Opticians and optometrists are a group of people BUS really want to reach as they are the normal port of call when something goes wrong with your sight.   In my own case I must have gone to different opticians complaining about various symptoms four or five times before one of them realised that there was  something wrong with my eyes and asked if I would like to be referred!

It was with great pleasure that we came across 2 websites for opticians and the public where there was a charity section and where our details could be added:

• http://www.primaryhealthnet.com/phnsubcontent.asp?id=37&subid=798
• http://www.mylocaloptician.co.uk/subcontent.asp?id=4&subid=621

The “Local Optician” public site is reached by over a 1000 people each day and the “Primary Health Net” for professionals is read by over 7500 professionals, 4 x a month.  They are also going to announce our presence in their regular fortnightly newsletter to their professional members.

We also notice that a link to our website also appears in The Ask the Optician section on the Specsavers website.  It comes under the Eye Health section.   If you type Birdshot into the box it takes you to this link, which in turn provides our website address and the comment: 

“There is a web site devoted to this disease that has all the information you my need”

http://www.specsavers.co.uk/ask-the-optician/what-is-birdshot-chorioretinopathy/

It’s good to see that more and more opticians have now actually heard of Birdshot Uveitis and are taking an interest in it.  Reassuringly,  a growing number of BUS’s UK members have been referred straight to a uveitis specialist after their opticians examination revealed a problem.