Just as going to your medical doctor and your dentist for regular check ups helps to keep your body and oral health in check, going to the eye doctor for regular eye exams helps to ensure your eyes are being cared for properly. Annual eye exams will not only help to ensure your vision is in focus but that your eye health is optimal. Regular exams helps to catch problems early on, so treatments for eye disease will have the best chances of working and saving your vision.
Eye Disease
Regular annual comprehensive dilated eye exams by your optometrist or ophthalmologist is necessary to to find eye diseases in the early stages to prevent vision loss. Many eye diseases are common and some have no early warning symptoms. Early treatment is effective to prevent vision loss.
Annual exams will check for visual acuity or sharpness, your depth perception, your eye alignment and eye movement. Eye drops will be administered for pupil dilation so your doctor can see inside your eyes and check for signs of health problems. Your eye doctor can even spot other conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes sometimes before your primary physician does.
Eye Exams
Children –
- Vision screening for all children at least once between the ages of 3-5 years of age to help detect amblyopia or risk factors for the disease.
Teen & Adults –
- Regular annual comprehensive eye exams unless otherwise noted by doctor
At Risk Groups – (including, diabetics, African Americans, adults over 60, people with a family history of eye disease(s)
- Regular annual comprehensive eye exams at least every one to two years, as advised by your doctor.
Be sure you and your family have their eyes checked on a regular basis to ensure optimal vision health!
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Source: CDC.gov
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