Maintaining good eye health is an excellent step to ensuring that the eyes aren't developing any illnesses. Check their health regularly by scheduling eye exams with a trusted doctor to catch issues early on. Here's a closer look at why exams are such a valuable step in your health care routine and why you should also schedule exams for your kids. 

Why Are Eye Exams Important? 

Many dangerous eye issues often go unnoticed until the disease is well advanced, such as macular degeneration. Once damage occurs, it's usually permanent and can lead to total vision loss. Scheduling appointments every year or two can help catch these issues early and slow down or even stop the advancement of the disease. 

Good vision is also essential to every aspect of childhood development, including reading and hand-eye coordination. For that reason, vision issues — misalignment and focusing problems —  in children are often misdiagnosed as developmental or intellectual delays and behavioral issues. Catching such problems early on can offer both academic and interpersonal performance improvement, along with preventing issues from unnecessarily worsening as a result of lack of treatment. 

What Is Involved in an Exam?

Most checkup appointments with an optometrist involve two segments: a vision screening and an eye exam. The former evaluates the individual's eyesight ability. The tests involve viewing different letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. If issues are found, like nearsightedness or astigmatism, they can be corrected with precipitation glasses or contact lenses. 

The eye exam aspect focuses more on the health of the eyes. The eye doctor evaluates the muscle and tissues for signs of disease, like cataracts and glaucoma. They can also evaluate common issues, like dry eyes and allergies. When any such issues are found, they create an action plan to treat the diagnosis accordingly. 

Stay on top of your family's optical health with assistance from Eagle Eye Care in Denham Springs, LA. The locally-owned and operated optometrist's office offers comprehensive vision screenings and eye exams for individuals of all ages across Livingston Parish. Download their new-patient forms online, and book an appointment today at (225) 243-1950.