Did you know that only around one in three of us has 20/20 vision without glasses or contact lenses?
If you don’t have perfect vision, the right contact lenses or prescription eyeglasses can fix that for you.
Many of us will visit the eye doctor if we notice our eyesight is changing, but it’s important to schedule an annual eye checkup, well, to keep an eye on things.
Read on to learn some of the most important reasons to get your yearly eye exam.
1. Keep Prescription Up-to-Date
If you already use prescription lenses or glasses, then your yearly eye exam is an effective way to ensure that your prescription hasn’t changed.
Many things affect our vision, including age. It’s highly likely that your prescription will change over time, and you may end up finding that your glasses or contact lenses are no longer as effective as they used to be.
An eye doctor will check your eyes against your current prescription to ensure that it is still the right choice for you. You may not have even noticed the deterioration in your vision until you try your updated prescription.
2. Detect Glaucoma
An eye exam isn’t just intended to test the quality of your eyesight. It’s also examining your eye health.
Glaucoma is one of the most common eye diseases that there is. It’s caused by a build up of fluid at the front of the eye, and it can lead to a loss of vision if it’s not detected and treated early.
The trouble is that glaucoma is something that’s not easy to detect yourself. It can be the case that by the time people discover their glaucoma, there has already been some vision loss.
That’s why an annual eye checkup is so important. An eye doctor can spot the early signs of glaucoma before they have caused any permanent damage.
3. Catch Eye Other Conditions Early
Glaucoma isn’t the only eye health issue that can be caught by your eye doctor.
As with glaucoma, the earlier that you can catch any eye condition, the more chance you have of treating that condition before it causes too much damage. This is particularly important if there is a history of eye disease in your family, but not all conditions are hereditary.
To keep your eyes safe and healthy, you should get them checked every year.
4. Detect Other Health Issues
Did you know that your eye checkup can also spot signs of other diseases that aren’t directly related to the eyes?
For example, an eye doctor can spot damage to the retina which may be an indication of underlying diabetes. Left untreated, diabetes can lead to partial vision loss or even blindness. Your eye doctor may be able to discover your diabetes before you are even aware of the condition.
Other health conditions that could be spotted by your eye doctor include:
- heart disease
- high blood pressure
- cancer
- multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- thyroid problems
- brain tumors
- high cholesterol
- Lyme disease
- aneurysm
5. Succeed in School
Annual eye exams are equally important for children as they are for adults.
Good eyesight is vital in order to perform to your best at school. Poor vision can have a significant negative impact on learning, and many children may not even realize that they have issues with their vision.
It’s important for your child to get their vision checked every year to give them the best chance of success in their academic life.
6. Update to the Latest Options
Did you know that we’ve been using lenses to improve our vision since the 13th century?
Obviously, eyewear technology has developed enormously since that time, and it’s still developing to this day. New technology in prescription eyewear is being introduced all the time. Unless you’re an eye professional, you may not be aware of these developments.
Your eye doctor is an eye professional, however, and they will be up-to-date with all the latest developments. They will be able to recommend the best options for your personal situation, which may have changed significantly since your last eye appointment.
If you’re not visiting the eye doctor regularly, you’ll carry on with the same glasses or contact lenses when there may be a better option available to you.
7. Keeping You Safe
Having clear vision is important to keep you and others safe.
If you drive, then you need to be able to see any potential hazards as early as possible. If your eyesight deteriorates, your ability to react to hazards is reduced, putting yourself, your passengers, and other roads users at risk. You may not feel like your sight has changed much, but if you visit an eye doctor, you may be surprised by how much a new prescription can improve things.
Good vision isn’t just important when you’re driving. If your eyesight is impaired, it puts you at greater risk in all aspects of your life. You may not see a potential trip hazard, for example, which can lead to serious injury.
Since eyesight deterioration happens over time, you may be unaware of exactly how bad your eyes have got. That’s why annual eye checkups are vital.
Are You Ready for Your Yearly Eye Exam?
If it’s time for your yearly eye exam, then we’re here to help.
We’re Idaho and Utah’s premier eye care clinic, with offices in Layton, Nampa, Logan, Boise, Pocatello, Spring Falls, Ogden, Orem, and Idaho Falls. We perform professional eye exams for both contact lenses and glasses. Our services also include medical eye exams for glaucoma, diabetes, many other eye conditions. You can also buy your glasses and contact lenses directly from us.
Schedule your appointment with us today.
