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Ask Dr Dawn Bearden… or any Eye Doctor or Staff member at Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines or Sunrise….and they will always tell you that having an annual eye exam is very important. But why?!?!???
Is it because your eyeglasses prescription changes every year and you need to get new glasses?!?!??! Well, often the prescription can change from year to year BUT, there are MORE IMPORTANT reasons to have your eyes checked annually.
Martha Stewart recently interviewed Optometrist, Dr Rhonda Robinson, about annual eye examinations. Dr. Robinson explained that the reasons to have an annual eye exam change as a person goes through each life stage.
Babies (6mo to 1 year old) need to have their eyes examined to screen for lazy eye, any visual system developmental problems and eye health issues like tumors inside of their eyes.
School age children need to have their eyes examined yearly for another important reason – for a child around 80% of learning is accomplished through vision. Yearly exams can help determine if they are using their eyes together vs using one eye more than the other.
We are in a new age where the visual demands of children and teens are being stressed in completely different ways – iPods, cell phones, computers, Blackberries, MySpace & Facebook, texting….the list is endless.
Even SMALL changes in a prescription can make a HUGE difference in visual comfort.
Adults need to have a yearly eye exam to ensure good eye and systemic health. The majority of eye medical issues DO NOT cause any visual problems or blur…eye health issues like glaucoma, retinal holes and tears, tumors in and behind the eye etc may be completely asymptomatic. A comprehensive eye exam can also help detect systemic problems that you may be unaware of – like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors and more…
Adults around 40 and over usually experience near vision blur called Presbyopia. Now there are a multitude of options to help correct Presbyopia and give clear near vision while reading – reading glasses, multifocal/bifocal/progressive eye glasses, multifocal/bifocal contact lenses.
Its important for seniors to have yearly eye exams to help detect eye health changes associated with aging – such as cataracts, glaucoma and age related macular degeneration (ARMD / AMD).
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Visionary Eyecare's Blog: "The Eye Journal" 