Receiving an annual comprehensive eye exam from your Round Rock optometrist is essential. Unfortunately, many people wrongfully assume that if they see clearly that they don’t have vision issues. This assumption leads to not scheduling regular eye exams.
It’s tempting only to schedule an appointment with your Round Rock optometrist when you need a new pair of glasses or contact lenses. However, several eye conditions have symptoms that remain undetected in their early stages. To detect these symptoms, a comprehensive eye exam is crucial.
At Clearly Eyecare, LLC, we stand firmly behind the importance of comprehensive eye exams. We’ll explore five reasons why comprehensive eye exams are essential.
1. They Help Children Succeed in and Outside the Classroom
Children getting ready to start or return to school should see a qualified Round Rock optometrist. If your family has a history of myopia or any other eye problems, then proper vision care is even more essential.
Around 80% of what kids learn in and outside their classrooms requires excellent vision. Not being able to correctly see notes written on the board greatly impacts a child’s education and future.
Unfortunately, many vision problems in children go untreated simply because they have yet to receive a comprehensive eye exam. A pediatrician can check the general health of your child’s eyes, but a specialist can catch vision problems that are more complex to detect.
2. Cases of Myopia Are Increasing
Cases of myopia, or nearsightedness, are increasing, especially among children. Myopia is a considerable concern for children as they’ll continue to experience worsening progression throughout their childhood. Besides affecting their everyday routine, myopia can also lead to worse problems such as:
- Glaucoma
- Cataracts
- Retinal detachment
Catching myopia early on can help mitigate its progression, symptoms, and the development of worse eye conditions. However, catching the risk of myopia will require an annual visit with your Rock Round optometrist.
3. There’s a Huge Difference Between Eye Exams and Vision Screenings
You usually undergo a vision screening when you receive a physical or renew your driver’s license. In a vision screening, you read out loud some letters on a Snellen chart while covering one of your eyes.
While this test can determine how clearly and far away you can see, it’s far from comprehensive. As a result, many patients will get a perfect 20-20 score, leading them to believe that their vision is fine or they don’t need to update their prescription.
What this test can’t do, however, is detect if you have any eye diseases or other vision issues. In fact, patients who receive a poor result from this test often receive instructions to visit an eye doctor.
4. Eye Issues Are Sometimes Linked to Other Health Problems
Besides poor vision making it harder to drive or see objects from far away, eye problems sometimes link to other health problems. For example, the leading factor that causes blindness is diabetes.
Undiagnosed or unmitigated diabetes can spike your sugar levels and create blurry vision. Diabetes can also make it hard to see at night, making driving and other activities dangerous.
Doctors will sometimes refer you to a specialist who can test for diabetes. They’ll do this when they see nothing physically wrong with your eyes.
Other health problems linked to poor vision include:
- High cholesterol
- Sleep apnea
- Cat scratch fever
- Lupus
- Migraines
- Psoriasis
- Lyme disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- An increased risk of having a stroke
A regular eye exam will help detect these issues early on and pave the way for you to receive the treatment you need. In addition, if your qualified Rock Round optometrist detects other health problems such as diabetes, they will refer you to a specialist.
5. Undetected Vision Problems Increase Accident Risks
An undetected vision problem may lead to accidents in your everyday life. For example, having an issue with your peripheral vision increases the risk of falling. Meanwhile, refraction errors or eye conditions like glaucoma makes driving a considerable risk.
Unfortunately, regular vision screenings don’t detect issues like glaucoma, and even someone who hasn’t worn glasses or contact lenses their entire life may not realize they’re experiencing vision issues.
Children and adults alike should receive a comprehensive eye exam once a year. Doing so can prevent or catch certain eye diseases and conditions.
What Tests Does a Comprehensive Eye Exam Include?
During a comprehensive eye exam, your Rock Round optometrist may perform some of the following tests:
- A visual acuity test: This is the test performed in most physicals and when renewing your driver’s license. This test determines your vision’s sharpness.
- A cover eye test: This test determines if a patient has any ocular deviation. In other words, this test measures your eye alignment and determines how well your eyes work together. You cover one eye while the other focuses on a point of interest.
- A glaucoma test: Unfortunately, glaucoma is often a challenging eye disease to detect, and many patients don’t realize they have it. When left untreated, glaucoma may lead to blindness. General vision screenings can’t detect glaucoma, but a specialized glaucoma test can.
- A slit lamp exam: A slit lamp exam examines your eyes’ structure. Using this test, vision care doctors can detect various eye conditions and linked health problems such as cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and corneal ulcers.
- A pupil dilation exam: This exam allows your eye care doctor to examine your eyes thoroughly. This exam purposely enlarges a patient’s pupil so a doctor may examine their retina and optic nerve. This test can detect early warning signs of certain eye diseases.
Let Clearly Eyecare, LLC Help Improve Your Vision Today
While a general vision screening can help determine if a patient needs vision care, such as upgrading their prescription, it’s no substitute for a comprehensive eye exam. A comprehensive eye exam detects early warning signs of certain eye diseases or conditions.
At Clearly Eyecare, LLC, our qualified optometrist will administer various eye tests that can detect problems like cataracts and glaucoma.
Call us today at 512-243-7519 to schedule an eye appointment with a qualified Round Rock optometrist!
