Dr. Susan M Sloan is an Optometrist in Sarasota FL, who has been committed to providing professional, personal eye care to adult and children for over 30 years.

Dr. Susan M Sloan is an Optometrist in Sarasota FL, who has been committed to providing professional, personal eye care to adult and children for over 30 years.

Top Benefits of Regularly Seeing an Eye care professional

According to a recent report, more than 40% of the people in America wear contact lenses or glasses. This shows the eye problems that so many people face, thus indicating the importance of seeing an eye care professional regularly. Just because you don’t wear glasses or contact lenses doesn’t mean you would never have any problem with your vision. It’s important to get your eyes checked from time to time so that you know their condition and what you can do to keep them safe. Here are a few more reasons why seeing you should visit an eye care professional regularly:

1. It can detect diabetic retinopathy

Do you know that diabetic retinopathy may lead to permanent blindness if you don’t treat it in time? However, it is a preventable disease, provided you get in touch with an eye care professional as soon as possible. It’s a complicated disease where the retina starts getting scarred during the initial stages and slowly results in permanent blindness. Early detection of this disease can eliminate the risk of vision loss.

2. It can detect glaucoma symptoms early

Glaucoma is another disease that can cause permanent blindness if it goes undiagnosed or untreated. The problem with this disease is that it hardly has any noticeable symptoms. As a result, you may not know that you have glaucoma. It’s only when an eye care professional performs various tests that he can diagnose the condition. Moreover, you won’t feel any pain or disturbance in your eyes during the early stages of glaucoma. This makes it difficult to figure out whether you have glaucoma or not. It’s better that you see an eye care professional to make sure that if you have this disease, it doesn’t go untreated.

3. It detects cataracts

Blurry, foggy, or cloudy vision is a sign of a cataract. You may ignore it initially hoping that it would go away. On the contrary, the cataract layer gets thicker over time. Frequent eye checkups may help you deal with cataracts without requiring any surgery. For example, prescription lenses may prevent the development of cataracts altogether. Sometimes, the eye care professional may also ask you to make a few lifestyle changes, such as reducing weight, controlling your diabetes, not smoking cigarettes, controlling your blood pressure, not taking steroids, or reducing the consumption of alcohol.

4. It diagnoses amblyopia

Amblyopia or lazy eye is a condition when your brain doesn’t communicate with your eyes. It’s a common problem among kids. That’s why you should take your kids to the eye care professional frequently to ensure that he doesn’t develop this condition. If left undiagnosed and untreated, your child will continue to have vision problems even after he grows up. It’s up to the eye care professional to decide whether to use eye drops to make the lazy eye work harder or ask the child to wear a patch on the stronger eye.

5. It keeps your eyes healthy

Regular eye checkups can detect a range of problems, such as high cholesterol, macular degeneration, detached retina, a few neurological diseases, autoimmune disorders like lupus, and high blood pressure. Consider regular checkups as a means to prevent various diseases instead of spending money on curing them.

6. It safeguards your vision

Even though you wear glasses, you still might need to go to an eye care professional. Your vision could deteriorate after a few years. If you squint while watching TV or bring books close to your eyes while reading, it means that you may need corrective lenses.

Prevention is better than cure. This is true for your eyes also. A visit to your nearest eye care professional once in a few months can prevent a range of eye diseases that may hamper your vision later. Therefore, make the appointment and get your eyes checked right away.