Uan Gohil, store director at Specsavers in Derby, had his sight saved after his brother noticed something wrong with his eyes.
Uan began experiencing flashes and floaters in his eyes last month, so asked optometrist and brother Glyn to perform an eye test.
Using an optical coherence tomography (OCT) machine, Glyn identified an abnormality in his brother’s eyes.
‘I could immediately see that there was a problem with Uan’s retina,’ said Glyn. ‘After dilating his eyes with drops, I could clearly identify a hole in the membrane.’
Glyn immediately sent Uan to the Royal Derby Hospital, where the ophthalmologist found an additional two retinal holes.
‘My experience and knowledge of eye conditions meant that I knew there was a problem from the symptoms I was experiencing, and subsequently being referred as an emergency patient was very worrying,’ said Uan. ‘It was a big shock.’
Uan has undergone laser eye treatment for the condition and is recovering.
Uan said: ‘It just highlights the message we are constantly trying to communicate to the community: eye tests are more than a prescription test – they are also an important health check. I would like to encourage everyone have regular eye tests. A simple check can pick up a multitude of conditions.’