Regular checkups with an ophthalmologist can improve our health. Unfortunately, many people do not have the habit of going for regular checkups. Many people are avoiding an ophthalmologist, and they are visiting him only when there is a problem. That is certainly not a good idea, because regular eye exams can prevent many inconveniences. Furthermore, they are not a dentist, so there are no reasons to be afraid. If you are not sure who to contact, Retina & Eye Consultants can help you with all your questions. And if you are still not sure that you should check your vision regularly, here are some reasons why regular eye exams are so important:
Table of Contents
1. Avoiding glaucoma
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Glaucoma can lead to permanent blindness if not detected in time. Fortunately, early detection can improve the situation and preserve vision. An important parameter is the high intraocular pressure that a routine examination can show. Glaucoma can be treated without surgery if it is detected early, but also with surgery if it is detected later. In both cases, a timely response is crucial, which depends on the timely detection of the problem.
2. Early detection of cataract
A cataract is a clouding of our natural lens. Cataract surgery can make life easier, but early detection is crucial. If not detected in time, cataracts significantly affect the quality of vision and also life because it can lead to seeing only shadows. Regular checkups can indicate this problem in time, so that can help with avoiding more severe inconveniences.
3. Avoiding age-related macular degeneration
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Yellow spot disease is the leading cause of blindness in the world. With the development of the pharmaceutical industry, therapy is available. It enables the slowing down and stopping of this disease. Adequate diagnosis and timely treatment are needed. Imaging of the fundus is non-invasive, short-lived without any harmful radiation. The therapy is not possible without diagnosis since some diseases require surgery and some medicines. Yellow spot disease occurs in two forms. The crucial thing in differentiating the degree of expression of changes is the accompanying diagnostics.
4. Discovering diabetic retinopathy
Diabetes is a common metabolic disorder characterized by prolonged high blood sugar. This condition leads to damage to small blood vessels throughout the body, and thus in the eye. Changes in the eye can progress even without subjective deterioration of vision, so these patients must have fundus examinations every six months to start treatment on time. Depending on the type and degree of change, treatment can include different techniques, and in the most severe cases, surgery.
5. Discovering many conditions and diseases
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Regular eye exams can discover and prevent many conditions, so never skip this checkup. Some of those conditions are diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, but also some autoimmune disorders such as lupus and cancer or tumors. Diseases detected by a simple eye examination can be severe, and their early detection can prevent consequences that can be fatal. These diseases do not necessarily have to be related to the eye, but an eye examination can show them.
6. Detecting conjunctivitis
Sometimes you may notice redness in your eyes or tears in your eyes. If you do not pay enough attention to those symptoms, it can lead to a leakage of yellowish secretion from the eye or even a drop in the eyelid. All of these are forms of conjunctivitis that the ophthalmologist can treat. The treatment will last shorter if you detect the disease in time, and the procedure implies the use of medications.
7. Children need it for success in school
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While this one is not relevant to everyone, it is of significance to children and parents. School is important for education, but four-fifths of what our younglings learn they can not pick up without perfect vision. And in this day and age, with all of the computers and mobile phones, regular check-ups for kids is more important than ever before. So if your kid doesn’t have at least a yearly visit to the ophthalmologist, it is probably not learning at maximum capacity. So make sure to do what is most important for the children. After all, catching disease at a younger age is essential to getting the best possible treatment.
8. Myopia is becoming bigger problem every year
Connected to the previous point is myopia or nearsightedness. Because of all the screens that children are unfortunately staring at every day, this disease is growing rapidly. The main issue is that kids that get myopia when they are young usually have their vision worsened as they grow older. That means that they are higher chances that they will contract all of the other eye diseases we mentioned, like glaucoma and cataracts. And as we mentioned, we should try to avoid them.
Don’t confuse eye screenings for doctors exams
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People tend to assume that because they can get their driving license or since their children assed the school eye screening, that everything is perfect. But just like merely not noticing yourself that the vision is getting worse, these tests are not enough. They are simply not done by medical professionals, so they are suitable for making a judgment do we need glasses or not, but that is about it. Therefore, if anyone wants to make sure that everything is alright with their eyes and their general health, they need to make sure that they are visiting ophthalmologists.
As we have seen, they are a lot of severe problems that could lurk in your eyes, just out of your sight. But we didn’t intend to scare you. The medical language just does that to everyone. But in the end, it is easy to summarize all of it. Make sure to see your ophthalmologist regularly. We can simply leave all of those problems to them, and all we have to do is find time to go for a visit. After all, this is for the well-being of you and all of your loved ones.
