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Sight saved by rose tinted glasses
Published: Friday 19th November 2010

19th November 2010

Sight saved by rose tinted glasses

Steven Oxley (21) from Whitley Bay woke up one day earlier this year to find he could no longer read. Having never had a problem with his sight before, all the words suddenly seemed to merge together on the page.  
Steven was distraught as he was working as a manager for McDonalds restaurant in Chatham, Kent at the time, and it was affecting his job. He was newly married to his wife Natasha and with a baby on the way it was a worrying time.  Although his bosses were sympathetic and supportive, Steven found analysing figures was out of the question, as well as reading menus and bills. It got to the stage that he couldn’t even operate a till or a computer as he was punching in the wrong keys and not only was he worried he would lose his job, but the situation was badly affecting his confidence and motivation. 
Trips to various well known national opticians in the South proved fruitless, as they didn’t offer a test which could ascertain what the problem was. Finally, with the situation looking very bleak, Stephen turned to his native North East to see if there was a reputable optometrist in the area who could get to the bottom of the problem once and for all and give a detailed prognosis – whatever that may be. 
Steven’s mother phoned around all her friends and relatives on Tyneside to find the best in the area and they recommended that Steven pay a visit to qualified optometrist John Davidson, Director of Querido and Davidson Optometrists in Heaton. 
After two weeks of being unable to read a menu at work, Steven jumped on the next train from London Kingscross and got a taxi to Querido and Davidson on Chillingham Road.
John Davidson performed a series of eye examinations which concluded that Steven was suffering from a specific reading disorder which means sufferers are unable to read black on white print. When Steven was reading, the words moved and vibrated quickly, making it virtually impossible to see the words with any clarity at all. The test showed that Steven was only able to read 6 words per minute. Further detailed assessment ascertained that by using a highly specific shade of tinted lens, known as a chromagen lens, he could read at a perfectly normal rate of 136.5 words per minute – that is 2000% faster! These lenses are available as either glasses or contact lenses and Steven decided glasses for use at work was the best way forward for him.
Says Steven: "Those two weeks when I couldn’t read were a nightmare. Everything was getting so difficult for me and I couldn’t see a way out. When I went to see John, it felt like a miracle. All of a sudden I could read perfectly again, as long as I wore these special glasses with slightly pink tinted lenses!  It’s is a small price to pay for being able to have peace of mind and I only need to wear them when I’m reading or doing close work.” 
Steven’s wife Natasha who is from Hampshire in the South, loved the North East so much, she persuaded Steven to move back. He’s now got a job as Manager of McDonalds in Blyth which he starts on 22 November and he and Natasha are now living in Whitley Bay with their beautiful baby girl, Scarlett.



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Contact Lenses Newcastle

Newcastle Opticians

Is your current eyecare provider giving you the service that you expect? ...or is he or she just too rushed or disinterested? Then move on & join us at Querido & Davidson.

We are a national award winning eyecare practice (established in 1956) with a long heritage of providing exemplary service and exceptional products.

Eye Tests & Examinations

Our Optometrists carry out a huge array of checks during to your eye examination. These can include testing your eye pressure (to detect glaucoma - which, if undetected, could lead to blindness), checking sideways field of vision and the health of the back of your eye.

All these checks are quick and painless, and will provide us with important information that will help monitor any slight changes over time.

Contact Lenses

We fit a huge variety of contact lenses types to patients across the whole of the UK. We supply lenses to people of all ages, & all prescription types. Using corneal topography and slit lamp image capture we provide the highest standard of care to all our contact lenses wearing patients.

We specialise in iGo OVC, Ortho-K and Paragon CRT Orthokeratology work for all ages from 6 upwards. We are an accredited Chromagen contact lens practice. We supply varifocal contact lenses and contact lenses to correct astigmatism. We can also supply theatrical contact lenses for television productions.

In 2006 we were awarded the title of Contact lens practice of the year at the UK Optician awards.

Keratoconus Eye Care

We are a keratoconus friendly practice, and are experienced in the following keratoconus management methods:

Finding Querido & Davidison:

We are located at:
196 Chillingham Road
Heaton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE6 5LN
0191 265 9898

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