Have you ever heard the famous quote from Shakespeare, “The eyes are the window to your soul”? Well, it turns out that your eyes are the window to much more than that. Today we are going to share how an annual eye exam can help identify serious health conditions.
Your Eyes Are Often The Truest Indicator Of Your Health
You can look at someone’s eyes and tell their mood, their level of stress, or even how well they slept the night before! When you come in for your annual eye exam, your eyes say even more than that to Dr. Smith. When he takes a closer look at your eyes, he can detect early warning signs for several serious and chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, cancers, multiples sclerosis and high cholesterol, to name a few. Each of these conditions manifest telltale signs in the eyes, and often vision care professionals are the first to notice them. When early detection of serious diseases occurs during an annual eye exam, progression of the disease may be prevented or slowed. Sometimes, it may even save a life.
Annual Eye Exam Can Catch Common “Silent Killers”
“Silent Killers” are diseases that happen slowly over time and don’t usually exhibit any recognizable signs or symptoms in the early stages. As you can imagine, these health conditions can wreak devastation in people’s lives. Here is how Dr. Smith can identify some of these conditions at your annual eye exam:
- Diabetes: Dr. Smith will look for swelling or leaking blood vessels in the eye, a possible indicator of diabetes in its early stages or if diabetes is not managed properly.
- Hypertension (High Blood Pressure): Dr. Smith can see this through blood vessels that narrow, bend or are discolored, among other factors.
- High Cholesterol: If Dr. Smith sees fatty deposits in the eye or plaque build up in retinal blood vessels, he knows he’s probably dealing with high cholesterol.
Regardless of the health condition, catching it as early as possible it crucial to maintaining it and allowing you to live to your best health possible. Don’t skip the routine exam, your annual eye exam, that can catch these conditions in their early stages. Call us now or visit our website to schedule your appointment for an annual eye exam, 435-359-2020.
The content found on this blog is for information purposes only. It is not intended to take the place of professional medical advice from your eye care provider. Always seek treatment from a qualified health care provider with all your eye health and medical questions regarding your health.