Eye Health 101!

The health of our eyes is very important, but many of us take it for granted or put optician visits on the back-burner so that we can focus on all the other busy aspects of our lives. For some, there is also the belief that seeing an optometrist is only neccessary if you are experiencing vision problems. But is this true or a myth?

IT'S A MYTH!

Each and every one of us should visit an optometrist every two years (annually if you are a contact lens wearer), the same as we visit our medical physician for annual health check-ups. With environmental aggravaters, genetic predisposition, and life-style choices that we all face, keeping track of the health of your eyes is vital.

So what does an optometrist do?

An optometrist doesn't just diagnose vision problems. They test your overall eye health for issues such as glaucoma (progressive damage to the optic nerve that can result in blindness if untreated) and cataracts (clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eyes and which causes near-sightedness, reduces the perception of blue colors and eventually leads to blindness if untreated). They can also detect eye cancers which may slip past the screening of normal medical testing. There are two main types of eye cancer; Primary Intraocular Cancer (which starts inside the eyeball) and Secondary Intraocular Cancer (which starts somewhere else and travel to the eyeball). Eye examinations may also show other medical issues such as diabetes which will lead to your optometrist recommending a physician appointment. And of course, optometrists also test and treat vision problems, eye strain, light sensitivity and color blindness.

So make sure that you put a visit to your optometrist on the top of your priority list!