When most people think about taking care of their health, their eyes and vision do not immediately come to mind. However, getting annual eye exams is very important for a number of reasons. Get to know more about some of these reasons you should get an annual eye exam. Then, you can be sure that you are doing what is best for your eyes and for your overall health going forward.
Your Eyes Can Get Sun Damage Throughout the Year
One of the reasons that you should get an eye exam every year is that your eyes can get damaged by the sun throughout the course of the year. Sun damage occurs more often when you are out in the sun a great deal without sunglasses to protect your eyes. Eye problems like cataracts and macular degeneration are both related to sun exposure and damage to the eyes. And the sooner these issues are detected, the easier they are to treat and deal with.
Vision Problems Can Develop Gradually
Another issue to keep in mind when it comes to getting an eye exam once a year is that vision problems can develop gradually over time. The development of nearsightedness or other issues that require vision correction can be so slow, in fact, that you might not notice there is a problem on your own. An eye exam can help to diagnose any vision issues that you have and get you corrective lenses before they get worse from eye strain without treatment.
Eye Doctors Can Help You Manage Allergies
When you have seasonal allergies, you may not immediately think about going to the eye doctor for help. However, when your allergy symptoms include itchy and irritated eyes, then an eye doctor is a perfect resource to help you out. The annual eye exam can help to detect any eye damage that you may have incurred from rubbing your eyes or otherwise trying to deal with your allergies. They can also prescribe or recommend medications and strategies to help relieve your eye-related allergy symptoms.
Eye Exams Can Help Detect Other Diseases
What you may not realize about eye exams is that they can help to detect health issues that extend well beyond the eyes. Diabetes, for example, is a disease that can be initially detected in an eye exam because it affects the blood vessels in the eyes. Other conditions that can be detected in an eye exam include certain types of tumors, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, and certain types of cancer.
Now that you know more about the reasons that you should get an annual eye exam, you can schedule your next eye exam as soon as possible.
