Many health conditions 'detected through eye test'

National Eye Week is underlining the importance of undergoing regular eye tests, which may be particularly significant for older people soon to find a care home.

Tesco Opticians has explained that eye tests are not important only for glasses-wearers, but can also pick up a number of general health conditions such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and brain tumours. Many of these conditions become more likely as people age.

Anna Turvey, superintendent optician at the organisation, recommended: "It is really important that everybody gets regular eye checks. It is usually every two years, some people may need to go more frequently but the optician will advise you if you need to go more frequently when you get your eyes checked."

This follows research by Tesco Opticians which found that more than half of people surveyed were unaware that a brain tumour can be detected during an eye examination, and 32 per cent did not know that it could identify symptoms of eye cancer.

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