The Importance of Regular Eye Exams: What You Need to Know

Importance of an Eye Exam

How often do you see your eye doctor? If you don’t wear prescription lenses, and you’re not experiencing any eye issues, you might think that skipping your annual eye exam is no big deal. What may surprise you is that regular eye exams are about much more than visual clarity. It’s recommended that you see your eye doctor every year, and these eye exams are important for monitoring your eye health.

What Happens During an Eye Exam?

When you go in for an eye exam, your eye doctor will do some preliminary tests to determine your peripheral vision, depth perception, eye muscle movements, color vision, and how your pupils react to light. Your visual acuity will be tested, to determine how clearly each of your eyes can see, and your doctor will test your eyes’ focusing abilities. Evaluating your eyes, your doctor will determine whether you need an optical prescription or an update to an existing prescription. Your doctor may also take a digital retinal image to assess the health of your retina, and an eye pressure test (IOP) using a puff of air to check for glaucoma and corneal disease. A slit lamp test gives your eye doctor a good look at the various structures of the eye, and ophthalmoscopy, a test using a bright, hand-held light, is used to check the health at the back of the eyes, looking for cataracts, retinal detachment, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.

Why Are Eye Exams Important?

Annual eye exams are definitely important, especially if you are over 50 years old. Why?

• An eye exam helps your doctor catch chronic diseases early. Did you know that an eye exam can detect early signs of health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and multiple sclerosis? You might not know anything is wrong, until your eye doctor brings it to your attention. As you probably know, catching diseases in their early stages is the best way to successfully treat them.
• Because some eye diseases have no symptoms, an eye exam is necessary for their diagnosis. Of course, in addition to health conditions affecting the rest of the body, your eye doctor is looking for signs of eye disease. Glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration are all serious eye conditions that have no early warning signs. Having an annual eye exam can help your doctor detect these issues, and early detection may be crucial in preserving your vision.
• Sometimes, your vision is not as clear as you might think it is. Vision loss can happen gradually, so slowly that you don’t even notice it’s happening. Visiting your eye doctor is a good way to ensure that you’re seeing clearly.

Contact Spindel for Your Next Eye Exam

If you’re looking for an ophthalmologist or optometrist in Derry, Londonderry, or Windham, Spindel Eye Associates is here for you. Having spent over 35 years providing eye care in New Hampshire, our eye doctors proudly provide our patients with personalized eye care, using top of the line technology. For more information or to schedule an eye appointment call 603.421.6536 or contact us through our website.