Why do Brits really lie when they visit the Optician

You wouldn’t think that visiting your local optician is such a big deal, but for many people it is something they have to do or are nagged to do by family and friends and for some it is something they really want to do as they want to update the glasses that they have been wearing day in and day out for many few years.

However, it is shocking to think that according to a survey carried out by Optegra and published on Optomerty Today 54% of 1912 people asked, lied to their optician about their eye health.

This is why, and how the figures break down:

• 44% wanted to impress their optician.
• 34% felt awkward and panicked into giving rash, untrue answers.
• 9% admitted they lied about having poor eyesight as they wanted to wear specs.

The respondents were further asked if they have ever felt intimidated or pressured by their optician during an eye exam and 61% stated that they had. When further questioned on why they felt this way, 73% stated they felt they would be judged or scorned if their sight had deteriorated since their last appointment, while 21% said the close nature of the eye exam made them feel uncomfortable and 7% felt that eye exams reminded them of school.

Making a dent in these figures

It is concerning to think that this is the case, but your local opticians have to do their best to ensure that the patients feel comfortable in the practice environment and ensure that the talking during the eye examination is more conversational rather than firing questions to the patient.

Optical practices need to constantly strive to make the patient journey as comfortable as possible and hopefully this will have a positive impact, but the accuracy of the eye exam is heavily reliant on the honesty of the patient.