Eye Exams For the Whole Family
Routine eye exams are important, regardless of your age or physical health. During a comprehensive eye exam, your eye doctor will not only determine your prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses but will also check your eyes for common eye diseases, assess how your eyes work together as a team, and evaluate your eyes as an indicator of your overall health.
Do You Need an Eye Exam to Update Your Prescription?
A comprehensive eye exam includes a number of tests and procedures to examine and evaluate the health of your eyes and the quality of your vision. These tests range from simple ones, like having you read an eye chart, to complex tests, such as using digital retinal imaging technology to evaluate retinal health.
The eye care experts at Middletown & Settlers Walk Eye Care recommend you have a complete eye exam every year to assess your risk for potentially damaging eye conditions and keep on top of any changes in vision you may be experiencing.
Eye Care for Everyone in Middletown
How Often Do You Need to See the Optometrist, Based on Age?
The AOA recommends an annual eye exam for any patient who wears eyeglasses or contacts. If you don't normally need vision correction, you still need an eye exam every year. Doctors often recommend more frequent eye examinations for people with diabetes, high blood pressure, and other disorders because many diseases can have an impact on vision and eye health.
Since the risk of eye disease continues to increase with advancing age, everyone over the age of 60 should be examined annually.
If you are over 40, it's a good idea to have your eyes examined every year to check for common age-related eye problems such as presbyopia, cataracts, and macular degeneration.
Eye Exams for Children
Some experts estimate that approximately 5% to 10% of pre-schoolers and 25% of school-aged children have vision problems. According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), all children should have their eyes examined at six months of age, at age three, and again at the start of school. Children without vision problems or risk factors for eye or vision problems should continue to have their eyes examined yearly throughout school.
Children with existing vision problems or risk factors should have their eyes examined more frequently. Common risk factors for vision problems include:
- premature birth
- developmental delays
- turned or crossed eyes
- family history of eye disease
- history of eye injury
- other physical illness or disease
The AOA recommends that children who wear eyeglasses or contact lenses should have their eyes examined at least every 12 months or according to their optometrist's instructions. Read more about Pediatric Eye Exams.
Schedule an Eye Doctor's Appointment
If you live in Middletown, contact our eye care clinic to schedule an eye exam near you.