Are Regular Eye Exams Necessary?

Posted on: 1 November 2017

If you have good vision or if your vision prescription doesn't change often, you might think that annual eye exams aren't as necessary as your doctor makes them out to be. The reality is, even if your vision is perfect, you should still visit your eye doctor on a regular basis for care. Regular eye exams can save you from miserable conditions, vision loss, or even total blindness. Keep reading to learn what eye exams are good beyond getting a new pair of glasses.

Problems They Catch

Eye examinations can detect a wide variety of diseases and problems before they cause permanent damage to your eyes. Common illnesses like glaucoma, macular degeneration, eye sunburns, and retinopathy are easily detectable by an eye doctor with the proper equipment.

By detecting these issues early on, your eye doctor can formulate a treatment plan to keep symptoms at bay or to treat those you're already experiencing. Most of these conditions can lead to temporary or permanent vision loss if they're not treated, plus a great deal of pain.

Problems They Prevent

Unfortunately, people often don't notice that they have a vision problem until it's progressed quite far. You might not notice that you have floaters dancing across your vision or that you're not seeing as well at night as you once did. You might even be experiencing a blind spot in your vision and haven't noticed it yet.

While you may not be aware of these problems, they can still cause dangerous situations for you and others. If you were to get behind the wheel of a car, any of these vision impairments could potentially lead to devastating accidents that could put the lives of you, your loved ones, and strangers on the road at risk.

See an Eye Doctor

While you might not be aware of the problems that could be brewing in your eyes, an optometrist will be able to pick up on them readily. Simply visiting your eye doctor once a year or as often as they recommend can help to protect you from devastating vision problems that can cause accidents. If you commit to seeing your eye doctor regularly and they discover a problem with your eyes someday, you'll be grateful that you stuck to your regular visits and didn't find out you had a problem when it was too late to restore your vision or to save others who were harmed due to your poor vision.

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