Re-write the story of your eyesight - fall in love with reading again on World Book Day

Like many organs in the body, our eyes work hard every day to ensure we can to see the world around us, but this means they face many challenges from the daily grind of life. On a practical level, poor vision can impact many aspects of life from shopping, cooking and driving to reading and watching TV. Furthermore, research from Optegra Eye Hospital Bradford shows that almost a quarter of respondents have had to stop a favourite activity or hobby, like reading, due to poor eyesight.

Regular activities and hobbies are important for so many people and contribute to feelings of happiness and wellbeing, so having to stop can lead to frustration and anxiety. In fact, stress itself can directly lead to a number of eye conditions including blurry vision, sensitivity to light and very dry/wet eyes.

Helen Spence from Bridlington was suffering with her eyesight and said: “My poor vision was really impacting my hobbies and alongside this my close-up vision was getting worse, so I could not read food packaging even with glasses – I had to get my magnifying glasses out!” Mr Fadi Alfaqawi, Optegra consultant ophthalmic surgeon said: “World Book Day is the perfect opportunity to re-write your own vision story. Whether you’re a parent getting a costume ready for your child and missing the joy of reading yourself, or a grandparent who is no longer involved in reading a bedtime story to a grandchild due to poor vision, then we are here to help. “Life is so busy and pressurised nowadays that the burden of poor vision on top of the day-to-day pressures is a real issue. Nobody should be missing out on reading due to eyesight problems - with glasses, contacts and vision correction surgery, there are plenty of options available to suit everyone.”

To book a free consultation visit: www.optegra.com

Here are Optegra’s top tips for looking after your eyesight and wellbeing:

If you struggle with paper books then try an e-reader where you can change the background colour and font size

Attend your bi-annual eye test with your local optician - this means you have the most up-to-date prescription and it can help detect any sight-threatening conditions as early as possible

Explore options to improve your vision – from contact lenses or spectacles to vision correction surgery – your local optician or Optegra can advise

Protect your eyes from the sun's harmful UV rays by wearing CE or UKCA-marked sunglasses when you're out and about