Eye Care Fun

Routine eye examinations are very important, no matter how old you are, or what your own assessment of your eye health and vision may be. Vision screening is no substitute for a full eye examination by a health professional. Pediatricians and health care providers give limited eye checks. Renewing your driving license requires an eye test, but none of these checks will screen your eye health or provide preventative care.

Here are some very good reasons why you should have regular eye examinations at least every 2 years:

Your Vision May Have Changed

If you wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, they are not meant to last forever! Unfortunately our eyes continue to change and deteriorate with age. You may need to have a new prescription to give you better vision. If you need to update your contact lens prescription, the prescription is usually valid for one year. Glasses prescriptions are usually valid for two years. In addition, since they are so many new inventions and technology, an annual eye exam will allow the doctor to update and offer the latest technology to you.

Eye Exams for Children

Eye exams for children are important in ensuring their development and academic achievements are not impaired by poor vision. Children do not know they have a problem seeing, as they may not know what 'good' vision actually is. If your child is struggling at school, it may be a good idea to have their eyesight checked to rule out any underlying visual cause.

Refractive Error

Your eye doctor will check for Refractive Error which includes nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism which can all be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery.

Amblyopia

This occurs when one eye is turned or has a very different prescription than the other eye. The brain will shut off the image from the blurry eye. Left untreated this problem can stunt visual development of the affected eye resulting in a permanent impairment in vision. This problem can easily be treated by wearing a patch over the stronger eye from time to time.

Strabismus

This term refers to weak or crossed eyes. The examiner will check the alignment of your eyes to make sure they are working together as they should.

Eye Teaming

Even if your eyes appear to be aligned, they may not be working together as they should. Problems with eye teaming may be causing headaches, eyestrain and other problems.

Focusing

Your focusing skills will be checked. Age-related declines in focusing are common over the age of 40.

You may have the First Signs of Eye Disease

Glaucoma

This disease, if left undetected can cause blindness and there is no cure. However early detection makes prevention of any further loss of vision possible. Glaucoma is caused by raised intraocular pressure which in turn permanently damages the ocular nerve resulting in a permanent loss of vision. A simple test to measure your intraocular pressure can detect any initial signs of a problem, which left untreated may otherwise result in glaucoma.

Macular Degeneration

This is a disease of the retina in which the light-sensing cells within the eye are damaged and die. It is vital that Macular Degeneration is detected and diagnosed at an early stage, as damage to your vision by this disease is permanent. If it is not controlled, further loss of vision will continue if not acted upon. Knowing about macular degeneration and recognizing the possible symptoms is an important part in the preventative treatment of this disease. An eye test can detect possible signs of this disease early on and begin treatment to prevent further permanent loss of vision.

Cataracts

This common problem in older people can be detected early on and monitored. Eventually surgery will be necessary to replace the clouded lens.

Other Health Problems

Eye doctors can detect other health conditions early on by looking at the eye's blood vessels and retina. They will be able to tell you if they see signs of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other problems. Diabetes may cause small blood vessel leaks which can cause vision loss. You may not even know you have diabetes, but an eye examination will detect signs of it.