3 Blinding Diseases We We Can Check for During Your Exam
We sometimes get asked, "Why do I need an eye exam when I can see great?"
An eye exam doesn't just check your visual acuity–we are also looking for a number of treatable eye diseases that have few or no visual symptoms in their early stages. In fact, the three leading causes of legal blindness in the United States all start with almost no visual symptoms detectable by the person with the disease. These three diseases are macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. Each of these diseases gets more prevalent as people age. That is why regular eye exams are recommended to become more frequent as adults get older.
Macular Degeneration: The leading cause of legal blindness in the United States is a treatable–but not curable–disease. Early detection and treatment can significantly improve the long-term outcome. In the earliest stages, often when people are unaware that they have a problem, treating the disease with a very specific vitamin regimen called AREDS 2 can help. These vitamins have been shown […]