Doctors would recommend that you visit your ophthalmologist regularly. Your age and conditions would dictate how often you should get your eyes checked. People in their 20s-30s should get checked every 5-10 years; 2-4 years for those ages 40-54; and 1-3 years for people age 55 and above. But ideally, it would be good to see your eye doctor annually.
You might be thinking that you don’t experience any problems with your eyesight or vision. But even so, you have to make it a point to get regular eye checkups. Some diseases and eye problems cannot be noticed without eye exams.
Here are the reasons why you need to see your ophthalmologist regularly.
You need to maintain a clear vision
A clear vision helps you in all aspects of your life. Whether you’re working or merely taking a walk, you need to be able to see clearly to prevent accidents and to help you find your way. You might not notice it, but there’s a tendency for your eyesight to change now and then.
To prevent further impairments in vision, make sure you regularly get your eyes checked. Doing this will help you treat poor vision with glasses. Corrective lenses can still restore your vision to the ideal grade. If it’s too late, you might lose your clear eyesight permanently.
Eye problems are prevalent
The risk of having eye problems are very prevalent. The most common, especially in children, is myopia or nearsightedness. People with myopia tend to have difficulty seeing objects that are too far in sight. They need to be at a close distance to be visible.
This eye problem occurs in an alarming number of people over the world. That’s why you need to go see your eye doctor to check if you have it. Otherwise, you’ll be running the risk of developing more serious ocular disorders. An ophthalmologist can recommend ways to correct your vision and prevent future problems.
Regular eye checkups can detect illnesses
You might think that eye checkups are for the sole purpose of checking whether you have impaired vision. But that’s not true. There’s a saying that goes “the eyes are the windows to the soul.” And true enough, there are studies and scientific facts that can back this up.
A lot of people first learn that they have diseases and sicknesses such as cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes, among others from their eye exams.
Going to your ophthalmologist regularly and undergoing an eye exam can be your key to finding out if you have any serious health conditions.
Some eye problems have no symptoms
Eye diseases and disorders are very sneaky. Often, you don’t even know you have them because of the absence of symptoms. And if that’s the case, the only way to find out is through an eye exam.
Sicknesses like glaucoma, for example, are very serious yet difficult to detect without an eye checkup. Many people fail to detect that they have glaucoma until the problem has become too serious and cannot be treated. It is a condition that can cause permanent blindness if surgical treatment for glaucoma is not done immediately. Visiting your eye doctor regularly will help you detect the presence of this eye problem and address it before it’s too late.
Eye checkups are essential. Just like how you should go to your dentist now and then, you should also make it a point to see your ophthalmologist. Otherwise, you’re running the risk of developing serious health conditions.
