Why an eye exam is important for your health? Vision is one of the five senses which are crucial for human survival. Most of the time, people pay a visit to Optometrists when they experience blurriness or vision-associated problems. While as per the medical recommendations, it is of vital importance to get eye-check-ups regularly. Eye check-ups may consist of vision screening and detailed eye exams. However, eye health exams and vision screening may differ in a few aspects, which we will discuss in this article.

Why have an eye exam instead of vision-screening?

A vision screening and eye exam shouldn’t be confused with each other. Vision screening is the basic examination of the eye through any healthcare practitioner to look for blurriness, redness, or pain and refer them to the specalist. On the other hand, an eye exam requires a specialized facility to perform different assessments and tests such as:

• Glaucoma test

• Visual acuity test

• Cover test

• Retinoscopy

• Refraction test

• Keratometry test

• Intraocular pressure measurement

• Pupil dilation test

• Slit-lamp exam

All of these tests need to be performed under the supervision of an eye specialist or a skilled Optometrist, unlike the vision-screening.

Why is an eye exam important?

According to the CAO (The Canadian Association of Optometrists), children till 19-years of age should undergo one eye exam per year. However, adults ranging from 20-64 years of age should have one eye exam every two years. Moreover, the frequency of eye exams for adults more than 65 years should be once a year. Eye exams are significant because they can:

• Detect serious health problems beforehand – retina consists of the rich blood supply through minute capillaries, which can predict the situation of the body’s While performing a comprehensive exam of the eyes, your eye doctor can easily evaluate the conditions such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, liver problems, and diabetes.

• Tell about eye health – sometimes vision isn't affected by eye diseases, but still, the pathology exists in the ocular region. For instance, in the case of a fatty growth behind the eyeball, it can push the eyeball forward with or without causing a vision problem. In this case, an eye exam can detect the presence of a benign or malignant body behind the eyeball. Similarly, for laser eye surgeries, examination of the eye predicts whether you are a good candidate for the procedure or

• Prevent complications – in case of early detection of the disease, you can take the necessary measures to prevent the complications. Early vision problems such as near-sightedness or farsightedness can be controlled via the use of appropriate lenses. The appropriate spectacles are found helpful in preventing further damage to the lens and the

• Diagnose systemic diseases – systemic diseases include viscera and vital organ pathologies in the body. Jaundice is the most common example of systemic disease, which is detectable through the changing eye colour. Similarly, respiratory problems and insufficiency of hemoglobin can show eye paleness as a symptom of

Eye exams and children:

  Generally, we consider vision problems as age-related conditions. However, in reality, children tend to suffer more from vision problems at an early age. According to the US Preventive Services Task Force, children should have a regular eye check-up between 3-5 years of age to look for the diagnosis or risk factors of amblyopia. Amblyopia is reduced eye vision due to inefficient cooperation between the brain and eye functioning. This disease is the most common cause of vision problems and even vision loss among children. About every 2-3 out of 100 children suffer from amblyopia. Other most frequent eye problems in children can be strabismus (crossed eyes), childhood epiphora, conjunctivitis (eye infection), ptosis, lazy eyes, excessive tearing, and refractive errors (blurred vision). A regular eye exam can help in catching these problems before anything gets severe. Spectacle Clinic offers a OHIP billed eye exam for children 19-years of age and under. The reason behind this leniency is the importance of eye exams for children's health.

Eye exams and adults:

In diabetic patients, diabetic retinopathy is the most common and severe complication. In this disease, the extensive sugar levels in the blood tend to damage the blood vessels in the retina, which is a light-sensitive eye part. As a result of this damage, scarring of the blood vessels occurs, which causes permanent loss of vision in the patients. However, diabetic retinopathy is preventable through early detection and intervention. In 90% of the diabetic patients, early detection through regular eye exams, there was delayed blindness or complete prevention from the blindness. Moreover, diabetic patients are also at higher risk fo developing other eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma. If you are suffering from diabetes, then you need to preserve and protect your eye health through regular eye exams. Why choose Spectacle Clinic? Spectacle clinic has on-site Optometrists that offers the ease of regular or comprehensive eye exams without any problem. For a successful eye exam, different factors play a significant role such as: Patient-friendly environment – Spectacle Clinic ensures the ease of patients starting from the point when they enter the store. A trained staff, waiting room for attendees, state-of- the-art infrastructure, and high-tech machinery help the patients to get the best services. A comfortable clinical environment encourages the patients to come again and again for their regular check-ups Skilled optometrists – a trained faculty and skilled optometrists are the most significant factors for the success of the exams, diagnostics, and interventions. A detailed eye exam lets the eye specialist look at the eye’s back (retina). Pupil dilation is the initial part of the eye exam through the use of pupil dilators or drops. Along with the skills of the technicians and doctors, the machinery and technology of the facility play a vital role. Spectacle Clinic uses the most innovative and recent technology as ERC (Eidon Retinal Camera) and HFA (Humphery Field Analyser) for performing eye exams. Cost of exam – regarding the cost of the eye exam, the Spectacle Clinic offers the most pocket- friendly packages. In comparison to the parallel facilities, the cost in Spectacle Clinics is much lower with good quality. For children 19-years and under, we offer a free eye exam. These patients are covered under the programs offered by OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan). Similarly, patients who are or above the age of 65 years are also offered a free eye exam under OHIP insurance. Moreover, patients who are diagnosed with diabetes and are taking insulin are also under the coverage of OHIP. For diabetic patients, it is very crucial to have a regular eye exam every six months for effective monitoring of eye health. We recommend you book your appointments with our clinic and get the best services from our skilled staff and new technology.

Takeaway:

Eye health is the most important factor for body health. Vision and eyesight determine the level of physical and mental participation of an individual in the community. With age, eye health tends to decline, which can give rise to different health complications. Regular eye exams are the only solution to prevent the encounter with any undesired situation. Spectacle clinic is one of the best facilities in the town, which is offering a free exam for children (19 and under), diabetic patients (insulin therapy), and adults (65 and older).