How are your eyes? If you haven’t noticed blurriness or any eye symptoms lately, you might assume that they’re just fine. Unfortunately, that’s really no way to self-evaluate your ocular well-being. Most eye diseases have no signs or symptoms at first. Some can cause permanent damage by the time a person takes notice. Fortunately, an eye doctor can detect eye problems early when they are best treated. Just think about the deadly Corona virus. So many people were getting infected without showing any signs or symptoms initially.
Hidden Threats to Your Vision: Why Annual Eye Exams Matter
Annual eye exams are a critical part of keeping your eyes heathly and seeing properly. The most significant threats to your eyes and vision can cause slow progressive damage to the eyes for years without showing outward symptoms. Dry Eye Disease is a condition that people have which can lead to pterygia or even corneal scarring over the years. Dry Eye Disease is different than just temporarily having dryness in your eyes. Conditions like Glaucoma can destroy your optic nerves so slowly that you might not even notice the changes in your vision for a long time. Retinal diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy can also do permanent damage before you realize that you’re losing your eyesight. By having your eyes examined every year, you’re helping our optometrist identify such problems early enough that they can be controlled through medication or other treatment methods. Infectious viruses, chlamydia or bacteria can also do serious damage to your eyes. Keep in mind that the eyes and the upper respiratory system share many of the same passages, meaning that a respiratory “bug” can reach your eyes and infect them as well. Many people don’t realize that their eyes are even infected until the condition is getting overwhelming and harder to treat– another reason to keep your scheduled eye appointments.
A Typical Eye and Vision Exam
Your annual eye and vision exam at Absolutely Optical will leave no stone unturned. Our Tampa optometrist will check both the front surfaces of the eye and the inside of the eye for any signs of damage or disease. Eye pressure testing can alert us to possible glaucoma. A variety of eye function tests will show us how well your eyes and brain are working together. We can check for color vision deficiencies, depth perception, eye muscle alignment. Vision testing can reveal possible signs of cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, or other sources of vision loss. It also allows us to determine whether you need glasses or a prescription update. We can even recommend preventative eye care practices to safeguard your vision between visits, from dietary or lifestyle changes to a proper UV protection or proper computer use.
Schedule Preventative Care at Absolutely Optical
Take the proactive approach by protecting your eyes and vision for many years to come. Call Absolutely Optical at (813) 348-9696 to schedule an eye and vision exam at our Tampa office!