Why Are Eye Exams Important?
Routine Eye Exams Are Important!
Your eye doctor does more than just determine your glasses and contacts prescription during an eye examination. By providing early detection, your optometrist is often the first line of defense against chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. As many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms, you may be completely unaware of them.
Only a small percentage of your time during an exam is actually spent determining your prescription. The majority of the testing time is devoted to tests such as visual field, tonometry, retinal evaluation, slit lamp, etc. These tests are just a few of the ways that optometrist can check your overall health and well being.
The Things An Optometrist Looks For:
- Eye diseases: glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy
- Refractive error: farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia
- Other diseases: high blood pressure, high cholesterol
- Amblyopia, strabismus, and focusing problems
Vision Screenings Are Not The Same As A Comprehensive Eye Exam
Vision screenings are just that… a screening. Most people experience this as their first introduction to eye care, wether during school or at the DMV. A screening is basically a test to determine if you can see 20/20. If you can’t, then it’s time to see an eye doctor. While a screening is a great way to determine a need for a prescription, it is not in any way determining the health of your eyes. Even if you can pass a screening and see 20/20, you should still have annual eye examinations to check the health of your eyes.
Who Should Have An Eye Exam?
Simply put… EVERYONE, EVERY YEAR.
