When you think about protecting your health, preserving your vision is just as essential. Having your eyes examined every year by a licensed ophthalmologist provides many benefits and can keep your eyes healthy for many years to come. Continue reading below to discover the importance of yearly exams, and all they can do for your vision and overall health.
Eye Examinations Offer Prevention & Vision Protection
Annual exams are how vision problems are detected and your eyes remain protected. Changes in your vision are a common aspect of aging. However, if not monitored properly with an annual eye exam, vision fluctuations can impact your eye health. An out-of-date prescription typically increases strain to your eyes. This can lead to other issues such as headaches, neck strain, sensitivity to light, and dry eyes.
Vision Checks Offer Awareness of Changes in Your Prescription
The smallest changes in your vision can affect your prescription. By undergoing annual vision inspections, you can make sure your prescription is always up to date.
Eye Exams Check for Eye Diseases With & Without Symptoms
During professional eye exams, your ophthalmologist does more than check your vision. These evaluations typically include detailed assessments and various tests. Signs of eye diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration are carefully checked. Exams also check for conditions such as dry eye and color blindness. Common tests include assessing eye movement, visual depth perception, sharpness, and viewing your eye's internal structure with pupil dilation.
Certain eye disorders, like glaucoma, have little to no initial symptoms making the condition appear without warning. If not addressed promptly, glaucoma can cause blindness. Testing for glaucoma is done by analyzing eye pressure, determining the health of the optic nerve, and the state of the cornea. These are things only a trained eye professional can examine.
Yearly Exams Help Identify Overall Health Concerns
Ophthalmologists can also use your yearly eye exams to determine your overall health. Detailed evaluations of the blood vessels in the eye can help discover significant health problems, including:
- Diabetes: Diabetic eye disease is often identified by looking at the blood vessels in the retina of the eyes when leaking blood or yellow fluid.
- Hypertension: Tears in the blood vessels of your eye can identify high blood pressure.
- High cholesterol: A yellowish tint or ring around your cornea could mean high cholesterol.
- Thyroid disease: Graves’ Disease, or protruding eyes, is often a sign of thyroid issues.
- Autoimmune disorders: Eye inflammation can be a sign of certain autoimmune disorder such as lupus or ankylosing spondylitis.
- Cancer: Abnormal eye structure can be a sign of eye cancer, and close observation of the eyelids can also help detect skin cancer.
- Tumors: Irregularly shaped pupils or droopy eyelids can mean a neck tumor or an aneurism.
Annual Eye Examinations for All Ages
Vision exams are essential for individuals of all ages. In fact, children should have their vision checked by a licensed ophthalmologist beginning at six months of age. If you have a family history of vision problems, diabetes, or eye development complications, annual eye exams are essential.
If you or your loved ones wear glasses or contacts, you will need to have your eyes examined annually. If you are one of the few individuals who do not need corrective eyewear or lenses, you can go every two years for a routine vision exam. However, it is not recommended you go any longer, as professional evaluations are necessary for protecting your vision and overall health. If you notice any issues with your eyes, schedule an appointment with your ophthalmologist as soon as possible.
Annual eye exams are just as important as physical check-ups. At Pomerance Eye Center, leading ophthalmologist, Glenn N. Pomerance, M.D, and his associates view your overall well-being as their number one priority! We recommend our Chattanooga patients visit us annually for optimal vision protection and help promote proper eye health all year long.
Contact our team to schedule your eye examination today!