They say that charity begins at home – and to us that means our community. We love supporting local, whether that’s local businesses, local suppliers or local events. We recently had the chance to support two local charities by getting involved in fundraising events and it was incredibly rewarding to see the impact they had, with thousands of pounds raised to support some extremely worthy causes. First up was an open evening which featured a raffle to raise funds for Compton Care – a hospice based in Wolverhampton – with additional money going to the Ukraine appeal. Compton Care provides free care and support for people living with incurable illnesses and their families. This year marks 40 years of Compton providing countless moments of care and support to families across the region who have been affected by incurable illnesses. The amazing team at Compton support families to navigate every aspect of life after diagnosis, including their physical, practical, and emotional needs. Care is tailored to each person and focuses on providing the tools, encouragement and support they need to live a good quality life. It was a privilege to be able to support them in their work and we were delighted to help contribute £438 to be shared between the two causes. Secondly, we were delighted to sponsor a particularly hair-raising event held in support of Secret Angels – a small non-profit organisation set up in April 2021 in Wolverhampton to empower communities and transform lives by helping residents in deprived areas tackle fuel and food poverty. The charity provides information and advice, run services in our local communities and campaigns with current projects including a food bank, digital inclusion and a clothes bank. The event, which was organised by Asian Music Radio, saw presenters Khalid Akhtar and Shabaz Ahmad have their bodies waxed in public while on air to raise money. Shabaz, aged 40, said: "My arm hair meant the world to me but we were happy to exchange our pain for people's pounds." The event raised an incredible £8,000 for Secret Angels. Founder Alvina Ali said: "It was a painful challenge for a good cause and raised a lot of money for our charity that will make a difference to people's lives.” Seeing the difference these events have made to all those charities has been a real boost to the team and has reinforced the importance of supporting worthy causes in our local community. We’re looking forward to getting involved in many more events in the future!

Kids are back at school, and after such a long break it may take them a while to get back into the swing of things. Not all problems are just down to a preference for video games or YouTube over schoolwork, though! Visual stress is something that affects at least 20% of the UK and can make learning and studying harder for children. A visual stress test and, if necessary, treatment such as visual stress glasses, could help your child to reach their full academic potential and make school life much easier in general. What Is Visual Stress? Visual stress, also known as Meares-Irlen Syndrome, is sometimes linked with dyslexia, but it is a condition in its own right and often affects children who are not dyslexic. It causes visual discomfort when trying to read and can put children off reading and impact their learning. There are a number of signs of visual stress, including: headaches and eye strain after reading for a short time text appearing to move on the page needing to use a finger to follow a line of text becoming distracted by patterns when reading fidgeting, squinting and a reluctance to read. If your child displays any of these symptoms, it is worth booking them in for a visual stress test. Treatment for Visual Stress The first step is to carry out a full eye exam to rule out any other potential problems, like vision correction. Next, we use a series of tests including a colorimetry assessment – you can find out more about what is included in the full assessment here. Research has shown that colour can be used to alleviate symptoms of visual stress, so the colorimetry, performed using an advanced piece of equipment called the intuitive colorimeter is used to identify which precise tint, out of thousands of combinations, is most effective in helping children to read with more ease. Once this has been identified, we can look at the best form of treatment. Coloured overlays can be used when reading from a page, but many students find specialised visual stress glasses which have tinted lenses are most helpful at school, as they can then read the board more easily too. We can even offer tinted contact lenses, if preferred. This isn’t an overnight cure, but rather a management method for visual stress, which is why more than one visit is needed to see our optometrist so they can continue to assess and monitor your child’s progress and improvement in reading. We encourage parents to enrol their children onto our Visual Stress Treatment Programme, as their appointments will then be covered at a set monthly fee. Children who have been diagnosed with visual stress and have gone through our programme have been able to enjoy increased self-confidence and fluency when reading, as well as reduced or eliminated headaches, allowing them to develop at the same rate as their school peers. Book an Assessment If you think your child could benefit from tinted glasses for visual stress or you’d like to find out more, contact us to discuss your child’s symptoms and book an assessment today.

