By Dr. Liz
You know why I bug you to have a yearly eye exam? Not just to make sure that you can read the eye chart but to check the inside of your eyes too. Remember that routine eye exams can detect visual difficulty, eye diseases and general health problems even before you are aware that a problem exists. The blood vessels inside our eyeballs are some of the smallest in our bodies so they can be the first affected by things like high blood pressure and diabetes.
My suggestion? Before you come in for your exam find out your family’s health history. Diseases like glaucoma and macular degeneration can run in families. These two diseases are silent meaning that by the time you come in to see me because you are having visual difficulties there may been some irreparable damage. If you have seen me over the years you probably have heard me say routinely in my exam room: “As we all become more “distinguished” it becomes even more important to have your eyes checked”.
Please know that I am not trying to scare you into having an eye exam. I just want to make sure you are taking care of the two eyes you have…because I can’t give you a new pair.
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