Eyes are Precious Get an Annual Exam

By Deborah Daley

One of my favorite phrases is, “The eyes are the windows to the soul.” Usually, it describes a deep connection with someone. To me, it also reinforces the importance of our eyes. These precious organs allow us to see and understand our beautiful world and the people around us. Through our eyes, we have both sight and vision.

It is important to understand that our eyes combine sight and vision, working together in a marvelous synergy. Sight is physical—a sensory experience in which light reflects off of objects before it is focused by the eyes. Signals are sent to the brain to be converted into images. Vision is how the mind, an aspect of the brain, interprets these images.

Sight is arguably the most important sense for safety and self-preservation. How safe would you be if you couldn’t see an approaching car? Eyesight also allows you to make quick assessments of whatever situation comes your way. This helps with overall health and intelligence.

Nearly all Americans believe their eye health is just as important as the health of their heart, but nearly half of people in their 20s and 30s think they don’t need an eye exam if their vision is clear. They need to reconsider.

Through an eye exam, more than 270 systemic and chronic diseases can be identified, including diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. In fact, getting a comprehensive eye exam is the only way to visualize the blood vessels behind the eye for issues without invasive imaging like an x-ray or CT scan.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 4.2 million Americans aged 40 years and older are legally blind or have low vision. Many eye diseases are indeed age-related, such as cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, age-related degeneration, and glaucoma. Other common eye disorders include amblyopia and strabismus.

Experts agree that a yearly eye exam is recommended. Children can have exams as early as six months of age, but a good target is to start when they enter school, around age 4 or 5 years.

An eye exam is more comprehensive than a simple vision screening. It includes several elements. Preliminary tests evaluate your peripheral vision, depth perception, color vision, eye muscle movements, and pupil reaction to light. A visual acuity test (like a vision screening) evaluates how clearly each eye sees. A reading chart is frequently used for this test. If you have a current optical prescription, it will be evaluated to see if any changes could deliver clearer eyesight.

An eye focusing test determines how well your eyes move, focus, and work together. A digital image of the retina will be taken. The intraocular pressure test (IOP) is that puff of air in each eye. It may not provide your favorite sensation, but it is vitally important for diagnosing such conditions as glaucoma and corneal disease.

Your eye doctor will use a slit lamp to get a magnified view of the many different structures at the front of the eye and inside it. Ophthalmoscopy uses a bright handheld light to assess the health of the back of the eyes. It can detect cataracts, retinal detachment, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.

When scheduling your annual appointment, it is important to know which type of eye professional you need. Optometrists perform eye exams and vision tests, prescribe and dispense corrective lenses, detect eye abnormalities, and prescribe medications for eye diseases. Ophthalmologists, on the other hand, are medical doctors. To become an ophthalmologist, you must attend medical school and complete a residency in ophthalmology. Ophthalmologists can provide all the services that optometrists can. In addition, ophthalmologists are licensed to practice medicine and perform surgery.

There have been numerous recent technical advancements in refractive and laser eye surgery. These procedures reshape the cornea so the light passing through can be focused on the retina. Other corrective surgeries replace the lens of the eye.

LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis) reshapes the underlying corneal tissue to focus light into the eye and reach the retina. The surgery is good for patients who are nearsighted, farsighted, or have astigmatism. PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) uses a laser to reshape the cornea. Unlike LASIK, PRK only reshapes the surface of the cornea. It is good for mild to moderate nearsightedness, farsightness, or astigmatism.

Laser eye surgery is suitable for most adults whose eye prescription has stayed more or less the same for two years. LASIK surgery should last a lifetime. Eyes can change, but vision will never be as bad as before the surgery.

Our eyes are a special gift! Take care of them and see your eye specialist annually.

Sources for this article included: cdc.gov, aoa.org, and aao.org.