Eye checks: A health essential

Did you know eye checks don't just detect poor or changing vision?

Just like having your teeth cleaned at the dentist every 6 months or visiting your GP for an annual health check, routine eye exams are an important part of staying healthy.

Eye exams can pick up much more than long or short-sightedness; they can detect eye problems and other health conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease.

One of the reasons that eye checks are so important is that many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms. As a result, people are often not aware that a problem exists until they have an eye exam.

An early eye diagnosis and treatment of eye and vision problems are important for maintaining good vision and eye health and preventing vision loss, so regular checks are crucial.

There are many eye diseases and conditions that may show up in a routine eye exam.¹ These include:

• dry eyes: This is becoming a more common issue as our use of devices increases.
• pterygium: This condition is associated with excess UV exposure, and is a growth of tissue across the cornea (the clear front part of the eye).
• cataracts: A clouding of the normally clear lens of your eye.
• glaucoma: A group of eye conditions resulting in optic nerve damage which may cause loss of vision.
• macular degeneration: Age-related macular degeneration, a group of degenerative diseases of the retina, which is a leading cause of loss of vision in people aged 65 years and over.
• astigmatism: A common eye disorder in which the eye has trouble focusing light. Patients that have astigmatism can usually improve their vision by wearing glasses, contact lenses or by refractive surgery.
• diabetic retinopathy: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a condition associated with unstable or high blood glucose levels in diabetes. DR usually presents as retinal haemorrhages and other leakages from retinal blood vessels, with more advanced cases also exhibiting signs of new blood vessel growth in the retina.

Some of these conditions can occur at any age, while others are more common among older adults.

Although it is recommended to have your eyes tested every 2 years, if you are over the age of 65 or have a progressive eye disorder, it is usually recommended to have your eyes tested annually.

• Retinitis pigmentosa: A group of genetic disorders that affect the retina's ability to respond to light.
• Keratoconus: A degenerative eye disorder that causes structural changes to the cornea.
• Presbyopia: A condition that generally begins to occur around age 45, when people experience blurred vision when reading, sewing, performing near tasks or working at the computer.

Other conditions that may be detected by an eye check include:

• diabetes
• high blood pressure
• cardiovascular disease.

Sometimes optometrists may see signs of more serious health problems, for example some brain tumours and cancers.

Optometrists use a technique called fundoscopy to look at the retina at the back of the eye. The optometrist may take photos of your retina, which can provide information about the health of the retina and becomes a record that can be referred to in the future.

Diabetes can cause day-to-day fluctuations in vision, which often settle when blood glucose levels become stable. An eye test can sometimes reveal changes in the retina's blood vessels, which can happen when diabetes remains undetected or is not managed well.

Likewise, heart and blood-vessel disease may also result in changes to the normal appearance of the retinal blood vessels; they may appear thinner than usual or vary in thickness. Bleeding or other suspicious signs can also sometimes be detected. If these problems show up during an eye test, your optometrist may inform your GP for further consultation and tests.

Regular eye checks are just as important for children as they are for adults. A child's learning and development, as well as their behaviour, can be affected by eye or vision problems.

Sometimes the signs of a vision problem in a child may be something that seems unrelated, such as being easily distracted or being a bit clumsy, or there may be no signs at all. Children should receive an eye test before they start school (or earlier if you are concerned or notice any problems), and then annually as they grow.

Generally, a comprehensive eye exam will include an eye health check. To be sure, simply ask your optometrist about your eye health the next time you're having your regular check-up.