If you’re looking for a personal medical expert, your best source may be your eye care doctor. They are your perfect eye care guide. As your eyes become compromised, it can cause a range of problems.
There are numerous forms of visual problems associated with aging, including difficulties with reading, seeing well at night, eye strain, and even the appearance of cataracts in the eye. Aging is also an important contributor to the development of eye diseases.
Although vision screening has been an important part of medicine since early times, few people have ever taken eye exams in their lifetime. Often, the cause of visual difficulties is missed. With the right tools, eye tests are the first step to finding a problem.
Today, a wide variety of prescription eyeglasses are available on the market. In fact, it seems that there are nearly as many prescription eyeglasses as there are eye problems. Prescription eyeglasses can often be the best solution for vision problems. However, there are many reasons why they are not.
For one thing, eyeglasses can often mask or obscure a problem and can worsen existing serious eye conditions. Eyeglasses are typically worn by people who do not wear corrective lenses, which are now available over-the-counter. A person may need to wear glasses because they have presbyopia or glaucoma.
Presbyopia is a condition where the eye does not properly focus light, making it blurry, dull, and hard to see. Glaucoma is a serious eye disease where the pressure in the eye increases and blood clots, making it difficult to see.
Aside from these two serious eye conditions, eye exams can help detect eye diseases that may be present. These include macular degeneration, an eye disease where the center of the retina, withers and eventually dies. Another is called diabetic retinopathy, where the tear ducts of the eye become clogged and lead to blurry vision and blurred vision combined with a slight tremor.
Other eye conditions require eye exams, including corneal ulcers, lens-related, and cataracts. Many of these can lead to blindness and/or the loss of vision, but there are ways to treat them. It is also important to have regular eye exams so that your eye care professional can see problems early on, such as signs of presbyopia, glaucoma, or cataracts.
Medical experts agree that routine eye exams should be done at least every six months, especially if a person is older. Even if you are a very young adult, your eyes need to be regularly checked for eye conditions and any health problems that may be present. Regularly checking your eyes is one of the most important steps in maintaining good eye health.
Eye exams can identify problems and improve health and vision. When a problem is found, the proper treatment can be administered immediately.
For more information on eye exams, vision screening, and eye examinations, consult your eye care professional. You can also speak with your local library to see what books are available on vision screenings and eye exams.