How Regular Eye Exams May Save Your Vision
- Posted on: Oct 15 2022
Just like routine and regular check-ups at the dentist’s office can help keep your mouth and teeth healthy, regular eye exams are essential to catching conditions of the eye early. For some eye conditions, catching them during exams is the only way to treat them and keep your vision. When symptoms get to the point you notice them, it might be too late.
Glaucoma is one such condition that, if not caught and treated early, even before symptoms begin to appear, can lead to significant and potentially complete vision loss. The damage and loss of vision caused by glaucoma are permanent.
Glaucoma is caused by the buildup of pressure inside your eye, which then begins to compress the optical nerve near your retina. Once the delicate nerve is compressed and damaged, it is not repairable. There are treatment options to slow or stop the pressure buildup.
However, glaucoma, along with many other eye conditions, is part of the standard eye exam at your optometrist’s office. During the exam, glaucoma is diagnosed by measuring the pressure inside your eye and the thickness of your cornea and by using visual acuity and visual field tests. These are all painless and can also help catch other degenerative eye conditions.
Once glaucoma is diagnosed, it’s important to remember that prompt and direct intervention is required to prevent continued degeneration and potential loss of your vision. The main goal of glaucoma treatment is to reduce the pressure in the eye.
Prescription eye drops are often successful as a first step in treating glaucoma but require vigilance in following the exact dosage to be successful. Depending on how your eyes respond, surgery, laser therapy, or other intervention may be needed. These are very safe and often very effective at preventing vision loss.
If you have any vision issues, especially patchy blind spots or continuous tunnel vision, contact the Eye Clinic P.C. in Portland, OR, at 503-297-4718 or visit www.eyeclinicpdx.com. The expert team of opticians can answer all your questions about glaucoma or other eye conditions and help start a schedule of periodic eye exams.
