Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (July 18/01) - Some squint, some strain, some fake it, some don't, and in the end it all comes down to the numbers.

This is Jesse Allan's world, travelling ophthalmic technician, living out of a suitcase from community to community around Nunavut.

Allan is not quite an opto-metrist, but close, and he provides an essential service to the communities he visits, prescribing glasses and uncovering eye problems.

He's also developed a knack for catching fakers. Allan said a lot of children want glasses and pretend they can't see.

"We use smoke and mirrors," said Allan in describing how he catches the pretenders.

Allan said he'll mix up plain glass lenses with magnified ones then he'll ask the child which one works best.

According to Allan, 98 per cent of his work entails prescribing glasses, the other two per cent he spends catching eye problems.

He said the most common problem he sees is amblyopia -- one eye stronger than the other.

"It's usually cured by a prescription," said Allan.

He also noticed most elders he sees are far-sighted but most of the younger people are near-sighted.

"There's a theory that says because they spent their time on the land their eyesight adjusted to long distances," said Allan. "Now people spend their time nose buried in books or with the TV."

Allan travels in tandem with an optician who helps fit people with the right pair of glasses.

"Big frames are popular," said Sheri Donne, optician with Polar Vision. "Black is the favourite colour."

Donne said he tries to encourage people to take smaller glasses because big glasses don't help anyone see better.

"The younger crowd is getting more stylish," she said.

The duo left Rankin Inlet for Yellowknife last week after a short three day stint here and another in Whale Cove.

But even though they travel from community to community they never get to see the sites.

"All I usually see is the hotel, the road and the health centre," said Allan. "In the winter, I don't even see the road."