Eye Care

Health Guides
Importance of Periodic Eye Examinations
Dr. Dennis Ruskin

Eye examinations are an important part of health maintenance for everyone. In many cases, eye and associated systemic disease have no visual symptoms in their early stages. Just because you may have 20/20 vision, it does not mean that your eyes are healthy. Periodic eye exams identify sight-threatening diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetes before irreversible vision loss occurs.

Approximately 75 per cent of vision loss and blindness is preventable or treatable. Looking after your eyes now may prevent you from losing your sight in the future. Adults and children also require periodic eye exams to maximize visual performance needed for school, work, or for leisure activities.

For children, eye exams can play an important role in normal development. Parents should have their child’s eyes examined by an eye doctor before the child reaches the age of three. However, if there is any family history of amblyopia (lazy eye), eye muscle problems or glasses worn at an early age or if the child was born prematurely or with developmental problems, then they need to be examined earlier.

Vision is closely linked to the learning process. Children, who have trouble seeing or interpreting what they see, will often have trouble with their schoolwork. Many times, children do not complain of vision problems simply because they don’t know what "normal" vision looks like. Children require annual eye exams to ensure that the visual system is operating properly.

For Adults, eye exams are important to monitor tissue changes as we grow older. New technology is now available to make more accurate and earlier identification of warning signs related to age related ocular disease such as high blood pressure, diabetes, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. Digital imaging of the retina is one of the newer diagnostic procedures to monitor the retina, blood supply to the back of the eye, and optic nerve head. The full-colour images are used to monitor subtle tissue changes as time moves forward. Advanced software may also be used in conjunction with these images to further investigate the position and location of retinal problems. Digital imaging is non-invasive, safe, and painless.

The use of modern technology to aid in the diagnosis of ocular and systemic disease is one of the many ways my office strives to offer excellence in eye care. Two-years-old or ninety-two-years old, everyone deserves to see the best they can. Take care of your eyes. They have to last you a lifetime!