Eye Exams Detect Cataracts, Glaucoma and Other Eye Problems
Comprehensive Eye Exams
As you bustle around town for gifts this season, add making an appointment for an eye exam to your to-do list. During your annual, comprehensive eye exam, your ophthalmologist can catch eye diseases in the early stages when they are most treatable. When you get your eyes examined, your eye doctor will test for:
- Visual acuity
- Refractive errors like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism
- Focusing issues like presbyopia, a common eye problem that develops around age 40
- Eye problems like amblyopia, strabismus or binocular vision
- Glaucoma
- Issues with the retina and optic nerve
Eye Exams Prevent Vision Loss
Regular eye exams are especially crucial if you have a chronic condition like diabetes or hypertension which can lead to diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma. These diseases can develop slowly and without symptoms. By the time you notice changes in your vision, you may have permanent eye damage.
Eye Exams Detect Cataracts
Is your vision cloudy or blurry? At your exam, your eye doctor may discover that you have a developing cataract. Cataracts are one of the leading causes of vision loss, affecting more than 25 million Americans.
Common symptoms of cataracts include blurred vision, double vision, the appearance of glares and halos and faded colors. If you think you might have a cataract, click here to take a Cataract Symptoms Quiz. Your ophthalmologist can talk with you about cataract surgery, a short procedure that can reverse cataract-related vision loss.
Eye Exams Detect Glaucoma
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the U.S. More than 3 million Americans have glaucoma but only about half know it.
There are two main types of glaucoma, and the most common type has no initial symptoms — the pressure in the eye builds up gradually. Eventually, if glaucoma is not treated, the optic nerve can become damaged to the point that peripheral vision is lost. Without treatment, total blindness can occur.
The only way to accurately diagnose glaucoma is for an eye doctor to check your optic nerve during a comprehensive eye examination.
Call an Eye Doctor Near You
In the midst of holiday parties and family gatherings this season, call your ophthalmologist to get your eyes examined. One hour could save your vision and prevent eye disease.