Did you schedule your optometry visit for this year?
Research reveals that 10% of Americans forgo their annual eye exam. If you fall into this statistic, change your priorities.
Failing to take care of your eyes can severely impact your life. Keep reading to learn why it’s imperative to see your optometrist annually.
Early Detection and Treatment
When you see your eye doctor for your annual visit, they complete a comprehensive eye exam. They begin by getting your family history to gain awareness of potential risk factors.
The optometrist carefully screens your eyesight to check all aspects of the visual field. This checks your depth perception, peripheral vision, color vision, and response to light.
This exam can catch problems early on. By doing so, they can prevent your eyesight from deteriorating.
If the doctor finds a problem with your vision, they can often help correct it. They will use an autorefractor to determine what lenses you need in your glasses to see better.
You will often receive your glasses within a week following your visit. They may also send you home with additional ear & eye care products. Your optometrist may also give you options for corrective surgeries.
Quality of Life
Humans use sight more than any of the other five senses. Vision dominates our cognition.
This sense forms about 80-85% of our perception of the world around us. Without it, you would literally be in the dark.
Losing one’s eyesight due to poor eye care creates a big impact on a person’s life. It takes away autonomy in very big ways.
As vision goes, so does the ability to drive and engage in other activities that require a good eye. It also revokes the privilege of simply enjoying the beauty around you.
Poor eyesight steals the ability to see things like sunsets, art, and the faces of your loved ones. Even small vision changes can negatively affect your life.
Struggling to see often causes headaches. That alone makes skipping your annual optometry appointment seem senseless.
Overall Health
Many eye diseases do not present symptoms until the later stages. This means that you can feel good and see fine until something becomes very wrong.
Letting eye disease go will impact the health of your eyes and therefore your vision. Certain diseases of the eyes, like cancer, can also affect your general health when let go.
By looking at your eyes, an optometrist can also help detect diseases that affect your eyes secondarily, like diabetes. Early detection allows you to work with your primary doctor on managing the disease.
Decreased Risk of Mortality
Did you know that seeing your optometrist annually can help you live longer? Researchers found that severe vision impairment increases your risk of mortality to 89%, compared to individuals with perfect vision.
Even people with slight vision impairment are 29% more likely to die early compared to their counterparts with a 20-20 visual field. More research is needed to understand why poor vision increases your risk of mortality. But, knowing that it does should prompt you to schedule your annual visit.
Keep an Eye on Your Health
Pay attention to all aspects of your health. This means scheduling your optometry visit every year!
Your eyes are too important to ignore. They affect more than just your vision when you don’t take care of them.
We want all of our readers to live their best life! Learn more wellness tips on our health page!
