How can vision problems be prevented?

Eye health is essential to enjoying a good quality of life. Therefore, to ensure good visual health, it is important to acquire healthy habits, including moderate exercise, a diet rich in antioxidants and Omega 3 and regular eye tests. The frequency of these examinations will depend on age, general health, personal or family history of eye diseases, and personal circumstances and visual needs.

Regular eye exams

A good ophthalmic and optometric examination will enable early diagnosis of eye diseases that can progress without symptoms and the discovery of the onset of or increase in refractive errors or other visual problems. This prevention is particularly important in certain population groups who should have their vision checked regularly.

• At birth to rule out congenital ocular abnormalities, the age of 3-4 is a key time for taking kids to the ophthalmologist and preventing disorders such as “lazy eye” or strabismus from going unnoticed. Because eyesight continues to develop over the first decade of life, annual check-up are recommended until the age of 10 and then every two years until the age of 16.
• In adults, the eye’s degenerative process is triggered at around the age of 40 and, therefore, a check-up every two years for a full examination is recommended as of the age of 50. This could detect incipient disorders affecting the retina or optic nerve, and counselling can be given on presbyopia or cataracts to ensure they do not lessen your quality of eyesight or of life.
• Regardless of age, patients with refractive errors (especially high myopia), diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, vascular problems or a history of eye disease should have a check-up every year.

As well as regular check-ups and other preventative measures to prevent any unnecessary risk to vision, it is important to know the different symptoms that usually accompany certain eye diseases, so that. if they do appear, an appointment with the ophthalmologist can be quickly arranged.

This is the case of loss of vision acuity or field of vision, blurred or double vision, the appearance of floaters or hazy spots, red or weepy eyes, foreign body sensation, the presence of rheum, or ocular deviation.

Click here and take a quick eyesight test