WHY VISIT AN EYE DOCTOR ROUTINELY?

When was the last time you made an appointment with your optometrist?  Eye exams are a very vital part of your health. It is important always to ensure that your eyes are in perfect health, even when your vision is unaffected.

May eye problems are quite dangerous as they come long before the symptoms show up. However, by visiting your eye doctor regularly, the problems can be diagnosed at a very early stage and treated. Also, a trip to the eye doctor could help unearth a chronic disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure.


Who is a suitable candidate for an Eye Exam?

Eye exams are recommended for everyone, regardless of age or physical health. It is important for adults to undergo regular eye tests and keep all records so as to detect any early signs of eye disease.

In the case of children, eye exams are also very important as they help ensure that the child is developing normally and that they have the required visual acuity and visual skills to carry out their schoolwork and other activities. Children who perform poorly in school should undergo eye tests to ensure that visual problems are not the underlying cause.

What are some of the common conditions checked for during an eye exam?

  • Refractive error: This is the underlying cause of astigmatism, nearsightedness, and longsightedness. This can be remedied using contacts, glasses or refractive surgery.

  • Strabismus: This refers to crossed or turned eyes. The eye doctor will check the alignment of your eyes. This will show if your eyes are working together.

  • Amblyopia: This is a condition in which the eyes are misaligned, leading to the brain ignoring or suppressing information from the turned eye. If this is not treated, it could stunt the visual development in the turned eye.

  • Eye teaming problems: This check involves checking if your eyes work together. The eyes may be aligned nut not working together. This could lead to eye strain, headaches and other vision related problems.

  • Focusing problems: This mainly affects children and older adults. In children, it may result from incompletely developed focusing skills. In older adults, this may arise from an age-related decline in focusing ability.

  • Eye diseases: most eye diseases do not show symptoms during their early stages. During an eye exam, your eye doctor will perform a thorough check of your eyes to ensure that there are no diseases. Eye diseases could lead to very serious problems such as permanent loss of vision. Thus, it is vital to ensure your eyes are completely healthy.

  • Other diseases: Through an eye exam, the eye doctor can give an early diagnosis of problems such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Eye exams are a necessary step towards good health. The frequency of these exams varies. If you or your family has a history of vision problems such as glaucoma, you need regular checks to ensure your eyes are fine. The urgency and frequency of these visits increase with age, with those aged 65 years and above requiring the exams every 12 months. For children, eye exams can be conducted at birth, at 6 months, 3 years, before joining grade school and yearly thereafter.  

If you are looking for an optometrist call one of our 360 Eyecare Toronto offices today to schedule your eye exam.