Give Yourself the Gift of Healthy Vision
At the Eye Care Center, we believe vision is a precious gift, and as your eye care provider it is our responsibility to work with you to preserve and enhance this gift. Many people incorrectly judge the need for an eye exam by how well they are seeing or by the presence or absence of eye pain. Unfortunately many eye diseases have no symptoms until the disease has significantly progressed. This may result in the advancement of a silent eye disease that is difficult or impossible to treat effectively. By following a regimen of regular preventative eye examinations, you increase your chances of early detection and effective management of eye diseases such as amblyopia, retinal disease, glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration. It is easy to put off having a preventative eye exam, but it is imperative to maintaining your eye health and your vision for the future.
At the Eye Care Center, we recommend the following frequency of preventative comprehensive eye examinations:
Age:
- 9 mos – 1st eye examination
- 3 years – 2nd eye examination
- 5-60 – Every 1-2 years as determined by your optometrist
- >60 – Yearly examinations
During the consultative portion of your examination, your Eye Care Center doctor will review with you steps to take to support preserving your vision and eye health. Our office has developed a program that we refer to as Ocular Wellness. Ocular Wellness is the philosophy of educating our staff and our patients about how to prevent eye disease through a combination of preventative care and lifestyle choices. This can have a significant impact on your vision and understanding of your eye, how it works, and how you can have the best vision throughout life.
This philosophy supports our company’s Mission and Vision statements, which aren’t just words on paper, but rather a dedication to our patients and providing them with the best possible care and support.
There are five founding elements to the Ocular Wellness Program:
- Preventative Eye Care:
At the Eye Care Center we believe vision is a precious gift and it’s our responsibility to preserve and enhance this gift. By following a regimen of regular preventative examinations, you can increase your chances of early detection and treatment of diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration.
- Sun Protection:
The sun has damaging rays that can damage the eye. Just as it is important to wear sunscreen as a protection from skin cancers, it is important to wear sun protection to protect the eye itself. Cataracts and macular degeneration are shown to be contributed to by the sun’s damaging rays. Additionally, sun wear will help to protect the sensitive tissue surrounding the eye. More skin cancers and irritations caused from the sun are found around the eyes than any other part of the body. There are several different options to consider to adequately protect your eyes from the sun. Your doctor and the Eye Care Center staff will recommend the appropriate option for you depending on your specific lifestyle and visual needs.
- Stop Smoking:
As most people are aware, smoking has been shown to have many harmful effects on the body, and the eyes are no exception. In fact, smoking has been consistently linked as the most modifiable risk factor to macular degeneration. Smoking is also a significant contributor to cataracts and dry eye.
- Eat a healthy diet:
Research indicates that a healthy diet is essential to maintaining good eye health. Specifically, a balanced diet rich in green, leafy vegetables and maintaining a proper balance of omega 3 to omega 6 is critical to the health of your eyes.
- Vitamin and Omega 3 supplementation:
Depending on your situation, specific vitamin supplementation beyond what a general multivitamin offers may be recommended to you. A large long term study showed that patients with macular degeneration showed a reduction in the progression of the disease after taking certain levels of vitamins with high antioxidant properties. For dry eye, many studies have shown that certain levels of Omega 3 intake (either in diet or supplementation) can reduce the progression of the disease and corresponding symptoms that can affect your vision and your quality of life.