We’re proud to be supporting World Diabetes Day on the 14th November, which is held to highlight diabetes symptoms, improve awareness of the treatments and resources available and raise vital funds to further research and tackle this disease. Diabetes comes in two forms, type 1 and type 2. The former is managed by insulin injections and the latter typically controlled by diet and exercise, but the impact of this disease on eye health is similar regardless of which type the patient has. With around 6% of the population, or 4 million individuals, affected by diabetes, ensuring that you have regular eye exams and monitoring is essential to avoid complications with eyesight further down the line. With diabetic related eye problems such as cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy on the rise, early diagnosis is crucial for vision management and to reduce the chance of any sight loss. Here at Taylor Biddle Opticians, we use the latest, cutting-edge technology to detect a number of key eye conditions during a routine eye exam. By using our non-invasive 3D OCT scan or our Optomap retinal imaging to carry out a detailed examination of the back of your eyes, we can detect any early signs or significant changes a lot sooner than traditional methods, meaning we can act faster with any diagnosis and treatment that may be required. We also provide in-depth private diabetic screenings, which are included as part of our cost-effective monthly payment plans, starting from as little as £6.50 per month and allowing you to access technology not typically available with NHS funded eye exams. Covering all of your professional charges, with additional plans (Taylor Biddle Eye Plan) even giving you a 25% discount on all eyewear, these are designed to give you complete peace of mind as well as the best possible care. To find out more about our diabetic screening service, learn about the diabetic retinopathy stages or book your next eye exam, contact the team today.

Short-sightedness, otherwise known as myopia, in children has doubled in the last 50 years and this number is only set to increase in the future. The worse the short-sightedness, the greater the lifetime risk of developing several sight-threatening eye conditions, including glaucoma and retinal detachment. So, if you have been told that your child is shortsighted, it’s understandable that you may be worried about how severe it could potentially become. Thankfully, you can do more than correct their vision with glasses or contacts now – you can actually slow the progression of their myopia! How? There are 2 options: EyeDream Ortho K lenses or MiSight contact lenses, both of which are available at Taylor Biddle Opticians in Wolverhampton and are suitable for children aged 8 upwards. Here’s how each work: MiSight® MiSight® 1 Day soft contact lenses are worn during the day. They will correct your child’s vision in the same way as glasses do, but also signal to the eye to stop growing longer — as elongation of the eye is what results in myopia. You may be concerned about how your child will cope with wearing them but in our experience, we find children quickly adapt to wearing them as they are easy to use and provide a high level of comfort. EyeDream Ortho K As with MiSight® contacts, Ortho K contacts also provide vision correction, but these are rigid lenses which are worn overnight while your child sleeps. They imperceptibly flatten the surface of the cornea, which is what results in crystal clear vision the very next morning. Your child can then go about their day seeing clearly without wearing contacts or glasses. In addition to providing vision correction, these lenses have also been shown to slow down the progression of myopia in children. They are safe to use, as they are only worn in the home at night, under parental supervision and are arguably as comfortable as wearing normal soft contact lenses. Learn more about contacts and your child’s vision These revolutionary contact lenses for children offer more than vision correction – they ensure that your child’s eye health and vision is being protected as much as possible by reducing the risks associated with advanced myopia. EyeDream and MiSight® contact lenses offer the ideal solution. To find out if your child could benefit from either EyeDream or MiSigh®t lenses, we need to start by doing an NHS comprehensive examination, so we can determine their latest prescription and check their eye health. Simply book an appointment for your child this half-term at our Compton or Wombourne opticians in Wolverhampton, and our experienced optometrists will also be happy to answer all of your questions about myopia control.

