Regular Eye Exam

Written by Abhishek & Moderated by Dr Anuradha Totey

Whether you wear corrective lenses or not, regular eye examinations are critical for maintaining good eye health!

Regular eye and vision examinations are an important part of preventive eye care. An eye examination helps detect eye problems at their earliest stage when they were most treatable. Many eye and vision issues have no obvious signs or symptoms, so you probably won't have a clue about a problem's existence. Early diagnosis and treatment of eye and vision issues can help prevent vision loss.

For both adults and children, eye examinations are an important part of their general health maintenance and assessment. Eyes should be checked consistently to ensure that you can see as best as possible. And regular eye exams also give your eye care professional a chance to help you correct or adapt to vision changes and provide you with tips on caring for your eyes.

How often should you get your eyes examined?

It's never too soon to plan an eye test. Eye tests are suggested at a half year, 3 years and before first grade. These initial steps are taken at an early age help ensure a child's vision is developing normally heading into her/ his school years and imprints the importance of eye health and eye examination at a young age. After that, yearly eye exams are recommended.,

The risk of eye diseases increases after the age of 40, making regular eye exams even more important for older patients. therefore, should be scheduled at:

• The age of half-year

• At the age of 3 years

• Age 5year - 6year:- before joining the school and after that every two years

• Age 18 to 40:- every two years

• Age 41 and older:- every year

Eye tests can be required more frequently if vision problems are present.

This may include;

• People having glasses or contact lenses

• Family history of eye disorders- like Glaucoma

• People suffering from systemic diseases which may affect the vision

• People taking medication which may affect the eyes

• Previous eye injury or eye surgery

• People suffering from diabetes

Vision Screening -vs- Eye Exam

The difference between the two is that an eye examination actually diagnoses visual health issues and ocular conditions in a way that a vision screening just can't, simply because there’s a difference in equipment and in the depth of the examination.

Did you know that many people first learn they have serious health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, autoimmune disease and even cancer from a routine eye exam?

Comprehensive eye examinations are performed by ophthalmologists and optometrists and include a vision screening in addition to a series of tests to evaluate the health of your eyes. During an examination, each eye is examined for indications of serious eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and detached retinas, among other conditions. Receiving regular eye examinations regardless of vision can help detect serious eye problems at the earliest stage when they are most treatable.