Here is why early intervention is crucial to preventing vision loss and maintaining healthy eyes for life

FEATURE-Regardless of whether a person sees perfectly, when it comes to eye health, early intervention and regular eye exams are crucial for understanding a person’s possible vision correction needs, detecting eye disease and preventing future vision loss.

Many eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, don’t manifest themselves in traditional symptoms such as discomfort or even pain, said Theresa Fife, office manager at Paradise Canyon Eye Care.

Fife said a person typically won’t notice that anything is wrong until they are in the advance stages of the eye disease, which is vision loss.

People who have regular, thorough eye exams in Southern Utah are at an advantage, because most eye diseases can be detected early on and vision loss can be prevented.

The opposite in this case is also true, which is why consistent care is so critical to healthy vision for life“If you’re not coming in regularly, you’re not going to know if there have been any changes – if you have any of those (eye) diseases – and then they’re not going to be prevented and it ends up with vision loss,” Fife said. “Once you have vision loss, it can’t be reversed.”

Eye exams can also find early indicators that a person has other health issues, she said.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, some forms of cancers, sexually transmitted diseases, autoimmune diseases and high blood pressure are potential health disorders that can be detected through eye exams. They believe that having lifelong healthy vision and overall health begins when a patient is young.Fife said they recommend that children have a comprehensive eye exam before entering elementary school or right around preschool or kindergarten, adding that waiting for a school vision screening to asses whether a child can see well is not as effective, as those screenings are not comprehensive and only check whether students can see a chart at a fixed distance.

“One in three vision problems goes undetected in those screenings,” Fife said.

After the first eye exam, a yearly eye exam is recommended to ensure the patient can see their best so they can perform their best in school and in every day life. A comprehensive eye exam carefully evaluates a patient’s visual acuity and looks at the eye from the inside out in order to detect changes that indicate disease. The team is passionate about continuing education and utilizes the latest in diagnostic technology in order to give patients the most accurate diagnosis and care possible.

It is really important to the whole team, Fife said, that everyone is well-trained and consistently staying on top of their training and education.

Beyond the training and technology, Fife also said their practice is dedicated to creating an atmosphere that is patient-centric, which means treating every person who comes to the practice as an individual with a unique set of needs and experiences, as well as really taking the time to listen and get to know each patient.“It’s not about what’s right for us,” she said, “it is about what’s right for the patient.”

https://www.zinff.com