When was the last time you had an eye exam? #DarnImportant #Health

I was incredibly disappointed when OHIP stopped covering the cost for eye exams for adults. I’m always nagging my family members to get their eyes checked. It’s such an important part of your overall health. Sure, routine eye exams can detect common eye diseases, but did you know that an eye exam can detect problems with diabetes or high blood pressure?  Just because you think you can see well, it doesn’t mean all is well.

Losing my sight is probably one of the most terrifying things I can imagine. I have a rare eye condition called pigment dispersion syndrome. It’s such a rare condition that my optometrist was actually giddy with excitement when he discovered it, which was a little disconcerting.  Basically it means that the pigment in my iris is flaking off, and could potentially “block the drain” in my eye, causing the pressure in the eye to rise and leading to problems with glaucoma, damage to the optical nerves, and vision loss. Thankfully my optometrist was able to catch this during one of my routine eye examinations, and since we caught it in the early stages the chances of me not going blind are pretty good.

Credit: Sarindam7

The point I want to make is, I wear glasses, but my prescription hasn’t changed in over ten years. My vision was normal, and I was not experiencing any “weird” symptoms at all.  If I hadn’t gone in for my routine eye check up I would never have discovered that I have this condition, which needs to be carefully monitored. For now I just need to make sure I have a comprehensive exam once a year to track if the pressure is building up. If detected early serious conditions like this, or far less rare stuff such as glaucoma and cataracts, can be treated, and vision loss averted.