“How long has it been since your last eye exam?”, I ask my patient.
My patient will often chuckle, blush, or grimace, and say that it’s been 2, 5, or 10 years since their last eye exam – or that they’re in their 50s now and this has been their very first in their whole life! At this point, I’ve heard it all before, and am never too surprised.
“I’m sorry, I guess I just never had any problems with my vision,” is the common refrain from patients. And, to be fair, that’s totally logical – why would you call a plumber if the sink is working? Unfortunately, however, our eyes are a little more complicated than that (all due respect to plumbers).
The fact is, the tired adage that the eyes are the window to the soul really does ring true, from a health care perspective. Perhaps if not the soul, certainly the heart – as well as your blood pressure, blood sugar, and brain health, just to name a few things.
All of the doctors at Panorama Optometry take this eye-body connection seriously, and we feel it’s one of the major factors that sets us apart from just getting a quick prescription check. In the past month or two alone, I’ve diagnosed or help diagnose high cholesterol, diabetes, brain swelling from severely high blood pressure, and more – all from routine eye exams. Some of these patients had problems with their vision, and some didn’t.
Even if your vision seems fine, and you are overall healthy, eye exams can reveal more than you think, too. Once or twice a month, I’ll see patients with early signs of aggressive glaucoma, who have otherwise perfect eyesight and health. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness, where high eye pressure damages the nerve in the eyes, and causes permanent peripheral (side) vision loss. It is so dangerous because it’s slow, and it’s sneaky. We have two eyes to cover for each other, so we often don’t notice changes until it’s far too late. The eye pressure is typically high, but not high enough to cause eye pain.
While glaucoma is typically a condition we see in patients over 40 or 50, I’ve found early signs in patients in their 20s or 30s – and only because they decided to be preduent and get their eyes checked. Now, we can monitor them closely and act proactively, instead of reactively, to ensure they continue to enjoy their good vision all life long.
These are just a few quick glimpses and examples of the power of an eye exam with us at Panorama Optometry. A thorough, comprehensive exam is not an add-on for us – it’s the default. That’s why when you book an adult eye exam with us, we use state-of-the-art optical coherence tomography, widefield Optos retinal imaging, and Lipiscan dry eye evaluation – every time, with no additional fee. Because at Panorama Optometry, your health comes first.
-Dr. Helon Law BSc, OD