How long has it been since you’ve been to the optometrist?
Dr. Mark T. Dunbar, director of optometric services at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami (USA)-recognized as one of the best ophthalmology clinics in the USA. – recommends an annual checkup.
“In certain cases, you can get by with every two years, but ideally it should be yearly,” Dunbar tells BBC Mundo,
Despite the importance of having good vision, there are many of us who take the health of our eyes for granted, either because we think we see well or because, at some point, we went to the optometrist to get a prescription for glasses and left it at that.
“People who have had good vision all their lives, we take it for granted,” Dunbar says. “It’s not unusual to see people in their 40s or 50s who have never had an eye exam.“
According to the specialist, due to the complexity of an organ such as the human eye, it is easy for us not to notice some changes, such as small variations in the quality of vision between both eyes or even the general worsening of vision.
“If you don’t update your prescription, you basically don’t see well,” he says in reference to patients who wear glasses.
Dunbar details some signs that it’s time to stop by the optometrist, either for the first time or to update your eyeglass prescription.
1. Difficulty seeing when driving
According to Dr. Dunbar, “when you’re suddenly trying to read a traffic sign and you can’t see it until you’re right on top of it, that’s usually a warning sign.”
Like a camera, your eyes need to focus light on the retina to see clearly.
When you have a condition like nearsightedness, light is focused in front of the retina, which can make distant objects, such as street signs, appear blurry.
Driving with this condition can be especially challenging at night.
What glasses do for your eyes is to optimize not only light intake, but also its distribution across the entire ocular surface.
In addition, new technology in the anti-reflective lenses helps the glare of light to be dimmed and seen more clearly.
2. Difficulty seeing up close
If you find yourself straining when reading books or your phone screen, even with your glasses on, it’s a sign that you need a new prescription.
Presbyopia occurs as we age and the lens of our eyes loses flexibility, making it difficult to focus on close objects.
Dr. Dunbar points out that the health of the eye may be fine, but the problem lies in the refraction of light. When it is not focused properly on the retina, the image can appear blurry.
Lenses correct the refraction problem and prevent the overexertion the eye incurs when trying to read.
3. Vision that fluctuates during the day
If you notice that your vision fluctuates throughout the day, this may be another sign that you need to change your lenses.
Dr. Dunbar explains that one of the main reasons for this is eyestrain caused by eye muscle fatigue.
If you focus on a single point for too long, such as when you’re working on a screen, your eyes can become tired and your ability to focus can diminish.
“When you’re doing a task that you’re really concentrating on, like working on the computer, or watching a movie, or reading a book, our blink rate decreases, probably to half of normal.”
This can get worse, if you’re straining your eyes, trying to counteract some visual deficit you have, leaving you visually exhausted, and seeing worse towards the end of the day.
If this is the case, maybe it’s time for you to see an optometrist.
4. Vision changes in one or both eyes
Rapid vision changes in one or both eyes may be a sign that something more serious is going on.
According to Dr. Dunbar, “If you’re not seeing well, it may be as simple as changing glasses, but it may be something more significant.”
For example, a loss of vision over a short period of time could be a sign of cataracts, which, as Dr. Dunbar points out, can cause difficulty seeing clearly, trouble driving at night and difficulty focusing.
“With the technology we have today, a cataract surgery is outpatient and takes 15 minutes,” says the expert.
In more serious cases, eye health can also help identify more serious problems such as diabetes and hypertension, which can cause changes in the eye’s blood vessels.
“Those are all reasons to recommend that people get their eyes checked periodically, not just for the best possible vision,” Dunbar concludes.
