MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR VISION

Your eyesight is a precious gift. A regularly scheduled eye exam keeps you and your doctor up to date with changes in vision and general health as you age, and the eye exam results can identify solutions that will help keep your eyes healthy and vision clear.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU GET AN EYE EXAM
It's never too early to schedule an eye exam. According to the American Optometric Association, eye exams are recommended at 6 months, 3 years, and before first grade. These initial steps taken at an early age, help ensure a child's vision is developing normally heading into their school years and imprints the importance of eye health and eye exams at a young age. After that, yearly eye exams are recommended.

The risk of eye diseases increases after the age of 40, making regular eye exams even more important for older patients. Early detection is key in preventing and detecting eye health problems.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING AN EYE EXAM?
A typical eye exam checks both your eyesight and your eye health. The Snellen eye chart is the first and most basic way to test how well you see. If your eyesight is not 20/20, your eye doctor will test for refractive errors like myopia and hyperopia, more commonly known as near- and far-sightedness.

Your eye doctor will also put you through a series of tests designed to catch eye conditions and diseases early. Most develop at a later stage in life, like glaucoma and cataracts. Others, like amblyopia, or lazy eye, may occur during infancy. Most can be treated with greater ease if detected early on which is just one of the reasons why eye exams are important. Plus, annual eye exams, and regular pediatric eye exams for children, offer a lifetime of comfort in knowing what needs to be done to keep your vision clear and your eyes healthy. Eye exams, and regular pediatric eye exams for children, offer a lifetime of comfort in knowing what needs to be done to keep your vision clear and your eyes healthy.