Accessibility
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The Lundie Loop
The author, who was a Myasthenic, designed this prop and benefited by it for over twenty years, leading a full and active life.
Important: The information shown here is taken from a leaflet produced by the designer of the Lundie Loop. The loop has to be produced locally by a suitable (and willing) optician. MGA does not (and cannot) produce it for you. Please do not ask, as we have no facilities and no expertise in this area. Costs will vary from optician to optician. You may be able to find a suitable handyman to create one for you if you cannot find an obliging optician.
The Device
This device is designed to provide a comfortable and unobtrusive prop for those whose eyelids tend to droop or even close completely, a fairly common symptom of neuromuscular defect in Myasthenia Gravis.
As shown in Fig 1, the loop is made in the form or a large circle of stainless steel wire about the same size as the spectacle lens, so that the wearer looks through the middle of the loop. The upper part of the loop, which bears lightly on the eyelid, is fitted with a short piece of silicone rubber tubing to keep the necessary gentle "tacky" grip on the skin of the eyelid. The rubber sleeve is kept short to be as inconspicuous as possible when tucked into the fold of the eyelid and is kept in position from rotating by two slight kinks formed in the wire.
The loop is fitted to the spectacles by drilling two small holes in the frame and pressing the ends of the loop into them, the ends of the wire being specially shaped so that the loop cannot fall out in use.
For those who wish to relieve their eyes from the pressure of the prop for any reason, either loop may be hooked back out of contact with the eyelid by means of a simple "parking" catch as shown in Fig 2. Retracting one loop is one way of dealing with double vision combined with ptosis. The author wears a shield or occluder, sliding it from side to side to deal with this.
Advantages of the Loop
This type of ptosis prop, when correctly made and fitted, has many advantages over adhesive tape of the rigid props offered by some opticians.
1. It is comfortable because it is soft and flexible, exerting only light upward pressure on the led with no pressure at all on the eyeball. It locks itself securely into the eye socket, giving the wearer confidence to take part in normal activities.
2. Its flexibility permits a degree of natural "blink" to clear the eye of tears. This is not possible with the eye taped permanently open. A quick up-and-down waggle of the specs will usually give relief.
3. It is safe because it has no sharp projections to insure the eye.
4. The design is unobtrusive even when worn with rimless or clear-framed glasses, if the loop is carefully positioned to lie within the outline of the frame.
5. It is cheap and easy to manufacture and does not entail meticulous fitting to the wearer. It can be adapted to suit almost any style of spectacle frame, although plastic frames with a minimum of 3mm at the brow-line are most suitable. Loops can be fitted to metal frames by soldering small bosses to hold them but this is more expensive.
Adjusting to the Wearer
Fig 3 is a diagrammatic side view of the loop in position on the wearer. The loop is set to stand away from the spectacle frame by about 3/4" at the top. This makes it bear very lightly on the upper eyelid, lifting it into the space above the eyeball. It should not bear upon the eyeball in any way as this would be very painful, so care must be taken not to pull the loop too far away from the frame.
With a little practice, the wearer will find the right spot on the lid for the loop to make contact; too low will give a "starey" look, too high will not expose the pupil enough - it should look and feel natural.
Frame Fit
It is important that the frame should sit firmly and well up on the nose to take the slight downward push of the spring loop. The spectacle frame side arms should also fit well, be properly shaped over the ears and have a firm grip across the head to prevent the frame sliding down the nose. Silicone rubber tips called "Temple Cushions" are available to improve the grip of side arms. Frames with swivelling nose pads can be fitted with silicone rubber covers to improve the grip on the nose.
Advice and Assistance
For those living in the UK, we hold details of the author's son who lives in Wales. He is sometimes able to advise and carry out the work for you for a charge if the spectacles are sent to him (but not metal frames).
Please send an
Email to MGA in the first instance. MGA is a Registered Charity No. 1046443 and a company limited by guarantee.
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