forced to find other ways of marketing their products and services. Melbourne-based optometrist, Mr John Jennings, said that optometri

Labor Caught Out On Eyes Pledge

THE Federal Government has suffered further embarrassment over its unpopular Budget with the revelation that its election documents specifically re-stated Labor's Medicare pledge to cover all Australians for optometrists' services. Labor backbenchers have been alerted to the election pledge by th

Vision - Rebate Cuts Are A Setback To Our Health

from Michelle Guthrie OUR Government is cutting Medicare rebates for eye examinations by optometrists. This is another setback to our health and another big chunk out of the Medicare system. If the cut goes ahead, from 1 November this year, the average person will be discouraged from having their ey

Eye Services Cut From Medicare

Australians without health care cards will no longer be able to claim eye tests and other optometry services on Medicare in a move that will save the Federal Government almost $140million over the next two years. Consultations by ophthalmologists and optometrists for the prescription of glasses o

Fright For Sore Eyes As Test Rebate Abolished

Everyone except health card holders will have to pay the full cost of eye tests from November because of the Federal Government's decision to abolish Medicare rebates for optometrists. Under the old scheme, the Medicare rebate for the initial consultation with an optometrist was $42.10.

The Ups And Downs To Look Forward To

Monday August 16, 1993

HEALTH The Medicare benefit for eye testing is likely to be scrapped in today's federal Budget. The move, which will save $90million a year, will affect people visiting optometrists and opthalmologists for services related to glasses and contact lenses. It is believed more than two million peo

Sign Lands Optometrist In Hot Water

Friday May 14, 1993

Bondi Junction optometrist Anthony Masnick has been found guilty of professional misconduct by a Board of Optometrical Registration inquiry this week. He was duly cautioned for breaching the advertising section of the Optometrists Regulations. In October 1991 Masnick placed a 10 cm s

The Cure Seems To Be Blinking Obvious

Monday June 5, 1989

People whose eyes often feel dry or scratchy may need training in something they probably think comes naturally - blinking. Optometrists have identified the "incomplete blinker" as being at risk of suffering pain or discomfort and more likely to develop eye infections. And