How Important Is Routine Eye Care?

Is it necessary to get your eyes checked regularly?

Yes, it is vital to include eye care in your general health care routine. If your eyes work fine, it is easy to disregard routine eye care, but it remains crucial. Eye doctors recommend getting eye exams every year, whether you have poor eyesight or not.

Routine eye care is critical to catch eye health issues before symptoms become noticeable. Your eye doctor can also detect other health problems early on. If you are counting years since you last saw your eye doctor or have never visited one, you may need to schedule an appointment now.

Here is why.

To Prevent Vision Damage and Loss

Over 50 percent of vision loss is avoidable. Regular eye checkups can help prevent or reduce the damage caused by refractive errors and other eye problems. For instance, having decreased or poor eyesight can put you at risk of physical injuries from stumbling or falling. Likewise, correcting and improving the clarity of your vision can boost the quality of your everyday life.

To Preserve Your Overall Eye Health

Routine eye care can help diagnose eye diseases, such as:

• Cataracts: Cataracts are the clouding of the eye lens that causes poor vision. They usually advance slowly and can upset both eyes. Cataracts are the primary cause of vision loss globally. Routine eye care can help catch cataracts in their early stage.

• Glaucoma: Glaucoma is an eye condition that injures the eye's optic nerve, which is crucial for sight. The illness causes pressure in the eyes to build up, causing damage. Glaucoma has no observable symptoms in its initial stages, but vision loss happens gradually. Regular eye care can help diagnose glaucoma early before it causes considerable damage.

• Macular degeneration: Macular degeneration is a condition that deteriorates the macula and is the leading cause of blindness in people over 50 years old. The macula is the central part of your eyes that controls how sharply you see objects. With macular degeneration, you may have trouble performing ordinary tasks, like recognizing faces, driving, reading, and cooking.

• Diabetic retinopathy: Uncontrolled diabetes can damage your retina, causing diabetic retinopathy. If undetected, diabetic retinopathy can also cause blindness, yet it is among the most preventable sources of vision loss.

Early diagnosis and treatment of these eye illnesses is crucial. Routine eye care can help catch these eye conditions while they are still treatable, ultimately preventing vision loss.

To Stay in Good Physical Shape

An eye doctor may also be able to catch symptoms of broader health concerns that manifest in the eyes. Examples of such health concerns include health conditions such as:

• Diabetes

• High blood pressure

• High cholesterol

• Heart disease

• Brain tumor

• Skin cancer

Your eyes can tell you a lot about your general body health. Changes in your eyesight and structures can signal problems with your overall health. Please remember that telltale signs in your eyes do not guarantee that you have a health issue. Whenever your eye checkups expose possible health issues, your eye doctor will recommend a further assessment by your medical doctor or specialist.

For more information, visit Grove Eye Care at an office in Virginia. For Midlothian call (804) 888-8988, Richmond (804) 353-3937.