Imagine Seeing Life More Clearly

by Nikki Klein, OD

It’s way too easy to take your eyesight for granted when it seems to be doing just fine.

Comprehensive eye exams at The Eye Center include more than simply renewing your glasses or contact lens prescription. During the exam, we are also checking how your eyes work together as a team. We look for warning signs of eye diseases such as glaucoma or macular degeneration. And we evaluate your eyes in relation to your body’s overall health.

Who? And how often?

The American Optometric Association recommends a baseline eye exam for babies by six months of age, especially if there are additional concerns, such as family history of eye diseases like as retinoblastoma (cancer of the eye) or strabismus (lazy eye).

Every child should have his or her eyes examined before starting school around age three or four. Then every one to two years thereafter. One in four children has an undiagnosed vision problem simply because they don’t understand there’s a problem.

Adults 18-60 years old should have exams every one to two years. People with diabetes, hypertension, or a family history of eye disease, and those who have had eye surgery or wear contacts, should have yearly exams.

After age 60 yearly exams are recommended as the risk for eye disease goes up significantly.

What are we looking for?

• Refractive error such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism, or the loss of near focus with age (presbyopia).
• Lazy eye (amblyopia or strabismus), where the eyes do not work together and the brain turns off vision.
• Eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. Glaucoma has been called the “silent blinder” because it presents no symptoms until its end stage, when treatment options are limited.
• Common treatable eye conditions such as cataracts and dry eye syndrome.
• Markers of the overall body’s health. With a dilated eye exam, we can have a clear view of the eye’s blood vessels where we can detect, sometimes for the first time, signs of conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.

What happens after the exam?

We’ll discuss treatment options and follow up plans after your exam. We value helping you understand your eye conditions fully and deciding together on the best approach to seeing clearly.

If advanced treatment options are needed, such as prescriptions, imaging of the eye, or surgical care, we have the technology right here to serve you well.

Schedule Your Eye Exam at 608.342.2020
southwesthealth.org/eyecenter

Nikki Klein, OD
Doctor of Optometry
Southwest Health (608) 342-2020