If you have stable vision, you might not understand the importance of having a routine eye exam. Did you know that regular comprehensive eye exams are just as important as regular dental visits and annual physical exams? Skipping a visit could lead to serious consequences for your eyes and vision.
At Advanced Lasik in Long Beach, California, Randa Garrana, MD, and our team perform comprehensive eye exams using state-of-the-art technology to evaluate your vision and your eye health. Most of our exams only take about an hour, and they’re completely painless and noninvasive.
If you’re due for an eye exam, here are four important reasons why you shouldn't skip your appointment.
Whether you use corrective lenses or not, regular eye exams are the best way to make sure your vision stays clear.
In the United States, roughly 75% of adults and 24% of kids wear glasses or contacts. If you’re one of them, regular visits ensure your prescription remains up-to-date to help you see well at work, or during school, or when you’re behind the wheel. They can also help you avoid eye strain that can cause chronic headaches.
Even if you don’t wear lenses now, your vision can change a lot as you get older. Having regular eye exams can identify subtle changes in vision that could mean it’s time for glasses, contacts, or laser surgery.
One of the most important reasons to have regular eye exams is to identify subtle symptoms that could be signs of a developing eye disease or vision problem. Many eye problems cause very subtle symptoms in their early stages — some so subtly, they can only be seen during a dilated eye exam.
Without regular eye exams, many people don’t even realize they have an eye problem until they develop vision loss. During your regular comprehensive eye exams, we use special techniques to evaluate your vision and examine every part of your eye.
If you’ve already been diagnosed with an eye disease, regular visits are important for making sure your condition doesn’t get worse. In fact, some vision problems require more frequent eye exams to closely monitor your eye health.
Many systemic diseases affect your eyes, too. That includes common diseases, like high blood pressure, diabetes, and thyroid disease.
All these diseases can cause subtle changes in your eyes that we can identify early — sometimes even before you’ve been diagnosed with the disease. In this way, regular eye exams can act as a disease-screening tool to help you get medical treatment early.
If you already have one of these diseases, regular eye exams allow us to monitor changes in your eye health or vision so we can give you treatment early.
Kids routinely have vision screenings in school to check for serious problems with their vision, and some workplaces offer them, too. Maybe you’ve had a vision screening during your last physical exam using the familiar eye chart.
While these screenings may identify significant changes in vision, they’re not intended to provide a complete picture of your vision or your eye health. You still need to have regular eye exams with Dr, Garrana to make sure your eyes stay healthy.
Your vision has a direct impact on your quality of life. Routine eye exams help preserve your clear vision and healthy eyes throughout your lifetime. To schedule your exam at Advanced Lasik, call our friendly office staff or book an appointment online today.
