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An Hour of Time is a Small Price to Pay
Tens of millions of Americans are too busy to realize they have uncorrected vision problems.
This can lead to worsening eyesight and, possibly, blindness. For children, undetected vision problems can lead to difficulties in school.
The sooner problems are diagnosed, the better the chances for successful treatment.
Regular eye exams are the best way to ensure healthy vision now and throughout your lifetime.
Vision problems are more likely to be detected early when you get regular eye exams.
Early detection helps to avoid costly treatments later on.
When you"Check Yearly", chances are much better that you and your family will "See Clearly" for life.
Take the One Minute Sight Saver Test
Your eyes are Windows to Your Health
During an eye exam, your eye care professional can sometimes detect the early signs of a serious health problem such as diabetes or hypertension.
Early diagnosis can make a big difference in treating these conditions.
Check Yearly. See Clearly
Still not sure you need an eye exam? Close your eyes and imagine what it's like not to see.
Then open them and schedule appointments for yourself and every member of your family.
After all, an hour of time is a small price to pay for healthy vision.
Learn
more about...
Hyperopia
Hyperopia
or farsightedness is a type of focusing problem in which the
eye has insufficient refracting power. INdividuals with hyperopia
typically find it easier to see distant objects than it is
to see near objects. This is commonly due to the eye being
too short in length, or the cornea being too flat. IN the
hyperopic eye, light that enters the eye comes to focus behind
the retina. For clear vision, light must be focused precisely
on the retina, so for hyperopic eyes, convex lenses are used
to add the extra convergence necessary to focus light on the
retina.
Myopia
Myopia usually appears before the age of 20.
It is generally considered a hereditary condition, but there is some evidence that eyestrain may exacerbate the problem.
In myopia, or nearsightedness, the eyeball is elongated and the cornea cannot properly focus the light coming into the eye.
This affects distance vision, which is important for driving. Myopia may also distort the picture on a movie screen or the numbers on a clock.
In mild cases of myopia, the patient may need correction for only some activities, such as driving.
In this situation, prescription glasses or sunglasses are usually the best and most convenient solution.
When the problem is more serious and correction is needed most of the waking hours, many patients choose contact lenses.
When myopia affects vision to the extent that the patient is reaching for glasses on the nightstand each morning, some type of permanent surgical correction may be considered.
Symptoms of myopia include needing to squint to make out distant objects, headaches, feelings of fatigue or eyestrain.
Patients who continue to have these symptoms even when they're using prescription products to correct their myopia may need further correction.
A complete vision and eye-health examination is necessary to diagnose myopia and determine the best course of treatment.
Often, a myopic patient doesn't realize that he or she is having a vision field problem because the nearsightedness affects the eyes so gradually.
That's why having regular eye exams based on a professionally recommended schedule is so crucial.
Astigmatism
Astigmatism
is a refractive error where the focusing power is no uniform
in all directions. This results in a range of focal points
of the light entering the eye. Astigmatism can cause blurred
and/or strained vision for both distant or near tasks. Since
the ideal is a single focal point at the retina, people with
astigmatism are corrected with toric lenses designed to create
a point focus. Astigmatism is a common condition and it is
often found in association with myopia or hyperopia.
Presbyopia
Presbyopia
is a visual condition that usually occurs as individuals enter
their 40s. This focusing problem occurs because the crystalline
lens of the eye gradually becomes less flexible as it ages.
The crystalline lens provides variable focusing by changing
tis shape. A reduction of flexibility results in a lessened
ability to adjust the focus of the eye, and increases in strain
and fatigue with reading and other near tasks. Presbyopia
occurs because of normal growth, it affects nearly everyone
over the age of 45. Proper correction for Presbyopia include
convex lenses and bifocals.
Strabismus
Strabismus
is a misalignment of the two eyes. It is the abnormal turning
of one eye either inward or outward. If the turning is inward,
the condition is called esotropia, if the turning is outward,
it is called exotropia. Strabismus occurs in 2-3% of the population.
Strabismus may be managed by some combination of spectacle
lenses, surgery, and orthoptics.
Amblyopia
Amblyopia
or "lazy eye" is a condition where an apparently
healthy eye is not capable of seeing as clearly as its fellow
eye. This condition occurs at an early age in an individual
who because of Strabismus or unequal refractive error who
is unable to use the two eyes together. During the "critical
period", a time when the neurological pathways are developing,
if the eyes are not used together, then the amblyopia
can develop. Treatment of amblyopia requires some combination
of spectacles, patching, and orthoptics, that is initiated
at an early age, typically before seven.
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