Eye Exams: Why Are Yearly Exams Important?

Yearly eye exams are important!

As eye doctors, we can tell a lot about a person’s overall health through their eyes. An eye exam is more than the mere recalibration of your eyeglass or contact lens prescription, or the starting point to purchasing a new, fun frame. Eye exams peer into the inner workings of your vascular and neurological systems and can reveal pertinent information about your systemic health. At Cornerstone Eye Care, we take the time to carefully evaluate ocular health, in conjunction with advanced digital retinal imaging, to make sure our patients can get the care they need to live happy and healthy lives.

Many conditions can be detected and diagnosed through your eye health. In some, like multiple sclerosis, eye symptoms make up 50% of a patient’s first indication of disease. Common metabolic and vascular conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes tend to manifest in the eye when the disease is poorly controlled or has intensified.

There are obviously conditions that are eye specific and can permanently alter vision. Glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal diseases fall into this category. Early detection and management is the key to preserving and maintaining usable vision to ensure a good quality of life for these patients. Other eye conditions are treatable and have a good visual prognosis once diagnosed, such as age-related cataracts, certain eye infections, corneal abrasions/ulcers, and retinal holes/tears.

All in all, what does this all mean? Getting your eyes checked every year is an important way to take the temperature of your overall health! We do love carrying beautiful, unique eyewear eyewear options at Cornerstone but our first and foremost priority as doctors is monitoring our patient’s health.