No matter how old you are, or how healthy you are, it’s important to have your vision checked regularly. But why is it so important? What if you can see perfectly? What if you have no trouble at all reading the smallest print or making out the farthest signs when you’re driving? Are you still supposed to get your vision checked?
The short answer? Yes.
It’s true that your eye doctor will check the strength of your vision, and let you know if you need a prescription for glasses or contact lenses, and what the strength of that prescription should be. All of these factors are important. But your eye doctor will also check for other, equally important details. Your eye doctor will also assess the way that your eyes work together as a pair, or a team, and will look to your eyes as an indicator of your overall bodily health.
Another often overlooked detail: eye doctors often detect chronic system diseases before any other health care professional, including your primary care doctor. Your eye doctor could be the first to detect signs of high blood pressure, hypertension, or diabetes, for example. Those are signs that you won’t want overlooked.
In fact, a recent study found that these early diagnoses ended up saving patients large amounts of money. Because those patients received early treatment, they paid much less over the long term. Eye doctors are able to detect signs of these chronic conditions because, unlike other health care professionals, they have an unobstructed view of the eyes’ blood vessels.
Don’t forget the primary objective of an eye exam, though: to examine your vision. What exactly is your eye doctor checking? Some of the common conditions your eye doctor will look for include amblyopia, which occurs when one of the eyes is turned, or has a prescription much different than the other eye; eye teaming problems, or problems your eyes have working together as a team; eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma; focusing problems; and refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
Vision exams are especially important for children, since vision plays a key part in the learning process. Children with undiagnosed vision problems often struggle with their schoolwork. When all things are taken into consideration, the benefits of getting your and children’s vision checked are undeniable. Don’t wait to take this important exam.
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