Why Are Regular Eye Exams Important?
Annual eye exams help facilitate regular monitoring of your eye health. A yearly eye exam allows your doctor to monitor your vision and eye health over the long-term, and can help detect signs of medical conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure.
Early treatment is critically important to prevent some common eye diseases from causing permanent vision loss or blindness:
- Cataracts (clouding of the lens), the leading cause of vision loss in the United States
- Diabetic retinopathy (causes damage to blood vessels in the back of the eye), the leading cause of blindness in American adults
- Glaucoma (a group of diseases that damages the optic nerve)
- Age-related macular degeneration (gradual breakdown of light-sensitive tissue in the eye)
If you have any of the following eye problems, don’t wait for your next appointment—visit your doctor as soon as possible:
- Decreased vision
- Draining or redness of the eye
- Eye pain
- Double vision
- Floaters (tiny specks that appear to float before your eyes)
- Circles (halos) around lights
- Flashes of light
Of the estimated 93 million US adults at high risk for vision loss, only half visited a doctor in the past 12 months. Regular eye care can have a life-changing impact on preserving your vision.