Eye Exams Are Important: Here's Why and How You Can Get Your Eyes Checked

Introduction

If you have ever had to squint to read a text message, then you know that your eyesight can be affected by age or poor health.

Eye exams are important for keeping track of your vision and detecting potential eye problems before they become more serious.

Do you really need an eye exam?

You don't need to see an eye doctor every year, but it's important to schedule regular appointments as recommended by your optometrist. The time between exams varies depending on your age and risk factors. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol—or if you're at risk for any of these conditions—you should see an eye doctor once a year.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology has a chart that details how often you should get your eyes checked based on your age and whether or not you have any health issues that could affect vision:

How often should you have your eyes checked?

If you wear contact lenses, you should have your eyes checked every year.

If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, optometrists recommend that you visit the eye doctor even more frequently—usually at least once every six months.

Children under the age of 19 are covered by OHIP in Ontario every 12 months.

Adults should have their eyes checked once every two years.

What else do I need to know about eye exams?

• Eye exams are important for your health and safety.

• Even if you have insurance, an eye exam may not be covered by your plan. Contact your insurance provider to find out how much of the cost of an eye exam is covered by your policy or if there are any restrictions on benefits related to vision care services.

• Eye exams also help detect eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy so that they can be treated before they cause permanent damage to your eyesight.

• Regular eye exams are important for maintaining overall health. Your optometrist can detect more than just vision problems. Some diseases that affect the retina, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), present no early symptoms. When left undetected and untreated, AMD can lead to severe visual impairment or even blindness.

With the right lenses and frames, you can look great and feel confident. But if your vision is blurry, or if your eyesight has changed since your last eye exam, then it might be time to get an updated prescription. As part of a regular checkup (not just for glasses), an eye doctor will use different tools to evaluate how well you're seeing objects at various distances. This will help identify any problems in each eye that can affect depth perception and lead to accidents.

How to book your eye exam

Contact us online at www.uvcentre.ca or give us a call at 905-662-4000

Conclusion

We hope this post has helped you understand why an eye exam is important and how to schedule one. If you have any other questions about eye exams or eyewear, please contact us!