Our optometrists highly recommend getting a routine eye exam. One of the main reasons is to catch things early before you begin having trouble with your vision. Sometimes when certain symptoms show up, it might be too late to effectively treat your eyes. Another reason it’s important to get an eye exam is so that our optometrist can diagnose common eye conditions.
How Our Optometrist Diagnose Common Eye Conditions
In order to diagnose the most common eye conditions, our optometrist will first ask you what symptoms you have been experiencing. Some of the most common eye conditions and their symptoms include:
- Dry eyes – feels like there is something in your eye
- Lazy eye – one of the eyes turns inward or outward
- Color blindness – unable to tell the difference between shades of the same color
- Presbyopia – vision is blurry at a normal reading distance
- Cataracts – blurry vision or frequent changes in eyeglass prescription
- Glaucoma – symptoms may not be present
- Corneal diseases – pain in the eye or sensitivity to light
- Retinal disorders – seeing floaters or specks in the field of vision
In addition to treating these common eye conditions, we specialize in:
- Rigid gas permeable lenses (RGPs) – lenses made from a firm plastic material, they retain their shape when you blink, which tends to provide sharper vision than pliable soft GP lenses also are extremely durable
- Scleral Lenses – a large contact lens that rests on the sclera and creates a tear-filled vault over the cornea.
- Keratoconus – A condition in which the clear tissue on the front of the eye (cornea) bulges outward.
Many of these eye conditions have similar symptoms. Some of them might not cause severe vision loss, but others like glaucoma can lead to irreversible blindness. If you notice anything different with your vision, or you experience eye pain, it is always best to see our optometrist. They will be able to do certain tests to diagnose your eye condition and offer the appropriate treatment.
Some of the treatment options might include correcting the vision with glasses or contact lenses. For other conditions, eye drops or prescription medications may be necessary. We may also recommend you see an ophthalmologist that can provide ocular surgery for certain conditions including cataracts, glaucoma, and corneal diseases.
