Do You Need Annual Eye Exams?
A person's eyes are amongst their most important systemic features. Without the gift of sight, many routine activities would be difficult and, quite possibly, impossible. Therefore, receiving optimal eye care often proves vital to preserving this important sense. The eye care professionals at Urban Eyecare invite current and prospective patients to read this brief blog discussing the need for annual eye exams, in addition to the features of an optimal ocular check-up.
Eye Exam Frequency
There seems to be some debate in the medical community regarding how often an individual should undergo a comprehensive eye exam. Some believe one should obtain such testing each year. However, others maintain a subject's age is the most important determining factor.
The general rule, younger persons not experiencing any discernible problems or other potential sight-impacting health maladies, can go longer periods in between investigations. Specifically, those between the ages of 20 to 39 need evaluation every five years; ages 40 to 54 should assess every two to four years; persons 55 to 64 need to check their eyes every one to three years, and over 65's should be every one to two years.
Children
Healthcare providers maintain that children under three should have their eyes examined for potential childhood sight issues like crossed or lazy eyes. That said, should the youth in question not display any eye-related issues and not have a family history of eye concerns, assessments performed every one or two years should suffice.
Factors Impacting Eye Care
Of course, the preceding guidelines are merely suggestions, and individuals should obtain more frequent check-ups under the following circumstances:
Family History Of Eye Or Sight Issues
Individuals should monitor their eyesight if close relatives have issues such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.
The Subjects Wears Glasses Or Vision Corrective Devices
Persons who regularly wear glasses or vision correction devices like contact lenses are encouraged to have their sight monitored by professionals on a relatively consistent basis.
A Family History Of Eye-Impacting Illnesses
Eye care professionals especially urge those with family histories of sight-impacting diseases such as diabetes to be extra vigilant about their eye and general health. Ailments like these can sometimes be asymptomatic and go undetected for extended durations.
The Importance Of Eye Exams
Medical experts claim that the condition of one's eyes often reveals the presence of potentially serious, even life-threatening illnesses. In many instances, subtle changes in the eyes are produced by underlying conditions like high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes and certain kinds of cancer.
The condition of the blood vessels and components of the retina often suggests these systemic maladies are afoot.
Features Of A Comprehensive Eye Exam
Comprehensive ocular evaluations will comprise several critical efforts. During the early stages of the exam, the examining physician will ask the patient questions about their health history and carefully document any medical issues said individual has been diagnosed with, in addition to the over-the-counter or prescription medications they are currently taking.
Upon completion of this first stage, the presiding doctor will then ask the patient to read letters from a chart, measure their peripheral vision capacity and ability to perceive colours.
After vision testing is completed, the examiner will employ light-driven instruments to look into the patient's eyes to gain a clearer picture of components such as the eyeball, pupils, eye muscles, blood vessels and nerves.
Physicians Specializing In Eye Care
Vision tests can be performed by one's primary care provider. However, more comprehensive evaluations are often better executed by eye care specialists like optometrists and ophthalmologists. Optometrists are eye doctors with specialized education and training strictly related to the eye. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors specializing in the management of eye diseases and performing eye surgeries.