Science and Miracles

• 7 Important Reasons To Call Your Optometrist Today

Booking an appointment to see your Optometrist is one of those things you don’t normally think about too often. For most people it’s not that much of a priority.

But below are 7 important reasons why you should start thinking about booking your next eye test . . . today!

A professional eye test from a reputable, ethical, qualified Optometrist involves much more than just seeing letters on a chart! Not everyone may need to wear spectacles to read, or to see in the distance.

And if you already wear spectacles, you may not need to have your prescription changed each time you have your eyes tested.

So why go for an eye test?

Quite simple. You DO need to have a regular annual eye examination to make sure your eyes remain healthy.

Not everyone may need to have a tooth filled or a filling redone every time they visit their dentist. Yet most people go to their dentist for a check-up at least once a year – or even every six months – to make sure their teeth stay healthy.

Why?
Because we all know what agony a toothache can bring and we’ll visit the dentist regularly to make sure we don’t go through that pain.

Not so with your eyes.
Most people are completely unaware that, compared to the rest of your body – your teeth for instance – there are very few nerves or pain centres that go to your eyes.

This fact is crucial, because it means there are many sight-threatening diseases that are completely painless! There’s no way you would ever know they are there, except through a professional eye test.

But think about this . . . if you lose a tooth, or even if you lose all your teeth and end up using false teeth, you can still lead a normal life. You can carry on doing your job. You can drive. You can continue to enjoy movies, TV and your favourite sports or hobbies. You can even continue to eat your favourite foods!

However . . . if you lose your eyesight . . . then what?
Quite simply . . . your life will never be the same again.

Age is not a factor either. This can apply to young and old.
Just because you may have 6/6 (20/20) vision today, doesn’t mean you will next year. And we now know all those long hours of staring at a computer screen can take a serious toll on your eyes – whether you’re 18, 38 or 68!

It is vital you don’t wait until it’s too late to do anything
As with all disease, the sooner one can identify an eye disease and put a programme of treatment in place, the more one can do to cure it. The longer it goes untreated, the less can be done and the longer it takes to solve the problem

Here are only 7 reasons of many why you should call your Optometrist to book your eye test today:

1. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) – If you work on a computer and spend two or more hours each day staring at your screen, you are at risk for CVS – which stands for Computer Vision Syndrome. This is caused by being exposed to the UV rays coming from your monitor and causes headaches, focusing difficulties, itching or burning eyes, tired eyes, eyestrain, aching eyes, dry eyes, double vision, blurred vision, light sensitivity and neck and shoulder pain. This can easily be prevented with eyeglasses with a UV400 screen built in, made especially for computer users even if you don’t need a prescription.

CVS has been officially declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the number one cause of sickness in the workplace. And students who spend two or more hours a day in front of a computer – whether they are studying or playing games – are equally at risk.

2. Health Issues – You should visit your eye doctor on a regular basis to have your eyesight checked on. Not only do you want to see clearly but it can also improve other health issues you may not be aware of. Many people suffer from daily headaches or fatigue because of a slight over or under correction of their eye prescription.

3. Discover Eye Disease In Time – Do you know there are a number of serious eye diseases, which are completely painless and have no visible symptoms? Like glaucoma. For years, eye doctors have referred to it as “the sneak thief of sight” since it comes on slowly, steals your vision and can cause total blindness. Then there are cataracts, detached retina and macular degeneration, which also develop gradually and painlessly. You don’t realize something is wrong until your vision has noticeably decreased. It’s only through early detection from your Optometrist that these and other eye diseases can be prevented.

4. Diagnose Developmental Issues In Children – Certain learning and reading difficulties (such as dyslexia and ADD) can stem from uncorrected vision problems in children. They can also cause amblyopia (lazy eye) or strabismus (eye turn) that can lead to permanent loss of vision if not treated.

5. Find Hidden Diseases – Many doctors firmly believe that our eyes are the windows to our bodies. Dilated pupils, for example can tell a doctor of the presence of undiagnosed hypertension, multiple sclerosis, strokes, kidney problems, diabetes or brain tumours.

6. Competition is pretty tough out there in the workplace. And the recession doesn’t help much either. The last thing you need is to be singled out at work because you can’t see what you’re doing clearly enough.

7. Stay Fashionable – Eyeglass fashion and frames are always changing towards new trends, new fashion and new styles. You definitely don’t want to be wearing out-dated glasses that make you look boring and old fashioned. The technology used to make glass and plastic lenses is constantly improving towards thinner, lighter and stronger lenses.