An Hour of Time is a Small Price to Pay

Tens of millions of Americans are too busy to realize they have uncorrected vision problems. This can lead to worsening eyesight and, possibly, blindness. For children, undetected vision problems can lead to difficulties in school. The sooner problems are diagnosed, the better the chances for successful treatment.
  Regular eye exams are the best way to ensure healthy vision now and throughout your lifetime. Vision problems are more likely to be detected early when you get regular eye exams. Early detection helps to avoid costly treatments later on. When you"Check Yearly", chances are much better that you and your family will "See Clearly" for life.
 
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Your eyes are Windows to Your Health

During an eye exam, your eye care professional can sometimes detect the early signs of a serious health problem such as diabetes or hypertension. Early diagnosis can make a big difference in treating these conditions.

 

Check Yearly. See Clearly

Still not sure you need an eye exam? Close your eyes and imagine what it's like not to see. Then open them and schedule appointments for yourself and every member of your family. After all, an hour of time is a small price to pay for healthy vision.

Learn more about...

 

Hyperopia

Hyperopia or farsightedness is a type of focusing problem in which the eye has insufficient refracting power. INdividuals with hyperopia typically find it easier to see distant objects than it is to see near objects. This is commonly due to the eye being too short in length, or the cornea being too flat. In the hyperopic eye, light that enters the eye comes to focus behind the retina. For clear vision, light must be focused precisely on the retina, so for hyperopic eyes, convex lenses are used to add the extra convergence necessary to focus light on the retina.

Myopia

Myopia usually appears before the age of 20. It is generally considered a hereditary condition, but there is some evidence that eyestrain may exacerbate the problem. In myopia, or nearsightedness, the eyeball is elongated and the cornea cannot properly focus the light coming into the eye. This affects distance vision, which is important for driving. Myopia may also distort the picture on a movie screen or the numbers on a clock.
  In mild cases of myopia, the patient may need correction for only some activities, such as driving. In this situation, prescription glasses or sunglasses are usually the best and most convenient solution. When the problem is more serious and correction is needed most of the waking hours, many patients choose contact lenses. When myopia affects vision to the extent that the patient is reaching for glasses on the nightstand each morning, some type of permanent surgical correction may be considered.
  Symptoms of myopia include needing to squint to make out distant objects, headaches, feelings of fatigue or eyestrain. Patients who continue to have these symptoms even when they're using prescription products to correct their myopia may need further correction.
  A complete vision and eye-health examination is necessary to diagnose myopia and determine the best course of treatment. Often, a myopic patient doesn't realize that he or she is having a vision field problem because the nearsightedness affects the eyes so gradually. That's why having regular eye exams based on a professionally recommended schedule is so crucial.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a refractive error where the focusing power is no uniform in all directions. This results in a  range of focal points of the light entering the eye. Astigmatism can cause blurred and/or strained vision for both distant or near tasks. Since the ideal is a single focal point at the retina, people with astigmatism are corrected with toric lenses designed to create a point focus. Astigmatism is a common condition and it is often found in association with myopia or hyperopia.

Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a visual condition that usually occurs as individuals enter their 40s. This focusing problem occurs because the crystalline lens of the eye gradually becomes less flexible as it ages. The crystalline lens provides variable focusing by changing tis shape. A reduction of flexibility results in a lessened ability to adjust the focus of the eye, and increases in strain and fatigue with reading and other near tasks. Presbyopia occurs because of normal growth, it affects nearly everyone over the age of 45. Proper correction for Presbyopia include convex lenses and bifocals.

Strabismus

Strabismus is a misalignment of the two eyes. It is the abnormal turning of one eye either inward or outward. If the turning is inward, the condition is called esotropia, if the turning is outward, it is called exotropia. Strabismus occurs in 2-3% of the population. Strabismus may be managed by some combination of spectacle lenses, surgery, and orthoptics.

Amblyopia

Amblyopia or "lazy eye" is a condition where an apparently healthy eye is not capable of seeing as clearly as its fellow eye. This condition occurs at an early age in an individual who because of Strabismus or unequal refractive error who is unable to use the two eyes together. During the "critical period", a time when the neurological pathways are developing, if the eyes  are not used together, then the amblyopia can develop. Treatment of amblyopia requires some combination of spectacles, patching, and orthoptics, that is initiated at an early age, typically before seven.

Cataract

Cataract is the most commonly understood eye disease in the United States affecting over 20.5 million Americans ages 40 and older. It is the leading cause of blindness in the world. Cataract is the clouding of the naturally clear lens of the eye. The leading causes of cataract development are poor nutrition, sunlight exposure, smoking, and aging of the lens. Preventive therapy consists of not smoking, protecting your eyes from the sun and a good nutritional diet which includes a vitamin regimen of quality supplements.

Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Macular Degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease that affects your central vision. It robs the sharp detailed vision necessary for seeing those you love, driving and reading. This painless eye disease is the most common cause of legal blindness and vision impairment in older Americans and is now the #1 cause of preventable blindness in people over 50 years of age. AMD commonly develops secondary to poor blood circulation and/or a reduced nutritional supply to the sensitive film of the eye called the retina. Exposure from sunrays can cause the condition to advance faster. Essential preventative therapy consists of not smoking, management of blood pressure, protecting your eyes from the sun and a good nutritional diet which includes a quality vitamin regimen.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a painless eye disease that steals your sight by gradually damaging the optic nerve. Sight that is lost from glaucoma cannot be restored. Half of the 2.2 million Americans age 40 and older that are suffering from glaucoma are unaware of their disease. The loss of sight is commonly explained as poor blood circulation to the optic nerve. With early detection, vision loss from glaucoma can usually be controlled with prescribed eye drops and nutritional supplements. Preventive measures against the adverse affects of glaucoma consists of annual dilated eye exams, visual field testing, prescribed ophthalmic eye medications before optic nerve damage occurs, and increase nutrition to the optic nerve with quality nutritional supplements.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic Retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in adults in America. The devastating diabetic changes that occur in the eye and the rest of the body are for the most part secondary to poor blood circulation. Reduced blood circulation leads to the malnourishment bodily tissues that result in damage to the heart, kidney, brain, and eye. Diabetics must receive regular eye health examinations and always protect the retina from damaging sunrays. Preventive therapy consists of not smoking, blood glucose control, a good nutritional diet and a quality vitamin regimen.