One of the checks health The important thing to do regularly is to check your eyes. The older a person is, the eye health and visual function are prone to be disturbed. Therefore, eye examinations need to be done to maintain good eye function.
Having healthy eyes is a very valuable thing. Impaired eye function will certainly hinder your daily activities, ranging from difficulty reading books, doing office tasks, to driving a vehicle.
If you have problems with your eyes and visual function, it will be difficult for you to enjoy beautiful scenery and works of art. now, so that you can still move comfortably and enjoy the beauty of the world, then eye health must always be maintained properly.
The reason is, eye damage can make you unable to see clearly. Some eye diseases can even cause blindness.
Why Is Eye Exam Important?
An eye exam is a series of tests performed to check the focus of vision and distance of vision. The results of this test will determine whether you have a visual impairment or refractive error, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.
For those of you who have previously used glasses, contact lenses, or LASIK surgery to improve eye vision, an eye exam aims to monitor eye conditions and find out whether the vision problems you are experiencing are getting worse or not.
If it gets worse, you must immediately replace your eyeglasses or contact lenses according to the severity of the visual impairment that occurs.
In addition to focus and quality of vision, eye exams are also carried out to check the physical condition of the eyes. When doing an eye exam, the doctor will ask if there are complaints about the eyes or vision. After exploring this, the doctor will examine the components of the eye in full, which include:
- Conjunctiva (inner lining of the eyelids) and tear glands
- Cornea
- Eye lens
- Pupils
- Sclera
- Retina
In addition to the sections above, the doctor will also examine the skin, nerves, eye muscles, and pressure inside the eyeball. This aims to detect whether there are diseases in the eye that you were not aware of before.
Interestingly, it turns out that the eyes can act as an indicator of overall health. By examining the condition of the eye, the doctor can determine if there is a possibility of disease in other organs, such as diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, or thyroid disease.
This is the reason why eye exams need to be done regularly. If eye problems are detected early, the treatment steps will certainly be easier to do and the risk of permanent damage to the eye can be reduced.
When Should an Eye Check Be Done?
You should immediately consult and undergo an eye examination if you feel the following complaints:
- One or both eyes bulge or swell
- Red eyes and pain that doesn't get better
- Eyes easily feel glare or are more sensitive to light
- Blurred or blurry vision
- Double or ghost vision
- Lots of tears
- Dry eyes
- Injury to the eye
- Eyelids are difficult to open or close
The eye complaints above indicate that there is an eye disease that must be treated by a doctor immediately.
Even if you don't feel any complaints in your eyes, you are still encouraged to have regular eye examinations and consultations. How often eye examinations and consultations are performed generally depends on age. Here is the explanation:
- Toddlers at least 1 time before the age of 3 years or as recommended by a doctor.
- Children and adolescents once every 1-2 years.
- Adults every 2 years.
- Elderly over 65 years once every 1 year.
In addition, you are required to have more frequent eye examinations if you have special conditions, such as:
- Use glasses or contact lenses.
- Suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
- Taking medications that can cause side effects on the eyes, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), diuretics, antihistamines, antidepressants, or birth control pills.
Not only by doing regular eye checks, maintaining eye health also needs to be done with several other steps, such as living a healthy lifestyle, eating a balanced nutritious diet, exercising regularly, using eye protection equipment (eg sunglasses or sunglasses). goggles) while working or doing outdoor activities, and quitting smoking.
From now on, come onTake care of your eye health by having regular eye exams. Do not hesitate to consult an ophthalmologist if you have any complaints about your eyes. This is done so that the doctor can immediately take action on the treatment of eye disorders that you are experiencing.