Annual eye exams are often the only way to spot a serious eye issue. These exams can also detect other serious health problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes. In fact, doctors can even spot high cholesterol or cancer from routine eye exams. Having an annual routine eye exam is important, and you can get one from the Elmquist Eye Group, the best eye doctors near Punta Gorda, Florida.
Retinal Health
Many people first learn of serious health conditions from a routine eye exam. Signs of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes all show up on a routine eye exam. If you have ever heard the phrase “the eyes are the window to the soul”, believe it. The eyes do offer a window that provides a picture of overall health.
At Elmquist Eye Group, our trained and professional staff conducts comprehensive eye exams. We perform a dilated eye exam, using eye drops to dilate the pupils so that we can better observe and evaluate the health and condition of the blood vessels in and near the retina. These vessels are an astonishingly good predictor of the health of the vessels in the rest of the body, so if our team sees signs of poor vessel health in the retina, it may be an indicator of high blood pressure or other conditions.
When a person has diabetes, annual eye exams are particularly important. These exams are also important for people at high risk for diabetes, perhaps due to family history, obesity or other factors. There are more than 30 million Americans who already have diabetes and another 84 million have prediabetes. All are at risk for developing diabetic eye disease, which is the leading cause of blindness in adults today.
As with many eye diseases, there are no visible symptoms in the early stages of diabetic eye disease. Therefore, regular comprehensive eye exams are the only way to detect early signs. With early detection comes early treatment to prevent vision loss.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is also a leading cause of blindness in the world today. Like with diabetic eye disease, glaucoma in its early stages has no detectable symptoms. There is simply nothing to alert you that anything is wrong. It is very important to have a routine eye exam.
Patients who fail to regularly visit their eye doctor and who might have glaucoma are at risk of the disease becoming advanced and creating permanent vision loss. At this late stage, there is little we can do to control glaucoma and prevent further loss of vision.
At the early stages, however, we offer several treatments to slow the progression of glaucoma, such as surgery and other medical treatments.
Don’t Wait
Our intent is not to alarm patients but to provide you with the knowledge that an eye exam can detect so much more than changes needed in your glasses or contact lens prescription. It is very important for all adults to have at least an annual comprehensive eye exam. For adults with certain medical conditions, our Elmquist team may even recommend more frequent visits.
If it has been a while since your last eye exam, give the best eye doctors near Punta Gorda, Florida a call today to make an appointment at Elmquist Eye Group. This exam might just be the best thing you do all year to protect your overall health.