FAQ

Please contact us immediately (or go directly to your nearest hospital) if you experience any of the following eye emergencies.

• Black spots
• Flashes of light
• Eye injury or pain
• Curtain-like vision obstruction
• Sudden haze or blurring
• Red, swollen eyelids
• Halos
• Loss of side vision

Yes, it’s illegal to sell contacts without one. A poorly-fitted contact lens or certain lens materials can cause discomfort, inflammation, infection, poor vision and permanent eye damage due to the lack of oxygen to your eye tissue.

When you’re nearsighted, it’s difficult to focus on objects in the distance. However, you are able to see objects up close fairly well.

When you’re farsighted, close-up objects appear blurry, while objects at a distance are clear.

Astigmatism is a very common condition involving an uneven or irregular shape of your cornea. Your vision may be distorted both near and far as a result.

Presbyopia is a natural occurrence for people in their mid-40s and is comparable to adjusting the focus on a pair of binoculars. With age, your lens loses its ability to flex and change with its surroundings.

With glaucoma, there’s damage to your optic nerve resulting in gradual, irreversible loss of vision. It’s painless and has no symptoms, and if left untreated, can cause blindness. It usually comes with high eye pressure. It can be detected in a routine eye exam.

Dry macular degeneration (AMD) progresses very slowly and is caused from the deterioration of the macula in the centre of your retina. Wet AMD is severe and is often caused by a sudden loss of central vision. Both can be detected during an eye exam and must be treated immediately.

Cataracts cause the lens in your eye to be cloudy by preventing light from being focused clearly, which impairs your vision. Some are slow growing, but some are fast, causing rapid vision changes. Cataracts are usually age-related and sun-exposure-related. Surgery is performed to remove them once they’re ripe.

When the quantity and quality of your eyes’ tear layers change it causes your eyes to feel dry and/or irritated. We carry many great eye drops to help alleviate the problem of dry eyes.

An eye allergy is caused when something from your environment irritates your eyes. This causes your eyes to fight back by releasing histamines, which can trigger itchy, red, swollen, inflamed itchy and watery eyes.

When you visit Nelms Opticians for an eye exam, be sure to bring a list of all your prescription medications, vitamins and supplements you’re currently taking. You should also bring your current glasses or contacts or your most recent prescription (contacts must be removed at least 20 minutes prior to the exam). Your eyes may be sensitive to light for a few hours after your pupils are dilated, so you may also wish to bring sunglasses with you.

If you’re under 20 or over 65 and have a current Ontario Health Insurance card, your eye exam is covered by this insurance. Please make sure your OHIP card has not expired before you book this exam. As these are the years that can have the most changes in sight, it’s highly recommended that you have this exam yearly or every 18 months as per OHIP guidelines. Your Optometrist will guide you which time frame you fall into. For ages 20-64, unless you have a medical condition that is covered by OHIP such as diabetes, you’ll need to pay for your eye exam, and if you have a benefit plan that covers this, you can submit your receipt for reimbursement or we can try to submit for you. Most people in this age range have their eyes tested once in every two years. We accept many forms of insurance at Nelms Opticians.

Transition lenses change with the sunlight outside to either a grey or brown colour, making them effective sunglasses.

Progressive lenses are bi/trifocal lenses that allow you to wear one pair of glasses for all reading, computer and distance-related activities.