WHEN 76-year-old Worcester resident, Rodney Allcott, started to experience double vision, he had no idea that it was a sign of something that could threaten his eyesight.
Rodney first noticed that his vision was blurred one Friday in November, and when his symptoms worsened over the weekend, his daughter Mel Allcott, a local councillor, encouraged him to book an appointment at his opticians.
“Dad was struggling with blurred vision, particularly in his right eye, so we called the opticians on Monday morning, and thankfully they had an appointment available that afternoon,” said Mel.
Rodney visited his local opticians, Specsavers Worcester, and saw optometrist Arusa Azad, who carried out a full eye examination, which included using an OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) machine which provides a detailed structural scan of the eye, enabling diseases to be detected three to four years earlier than other methods.
With the symptoms Rodney described and the results of the scan, Arusa quickly picked up that all wasn’t as it should be. She suspected that Rodney was suffering from a blocked artery, which turned out to be giant cell arteritis.
Giant cell arteritis, sometimes known as temporal arteritis, is an inflammation of the lining of your arteries. Most often, it affects the arteries in your head, especially those in your temples. If left untreated, it can lead to blindness and, less commonly, strokes.
“Arusa explained that dad needed to go to hospital straight away before the symptoms got any worse and made an emergency same-day referral to the Birmingham and Midlands Eye Centre (BMEC),” said Mel.
“He was seen by a doctor that day, and was given a chest x-ray, a CT scan and an artery biopsy, which confirmed the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis. Dad was very lucky, as if his condition had been left much longer, he could have lost his sight permanently.”
After five days in hospital, Rodney was discharged and is now taking steroids to reduce the inflammation in his arteries.
He has since had a follow-up appointment and was pleased to hear that his vision is improving.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to Arusa and the team at Specsavers in Worcester for their kindness and professionalism, and the team at BMEC for their excellent care,” added Mel.
“Before dad’s diagnosis, he wore reading glasses but hadn’t had his eyes tested as often as he should. This experience has really opened our eyes to the importance of regular sight tests, and we’ll be taking this much more seriously now.’
Optometrist Arusa Azad said: “His case is a prime example of why we urge people to have any changes in their vision checked.”
“Eye examinations are an opportunity to check for other health conditions too, so make sure to tell your optometrist of any symptoms you’ve been experiencing to ensure we can correctly assess, diagnose or refer you if necessary.”
“We encourage everyone to see their optician every two years as part of their routine health checks, and to make an appointment straight away if they are experiencing any issues with their vision.”
