Sometimes life gets busy, and before you know it, several years have passed and you have not seen an eye doctor in all of that time. You may figure that you can still see and you're not experiencing any eye pain, so there's really no reason to go. But this reasoning is often wrong. Here are three reasons why it's a good idea to resume those annual checkups, even if it has been a while.
Your vision may be declining without you realizing it.
Since vision loss occurs slowly over time, many people do not notice when their vision is declining. You might think you can see fine until you are suddenly in the eye doctor's chair and they are asking you to read a row of letters that just look like blurry circles. It is best to let a professional determine if your vision is adequate rather than just making assumptions. If you are suffering from vision loss, the right glasses or contacts will make daily life easier and help prevent headaches.
Glaucoma does not often cause early symptoms.
Glaucoma is a condition in which the pressure in your eye increases. This can lead to optical nerve damage over time, which in turn can result in a permanent loss of vision. But here's the thing: in its early stages, glaucoma does not cause any noticeable symptoms. The condition has to progress for a while before you notice any vision loss or other effects. So, it's a good idea to see your optometrist and get tested for glaucoma. If it is caught early, there are medications you can take to prevent vision loss, but if you start losing your vision before the glaucoma is detected, you will never recover that vision.
Ocular cancer is often asymptomatic, too.
Ocular cancer is a cancer of the eye. While you would be able to tell if you had any growths on the exterior of your eye, many cases of ocular cancer begin inside where only your eye doctor can see the evidence. Many ocular cancers, like ocular melanoma, are quite aggressive. You have to catch them really early in order to have them treated in a way that does not involve removing an eye.
If it has been a while since you've seen the eye doctor, that's okay — life gets crazy sometimes. But do yourself a favor and call to make a checkup appointment now, rather than continuing to wait.
When you look in the mirror and focus on your eyes, what do you see? Hopefully you see a strong and vibrant person — someone who enjoys and embraces life. Hopefully you also see a set of healthy eyes, although that can be tough to determine just with a glance in the mirror. Eyes can look healthy on the surface when really something sinister is going on inside of them. That's one reason why visiting the eye doctor is so important.
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