Eye Exam Warning Signs Save Seniors Lives

Since significant health problems can be detected in a comprehensive eye exam, it pays to keep sight of your annual eye exam.

An annual eye exam can keep serious health conditions from sneaking up on you, such as hypertension and diabetes.

As we grow older, it may seem like health-related appointments can rapidly fill up our calendars, leaving little time to enjoy the golden moments of our golden years.

While it’s easy to overlook the annual eye exam recommended for seniors, missing that visit could be risky business.

There’s no doubt senior citizens are more prone than younger people to chronic eye disorders such as glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration.

What a lot of older patients don’t realize is that an eye exam can also uncover symptoms of significant health problems— including carotid artery blockages, hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes. I often refer senior citizens to their primary care doctors for diagnosis and treatment after finding one of the warning signs for these serious health conditions.

Since early detection often times sets the stage for successful treatment, it just makes good sense to keep that yearly appointment with your optometrist, as your opening act.