Sight is one of our most vital senses, so when you see a good optometrist, you ensure that you can see clearly, with the highest levels of vision and eye health.
Eye health is not something that a person should ever take for granted, and a person should never make assumptions or diagnose problems within the eye without the care of a qualified health professional.
By making regular checkups at your local optometrist in Vancouver downtown at least once every two to three years, you can ensure that you’re eyes are in their best condition. Consider just some of the reasons why making a trip to the optometrist is so important.
Prescription Changes
Many people incorrectly assume that once they receive their contacts or glasses, they will automatically have perfect vision for the rest of their lives. This is an incorrect statement. The truth is vision changes frequently, even with corrective eyewear, and thus often needs prescription updates.
By failing to upgrade your prescription, your corrective eyewear can actually begin to have the opposite effect, causing blurred vision, headaches, vertigo, and conditions such as astigmatisms to develop.
If you suspect your prescription may be changing, or you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, consider seeking out an optometrist as soon as you’re able to, and ensure that your vision remains at its best.
Assistance for Pain
Optometrists can identify many different kinds of conditions of the eye, such as glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition that is caused by strong pressure from the liquid inside of the eye.
When the pressure is too strong, it causes physical pain, and can escalate itself to cause tunnel vision, headaches, spotty vision, and ultimately even total blindness. Optometrists are able to help check your eyes for glaucoma and check the pressures behind your eyes.
Hormonal Changes
Hormones can affect almost every aspect of a person’s being, from their mood, appetite, skin, sleep patterns, and more. Hormones can also affect the changes within the eyes.
Spikes and changes in Estrogen, for example, can cause the cornea to become more elastic, which changes how light travels through the eye in a very sudden way. These dramatic changes can cause blurred vision, as well as cause sensitivities that make wearing contacts difficult. Other hormonal changes such as menopause can also cause dramatic shifts in hormonal levels, as can puberty and pregnancy. By visiting an optometrist, they can more accurately diagnose any changes to the eye, let you know whether your condition is hormone-related and assign you treatment options while ruling out other alternatives.
Sudden Vision Loss
Vision loss can be frightening when it is a gradual process, but even more so if the loss comes very suddenly. Vision loss of any kind can be a symptom of a much bigger underlying health issue, whether it’s the side-effect of medication or a medical condition such as diabetes.
Other potential causes of vision loss can be any of the following:
- Conjunctivitis
- Astigmatism
- Short or farsightedness
- Improper or outdated eyewear
- Glaucoma
An optometrist can help to check your eyes and monitor any vision changes.
