Imagine a World without Your Eyes…
Regular eye exams are an important part of your overall health care management.
Opinion polls have shown that blindness is one of the most feared health issues for Americans today. However, it is easy to take your eyesight for granted when it seems to be performing adequately.
Comprehensive eye exams at The Eye Center include more than just determination of your eyeglass or contact lens prescription. During the examination, we are also checking how the eyes work together as a team, looking for warning signs of eye diseases such as glaucoma or macular degeneration, as well as relating the eyes to your overall body’s health.
Who should have their eyes examined and how often?
The American Optometric Association recommends a baseline eye exam by 6 months of age, especially if there are concerns such as prematurity or family history of eye diseases such as retinoblastoma (cancer of the eye) or strabismus (lazy eye).
Every child should have their eyes examined before starting school around age 3-4 and then every 1-2 years thereafter. One in four children has an undiagnosed vision problem, simply because they do not recognize the symptoms.
Adults between 18-60 years old are recommended to have exams every 1-2 years. However, in those with diabetes, hypertension or family history of eye disease, as well as individuals who have had eye surgery or wear contact lenses, yearly exams are recommended.
After age 60 yearly exams are recommended as the risk for eye disease goes up significantly.
What are we looking for?
- Refractive error such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism, or the loss of near focus with age (presbyopia)
- Lazy eye (amblyopia or strabismus), where the eyes do not work together and the brain turns off vision, usually to one eye, due to an eye turn or higher prescription
- Eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. Glaucoma has been called the “silent blinder” due to the fact that there are no symptoms until the end stage. At this time, as with many other eye diseases, the treatment options are less effective or limited.
- Common treatable eye conditions such as cataracts and tear film insufficiency/dry eye syndrome.
- Markers of the overall body’s health. With a dilated eye exam, we can have a clear view of the eye’s blood vessels where we can detect, sometimes for the first time, signs of conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.
What happens after the exam?
At the conclusion of your exam, treatment options and follow up plans will be discussed. We value helping you understand your eye conditions fully and deciding on the best approach together. This may be as simple as getting updated glasses or returning for follow-up exams in a specific amount of time. However, if other treatment options are needed such as prescription eye drops, imaging of the eye, or referral to surgical care, we have the technology right here to best serve you.
Imagine if you were no longer able to see adequately to interact with loved ones or perform your job. Regular eye exams are an easy and important way for all of us to help maintain our precious sense of eyesight.