It’s the new year, and if you’re like most people, health and wellness are top of mind. But unless you wear glasses or contacts, you may not think you need an annual eye exam. In fact, 55% of Americans don’t get their eyes checked regularly.
Eye problems can impact you at any time. In fact, a shocking two-thirds of adults experience problems with their eyes every year. Routine eye exams detect eye diseases before they cause vision-changing symptoms or vision loss.
What’s more? Your annual eye exam can reveal different health conditions before you develop other, more troublesome, symptoms. At Advanced Lasik, Randa Garrana, MD and our entire care team help patients experience the best vision and eye health possible.
Dr. Garrana provides customized, compassionate care to patients in New York and California. From general eye exams to complex ophthalmologic concerns we treat a variety of conditions. Our team will help you understand the importance of annual eye exams.
For your best eye health, we’ve curated this useful guide. Keep reading to learn why having your eyes checked should be one of your New Year’s resolutions.
You may think your vision hasn’t changed in years, but changes in how we see usually happen gradually. As your eyesight changes over time, you don’t notice the progressive deterioration.
At Advanced Lasik, Dr. Garrana provides comprehensive general eye exams designed to evaluate all aspects of your vision. For example, refraction testing can reveal astigmatism, which causes blurred vision and other common changes. For example, age-related presbyopia, which makes it hard to see things up close.
After a comprehensive eye exam, many of our patients are shocked to learn just how much their eyesight has changed over the years.
Many serious eye diseases creep in silently, without early symptoms. The result? They aren’t detected until you’ve already experienced a significant decline in eye health or irreversible vision loss. Routine eye exams are key in the early detection of these diseases.
When you’re younger, annual eye exams provide a good baseline of your eye health. As you get older, regular eye exams become more critical since the risk of developing conditions like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and cataracts increases. Diagnosing eye disease early prevents their progression and can hopefully save your vision.
Whether it’s a laptop, television, smartphone, or tablet, the average American spends more than 11 hours each day with their eyes glued to a screen. All of this screen time has led to the majority of adults experiencing digital eye strain each year.
When you stare at a screen for significant periods of time, your eyes become trained to blink less frequently — even when you’re no longer looking at a screen. This causes red, dry eyes, blurry vision, headaches, and even neck strain.
A general eye exam provides an opportunity to discuss any symptoms of digital eye strain and ways to treat those symptoms. And while digital eye strain resolves in most cases, for some people, underlying problems can exacerbate the condition. Dr. Garrana checks for these during your eye exam so you can regain optimal vision.
You may not know it, but your eye health can reveal quite a bit about your overall wellness. For example, a chronic red eye is linked to lupus. Not to mention, eye discomfort and double vision have been linked to several autoimmune diseases.
A comprehensive, general eye exam often detects early warning signs of other health conditions. Medical eye doctors, like Dr. Garrana, have extensive training to help spot ocular signs of chronic disease to help maintain your health.
Regular eye exams allow Dr. Garrana to correct or adapt any recent vision changes. These visits also give you time to discuss tips on caring for your eyes to ensure your optimal eye health. If you’re ready to schedule your annual eye exam, contact Advanced Lasik today.
