We know vision is so fundamentally important for everything that we do, but we underestimate its importance, often waiting until something isn’t working. As a retina surgeon and ophthalmologist, I often meet with patients when they’ve been told something is wrong with their eyes.
Yet some health concerns could be caught early through regular eye examinations with an optometrist. Problems occuring in the body can show up in the eye, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which is why I strongly advocate primary prevention through regular eye exams.
Here are some general tips.
Children
Every child should have an eye exam by the time they’re five years old. Their visual pathway is still developing and there are a lot of simple things like just a pair of glasses that can make their vision 20/20. If that is not done, you will permanently reduce the vision in that eye, known as amblyopia. So sometimes one eye is a bit more myopic (near-sighted) or hyperopic (far-sighted) and can be corrected with glasses.
Teens and young adults
If you’re healthy — you’re not on any medication, you exercise, there is no recreational drug use — generally, you’re okay. Even in that context, I would still recommend an eye exam every two or three years. But those who have glasses should see an optometrist regularly because every time we blink, we’re changing the shape of the cornea and can develop astigmatism.
Adults ages 40-60
Diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, even autoimmune conditions can cause damage to the eye. If you have an underlying condition and you’re taking medication, once a year you need to get your eyes examined — especially since things like diabetes can lead to severe vision loss. Diabetes can also speed up the development of cataracts (clouding of the natural lens), causing vision impairment.
All ages
Regardless of a person’s age, stress reduction is an important tool in maintaining vision health. Stress truly impacts our physiology, because of the cortisol shock.
Dr. Niro Sivachandran, Applied Chemistry and Biology ’05, obtained her PhD and her medical degree at the University of Toronto, and completed her residency training at McMaster University. She is an adjunct professor in TMU’s Department of Chemistry and Biology, and a clinician scientist at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology (iBEST).