How Often Are Eye Exams Necessary?

To ensure your body stays healthy, you will usually eat healthily, drink plenty of water, and see a doctor upon the onset of symptoms. To keep your teeth healthy, you will brush, floss, and have regular dental checkups. When it comes to your eyes, you can take steps to keep them healthy. And, like in dental care, you must have regular eye exams with your doctor.

 

Eye exams are a necessity for everyone, even if you have perfect vision. Even people with eye conditions may only come in however often their prescription expires, but that is likely not frequent enough. The frequency of the exams will depend on your age, risks, and eye health. However, experts recommend having an eye exam once a year, as they are essential to your eye health and overall body health.

 

Why Are Eye Exams Important?

The foremost reason eye exams are essential is because of your eye health. The eyes are relatively sensitive body organs, making them susceptible to disease. The health issues that affect the eyes often develop gradually, meaning you may never notice them until it is too late.

 

Eye Health

One of the reasons you may never notice these issues is that your brain is a master at compensation. When your vision changes, your brain adjusts its ability to interpret images. This compensation aims to ensure you understand what you are seeing. Eye health issues become an issue only when they are far more advanced than ideal.

 

For safe and effective treatment, it is essential that the conditions, like glaucoma and AMD, are detected early. Also, it is better to have vision correction to allow you to see better and operate more efficiently if you have vision issues.

 

Overall Body Health

Another reason why eye exams are essential is for your overall body health. Your eye’s internal structures are susceptible to changes in your body. An example is when your body’s health changes, it may show in your eyes first before anywhere else.

 

Some of the conditions that show up in your eyes are:

 

• Hypertension

• Diabetes

• Some brain cancers

• Aneurysms

• Giant cell arteritis

• Heart disease

• High cholesterol

• Lyme disease

• Lupus

• Stroke

• Thyroid disease
  
   

How Often Should You Have an Eye Exam?

When children are growing, their eyes undergo the most changes. Accordingly, regular eye exams are necessary to keep track of their development. Also, many eye issues usually develop at this time. According to experts, children should have their first eye exam at 6 to 12 months. After that, the eye doctor will advise on how frequently their eye exams should happen.

Our general recommendation for kids to adults is that yearly eye exams are best. Vision can change quickly, and staying on top of your eye health can pay off in the long-run.
 

To schedule an eye exam, contact Planet Vision Eyecare at our office in Lake Worth, Florida by calling (561) 556-4600 today!