07 June 2023 , 06:05
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A woman who visited an opticians for a routine eye tests was told she actually had a life-threatening condition.
Katie Holroyd thought she may have just needed new glasses and an updated prescription but the optometrist saw her optic nerve was swollen.
He immediately referred the 33-year-old woman to hospital where doctors found she had a blood clot in the brain, in addition to papilledema, the swelling of optic disks.
She's now extremely grateful for the care and time the optician, Omran Djalili, showed at the Specsavers in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.
"It hadn’t occurred to me that it would be anything more serious," Katie told Grimsby Live today.
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A serious condition was picked up during Katie Holroyd's eye test"But when Omran said that my optic nerve was squashed, I knew something was amiss and he immediately referred me hospital."
The woman had blood and neurological tests at Scunthorpe General Hospital, where medics suspected papilledema and also discovered the cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a blood clot in the brain which can be life-threatening if left untreated.
It's very rare, affecting about five people in every one million each year. It was stopping fluid run effectively, which caused pressure in her eye and head.
The optician made a critical referral to Scunthorpe General Hospital for Katie (ScunthorpeLive/Donna Clifford)Katie, of Scunthorpe, said: "I was understandably extremely worried and upset by this news, I couldn’t believe it. I’d been having some headaches and backpain right before, but I didn’t think anything of it – I never expected it to be something so serious.
"The blood clot has been removed and I have been prescribed six months of medication. I can’t thank Specsavers enough for their quick-thinking and help that they gave me.
"The experience has really highlighted to me how important it is to have regular check-ups. If I didn’t visit Specsavers, I may well have been in a very different position to what I am in today and so for that, I’m extremely grateful."
A Specsavers spokesperson said: "Katie’s story is a great example of the importance of regular eye tests. Eye tests play a huge part in making sure our eyes stay healthy.
"Not only are they important for indicating whether you need to start wearing glasses or need to change your prescription, but also for detecting some common eye conditions. Specsavers recommends everyone has an eye test every two years, but to book an appointment earlier if any eye problems occur or advised by an optometrist."