{"id":10322,"date":"2021-03-17T13:46:16","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T13:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=10322"},"modified":"2022-01-15T19:04:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-15T19:04:00","slug":"why-are-annual-eye-exams-important","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-exams\/why-are-annual-eye-exams-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Are Eye Exams Important?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Annual eye exams help to ensure that you are seeing clearly, but also facilitate regular monitoring of your eye health.\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Most patients enjoy their visit to the eye doctor, there are always new frames to look at and the staff and eye doctors are usually a friendly bunch working in a relaxed office<b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Are eye exams important?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b><i>Yes! <\/i><\/b><b>Many eye conditions, in their early stages, have no obvious signs or symptoms, so the annual exam is often the only way to detect eye conditions early<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>This can leave people believing there is nothing wrong with their eyes. However, since there are no signs or symptoms, regular comprehensive eye exams are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/\">key to maintaining good vision<\/a> and healthy eyes.<\/p>\n<p>A yearly eye exam allows your eye doctor to monitor your vision and eye health over the long-term, and can help detect signs of medical conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When was the last time you went for an eye exam? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Schedule an exam<\/a> today!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-exams\/why-are-annual-eye-exams-important\/what-to-do-before-an-eye-exam\/\">What to Do Before an Eye Exam?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find an eye doctor near you<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h2><b>What does an eye exam include?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Some tests that your eye doctor may perform during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/comprehensive-eye-exams\/\">your eye exam<\/a> include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Preliminary Tests<\/b> &#8211; this may include evaluations of peripheral vision, depth perception, color vision, eye muscle movements, and how your pupils react to light.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Visual Acuity<\/b> &#8211; this evaluates how clearly each eye sees. A reading chart is frequently used during this test. Visual acuity is measured as \u201820\/X\u2019, e.g. 20\/30 or 20\/40. 20\/20 is considered perfect vision, but some people have such clear sight, their visual acuities are recorded at 20\/15 or even 20\/10.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Optical prescription &#8211;<\/b> the eye doctor will provide an evaluation of your optical prescription, to see if there are any updates that can deliver clearer eyesight<b>.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Eye Focusing<\/b> &#8211; this test determines how well your eyes move, focus, and work together. Your doctor will be able to see problems that prevent your eyes from focusing effectively or working well together.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Digital Retinal Image<\/b> &#8211; this test is a digital recording of retinal health achieved by taking an image of the retina. These photographs can be used for accurate diagnosis and stored and used to compare to any future images.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Eye pressure test (IOP)<\/b> &#8211; this is usually done with a puff of air. Sometimes the eye doctor will gently touch the front surface of your eye with a device that glows with a blue light. IOP is vitally important for eye conditions including glaucoma and corneal disease.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Slit-lamp<\/b> &#8211; this exam gives your eye doctor a magnified view of the many different structures at the front of the eye and inside, such as the cornea, pupil, iris, tear ducts, lens and retina. The area surrounding the eyes can also be examined, such as the eyelids and the adjacent periorbital skin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ophthalmoscopy<\/b> &#8211; this test uses a bright hand-held light to assess the health of the back of the eyes, and can detect cataracts, retinal detachment, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Importance of eye exams<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/comprehensive-eye-exams\/\">yearly eye exam<\/a> is recommended for everyone, especially those <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/\">over the age of 50<\/a>, to ensure you have clear vision as well as good eye health<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t wait until you can\u2019t read a street sign a few feet away or the computer screen seems fuzzy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-exams\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-exams\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1626426910626000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF0g4kHSo2tmNbyXUe5jLhadUka6A\">Guide to Eye Exams<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\"><b>Schedule an eye exam<\/b><\/a> to help keep you and your eyes healthy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are Eye Exams Important? Yes! Many eye conditions, in their early stages, have no obvious signs or symptoms, so the annual exam is often the only way to detect eye conditions early. Since there are often no signs or symptoms, regular comprehensive eye exams are key to maintaining good vision and healthy eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10324,"parent":12526,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[132,84,109,156,228,514,168,147,230,267,136],"class_list":["post-10322","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-acuity","tag-adults","tag-binocular","tag-blurry","tag-cornea","tag-digital-retinal-image","tag-eye-doctor","tag-eye-exam","tag-eyeglasses","tag-sunglasses","tag-vision-problem"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Are Eye Exams Important? - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-exams\/why-are-annual-eye-exams-important\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Are Eye Exams Important? - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are Eye Exams Important? 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