Eye exams are not just for individuals experiencing difficulties with their eyes. In fact, everyone should make an appointment for an annual eye exam. Seeing clearly is a part of good vision, but the anatomy of your eye should be monitored and checked as well to prevent or treat diseases that can have an impact on your vision. Everyone, children through adults, should visit an optometrist annually.
Children
Annual Eye Exams for children should start as early as age 4. Children often have a difficult time recognizing and/ or vision difficulties. In this early appointment, an optometrist is able to measure vision without depending on pictures or letters so that recognition is not a factor in the evaluation. The optometrist will also check for amblyopia (weak vision in one eye), identify misalignment of the eyes, and can also detect anatomical irregularities in the cornea, lens, and retina. Early detection of any of these commonly makes improvement easier to treat.
Age 8 – Adults
Annual eye exams are also important for older children (age 8) and adults of all ages. These checks can detect vision difficulties that impact learning, reading, and even driving. Improving or treating these symptoms can lead to healthier and more successful learning and working. If glasses or contact lenses are already worn, your optometrist can check them during your eye exam to ensure proper fitting. It is important to know that poorly fitting contacts can lead to scratches and infections in the eye. Make sure that you schedule your annual exam to have your glasses or contacts checked.
Systemic disease can be checked for and, also, monitored by an optometrist. Diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, some neurologic conditions, and other systemic diseases can be seen, assessed, and treatments relating to your eyes can be determined or evaluated. One reason why it is so important to have these evaluations is because the eye is the only place on your body where both blood vessels and nerves can be seen.
In addition to systemic diseases, eye diseases like cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma can be checked for during your annual eye exam. These diseases affect vision and can also cause blindness if not treated. An annual eye exam is the only way that some of these, such as glaucoma, a disease that causes high pressure in the eye which damages the optic nerve, are detected. Glaucoma can cause blindness if not treated but blindness is preventable when treated by your optometrist.
Finally, eye exams are important because there are certain forms of cancer that can impact your eyes and vision. An optometrist can see tumors in the iris, optic nerve, retina, and even in the choroid. Melanomas can also occur in the choroid. When found early, cancer within the eye can be completely cured.
Schedule your annual exam today!
There are many benefits from regular eye exams. The team at Eye Center of Northern Colorado is eager to serve you and assist with all your vision needs. Our friendly staff have been serving the Fort Colins area since as far back as 1916. While technology may have changed, our dedication and mission have not. We are here for you! Please visit our website at https://www.eyecenternoco.com/contact-us/ or call us at (970) 221-2222 to schedule an appointment today.
