OPTICIAN says DH got high cholesterol!!

bagpuss_fan

OK, so I'm posting because I thought I knew a lot about health, but i've NEVER heard of this before.

My DH wears glasses and had his usual check up on saturday, the optician says he has a white line appearing in his eye and it's a sign of high cholesterol and/or high blood pressure.

I realise they look through special equipment, but I can see a line on the iris of his right eye, could she mean this?

He has a doctors appointment tomorrow, so we shall find out if she's correct, but just wondering if anyone else has heard of this and if it's accurate.

My cholesterol level was 4 two years ago, and I have the same diet, so it's probably the same, he obviously eats the same as me evenings/weekends but does get rolls from the sandwich van at work (bacon and egg etc), and up until now, I've never managed to get him to eat brown bread.

Hopefully it's a bit of a wake up call for him.

Larumbelle

High cholestorel can present itlsef as a line or as a ring round the iris. I have heard of this before - it was an optician who told my dad he had high cholestorel levels, when he went to the doctor it was confirmed, and it was a sufficient wake-up call that the optician may have saved my dad's life!

Isn't science a wonderful thing? I have also heard of opticians telling people to get checked out for diabetes, I think that's something to do with glaucoma

RoseFairy

the science of checking health by looking at the eyes is called iridology,. ....

Stompa

RoseFairy wrote: »

the science of checking health by looking at the eyes is called iridology,. ....

Iridology can be called many things, but it sure ain't a science!

My optician told me the same thing, though I already knew I had slightly high blood pressure.

jfdi

My Optician saved my life! So it IS true, and I commend you for taking it seriously!

8 years ago at my regular check-up my optician told me I had to see my GP within 24hrs coz my BP was up.

So I did. By 9pm that night I was in hospital, emergency admission, with a BP of 267/140!

I should've exploded!

I'd had NO symptoms & no cause was ever discovered.

Medicated & monitored in hospital for a week and although I'm now on medication for life (coz of the 'no known cause' bit!) at least I'm alive.

absfabs

I think it's called an " arcus lipidaeus" - not sure re spelling -, but the white arch above the iris (coloured bit around the pupil), quite common in people of a certain age who have had raised cholesterol.

Definetely good idea to have it checked out, some people have high cholesterol even when they have been eating quite healthily.

wishiwasarichgirl

Hey, I'm an optician, and yes, it is amazing how much you can tell from an eye test.

Yes, bagpuss fan, the optician is referring to the white ring you can see on your husband's iris, it is known as arcus, and in elderly people it is perfectly normal, but in younger/middle aged people it can indicate high cholesterol. It is not definite though, some people have it for no apparent reason.

Rosefairy, it is nothing to do with iridology, thats up there with believing in your horoscope, there may be some science behind it, but it is mostly bull...

silvercharming, Diabetes can affect the eyes and therefore be picked up during a routine eye test, it can cause changes in prescription and leaking blood vessels at the back of the eye.
It is different from glaucoma, which is a disease of the optic nerve (the nerve transmitting all the info from your eye to your brain). Glaucoma causes loss of peripheral vision, resulting in "tunnel vision" if not treated. Diabetics are at higher risk of developing glaucoma however.

Everyone should have their eyes tested every 2 years, even if their vision is fine, and children under 16 and elderly people are advised to have annual check-ups.

Pennylane

Cholesterol is a popular topic today! I've posted on 2 other threads about my HIGH cholesterol level coming down (without using statins).

I was interested to read this post because of what the optician discovered and good on him/her too!:T Hope your hubby gets on OK. Another sign of high cholesterol can be small white "blobs" on the face particularly on the eyelids or below the eye.

What DID annoy me though was I had a very noticeable one on my eyelid for years and must have seen LOADS of doctors while it was there and on many occasions they would have looked in my eyes (I had a stye once and another time an eye infection and even sore throats are fairly close!!:rolleyes: ).

But not one of them EVER asked about that. By chance I was talking to a retired nurse and she said "I bet you've got high cholesterol. Have you had your blood checked?". I went and did so and was called back immediately because it was VERY high and the GP I saw then said if it was her she'd be straight on statins. :rolleyes: I noticed another friend had these marks on both eyelids and she dashed off and hers was as high as mine! (I think it was around 10 then.) She was angry because she'd never been told that either.