Taking care of one’s eyesight is of paramount importance. From diseases to old age, to injuries and more, should something bad befall you and your eyesight is compromised, you’ll need to know what to do.
Basically, one should get an eye exam every year or two years. The reason for this is that eyes and eyesight can change due to a number of factors. Sometimes the changes can be good, sometimes bad, the proper physician or specialists can both prevent and repair anything that could or has happened.
The three physicians and specialists you’ll be seeing are ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians.
The ophthalmologists are actual doctors. They hold an MD or DO and they cover the full spectrum of eye care from glasses to surgery. They’ll also dispense other actions related to eye care. Basically they’re the overall expert for your eyes.
The optometrist has an OD or Doctor of Optometry. They’ve the skill and credentials to diagnose any eye problems , prescribe corrective glasses and contacts and other solutions. Performing surgery, however, is not what they’re licensed to do.
Opticians, are credential professionals in eye and vision care. They’re not doctors and are not licensed to treat eye and vision problems. They will however teach and inform a person on care and maintenance for eyeglasses and contacts.
If you’re going to an eye exam, make sure you bring as much documentation as well as prescription information regarding your medical history. This way the doctor can determine better if you need treatment or if you’re okay the way you are. Don’t forget to bring your eyeglasses and contact lenses for examination too.
Good eye health is a combination of factors. Nutrition being a big one. Eye care specialists will indeed ask you about your nutrition and any problems you’re having with eyesight may well call for a change in nutrition. The eye health specialist will probably have a nutritionist contact of some sort and if not they ask you to speak to your general practitioner who should.
If you’ve had any recent illnesses, you should inform your eye health specialist. Sometimes something as simple as a cold can be of importance as sometimes even the smallest amount of data only a trained specialist can detect as the cause of a problem.
Overall, keeping one’s eyesight healthy requires many steps and those steps are best delivered and taught by an eye health specialist.
Author Bio: Tony Rollan provides consulting services to VSI (http://www.patternless.com). He is an author of many articles on all types of optical, ophthalmic equipment and alternative medicine.
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