We recently expanded our range of frames to feature all new collections of stylish glasses for women and men! Here’s a rundown of our top eyewear picks from WOOW, Tiffany & Co, and Superdry for 2021: WOOW WOOW frames combine traditional styles with a trendy London feel, for quirky designs that the free-spirited fashionistas out there will love. From vibrant, eye catching colours and patterns, to their playfully named frames – whether you go for the ‘Tres Chic’, ‘Last Call’ or ‘Bright Side’, you’ll be sure to love WOOW’s charming, feminine appeal as much as we do! Tiffany & Co The ultimate in luxury, Tiffany & Co glasses are a timeless, classic for women of all ages. Designed with meticulous attention to detail, frames in the Tiffany range are adorned with elegant embellishments that give them that same sparkle that their iconic jewellery carries. Superdry Glasses Frames Superdry eyewear truly represents the fusion of British design, vintage Americana, and Japanese spirit – from their classic shapes and bold colours, right down to their hand drawn Japanese Kanji graphics! Made from handmade premium acetates and vintage finished metals, it’s really all about the details with this exciting and fashion forward collection. We’re sure that these high-quality frames will give you both confidence and provide the comfort you look for in glasses for everyday wear! Eyewear Styling We understand that each and every customer has their own sense of style and priorities when it comes to shopping for frames; and that’s why we now offer a personalised eyewear styling service. Our fashion-conscious consultants will take their time with you to assess everything from frame colour to the shape of your face, allowing us to make the best recommendations from our eyewear collection. Our head stylist Hollie explains, “The right frame can make a huge difference in the way you feel about yourself. Especially now, in these strange times when we are wearing a mask that covers most of our face, our glasses are the only way we can show our identity and style. You can still showcase yourself in this way with the right frame, and one that makes you feel your best and most confident self.” Arrange Your Consultation You can book a personalised eyewear styling consultation or an appointment to browse our frames by ringing either one of our branches here. To help keep other customers and staff Covid-safe, please make sure you book this in advance before coming in. We look forward to helping you transform your style for the new year!

Social distancing and PPE are becoming the new norm, and you might be wondering how those will be put into action at our stores. Here’s what you can expect when you come to visit us. Opening hours and patient access We’ve made changes to opening hours at our Compton branch, extending them anywhere between 8am and 6.30pm on selected days to make social distancing and coming to see us during less busy hours easier for you. Please contact us to find out when you can book an appointment in during these times. Our Wombourne branch will keep its regular opening hours, and both branches are operating on an appointment-only basis. This includes collecting glasses and contact lenses, so be sure to book ahead of your visit whenever possible. Walk-ins will need to wait outside until a member of staff can let them in when it’s safe to do so. Appointment duration has been increased, enabling us to carry out your eye test safely and help you to pick out a pair of frames if necessary. Hygiene We will ask you to wear a face mask and can provide one if required. You’ll also be asked to use hand sanitiser when you enter either of our practices. You will see perspex screens have been installed around the practices to protect both patients and staff from viral transmission. We have a UV frame steriliser, which we use to sanitise your existing frames as well as any that you try on during your visit. If you wish to try on frames, a member of staff will discuss your preferences and pick out a selection for you that will be kept in a tray for you to try on. Once you have chosen your frames, we will use our iPad to take measurements accurately, whilst at a distance, allowing us to dispense your glasses safely. Eye exams Patients who are booked in for an advanced eye exam also have retinal eye scans included as part of the overall assessment. This includes the Optomap and OCT, which can be carried out at a safe distance. These are an important part of keeping track of your eye health, as they enable us to accurately detect abnormalities and early signs of eye conditions, including glaucoma and macular degeneration, for your peace of mind. As we are no longer running the NHS diabetic screening programme, you will be able to book in your routine screening with us privately. To manage your costs, we encourage you to take a look at our Eyecare Plans which cover eye exams, eye scans, private diabetic assessments and more, whenever you need them, at a small monthly fee. So, if you’re looking to book an eye test or want to discuss your visit to either of our practices, give Taylor Biddle – your trusted opticians in Wolverhampton a call today.