Preserving your eyesight is as important as protecting your health. Getting your eyes tested by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist every year provides many benefits and can keep your eyes healthy for many years. The importance of an eye test at the beginning of the year and its effects on your vision and overall health are as follows:

Prevention and Protection

More than 50 percent of vision loss is preventable, so an eye test can help prevent or limit the damage caused by certain eye conditions. Annual exams help detect vision problems and keep your eyes protected. Changes in vision are a common feature of aging. However, if they are not properly monitored with an annual eye exam, vision fluctuations can affect your eye health.

Inspection for Eye Diseases

During professional eye exams, your eye doctor tests more than just your vision. These evaluations include detailed assessments and various tests. Signs of eye diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are carefully checked. Exams also check for conditions such as dry eyes and color blindness. Common tests include assessing eye movement, visual depth perception, sharpness, and looking at the internal structure of your eye with pupil dilation. Certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma, have little to no initial symptoms that make the condition appear without warning. If not treated immediately, glaucoma can lead to blindness. The test for glaucoma is carried out by investigating eye pressure, determining the health of the optic nerve using an OCT scan, and the condition of the cornea. These are things that only a trained optometrist/ophthalmologist can examine.

Identifying overall Health Concerns

Optometrists/Ophthalmologists can use your annual eye tests to determine your overall health. Detailed evaluations of the blood vessels within the eye can help detect significant health problems, including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, autoimmune diseases, and tumors, etc.

1. Diabetes: Diabetic eye diseases are diagnosed by looking at the blood vessels in the retina of the eyes when blood or yellow fluid leaks.
2. Hypertension: Tears in your eye’s blood vessels can identify high blood pressure.

• Autoimmune diseases: Eye inflammation can be a sign of certain autoimmune diseases such as lupus or ankylosing spondylitis.

1. High cholesterol: A yellowish tint or ring around your cornea could mean high cholesterol.
2. Thyroid disease: Graves’ disease or protruding eyes are often a sign of thyroid problems.
3. Cancer and Tumors: Abnormal eye structure is often a sign of eye cancer, and close examination of the eyelids also can help detect skin cancer. Irregularly shaped pupils or drooping eyelids can mean a neck tumor or aneurysm.

Awareness of Changes in your Prescription

The slight changes in your vision can affect your prescription. Through annual visual inspections, you can ensure that your prescription is always up to date.  An outdated prescription usually increases the strain on your eyes. This can lead to other problems such as headaches, neck strain, photosensitivity, and dry eyes.

Annual Eye Tests for All Ages

Eye Tests at the start of the year are important for individuals of all ages. In fact, children should have their vision tested by an optometrist/ophthalmologist beginning at the age of six months. The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends a comprehensive eye exam every two years for adults ages 18 to 60, and annual exams for people age 61 and older. However, if you have got a family history of eye conditions (glaucoma, macular degeneration, etc.), diabetes, high blood pressure, or have had an ocular injury or surgery, you should go for a comprehensive exam every year. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, you will need to have your eyes tested annually. If you’re one of the few people who don’t need prescription glasses or lenses, you can have a routine vision exam every two years. However, it is not recommended that you go longer, as professional reviews are necessary to protect your eyesight and overall health. If you notice problems with your eyes, make an appointment with your optometrist/ophthalmologist as soon as possible to keep your eyes healthy.