Family Eye Exams - Knowing When The Deed Should Be Done

While going to the eye doctor is not as dreaded as family trips to the dentist, you can still get a little resistance from some of your family members when you mention the optometrist or ophthalmologist. The truth is however those families who visit their eye care professionals on a regular schedule are those that do better in school and at work. People are happiest and most productive when they can see well. If you neglect to schedule your family for eye exams, as you should, you will be risking many things. You will be risking your children's education and possibly your job as well.

When Should I Schedule Exams?

There is no magical number of when you should schedule an eye exam for you and your family members. If you have vision insurance and have one free exam per year, you may want to go ahead and use it. Otherwise, you may only need an eye exam every one to three years. It all really depends on your age and previous medical conditions. Obviously, if you are having problems or have concerns you can always make a more frequent visit.

When it comes to children, most experts agree that your child's pediatrician can likely check their eyes for abnormalities up until age three or so. At age three, experts agree that children who are without symptoms should get an eye exam. After this initial eye exam, they will need to be rechecked before they start kindergarten. Many school systems require a professional eye exam for every student registered. These exams must be performed before the child begins school. If your child is without symptoms then they can be checked every two years throughout their school career. A child who has symptoms of an eye problem or vision abnormality should see an eye care professional more often. Some symptoms to watch out for are squinting, crossed eyes, eye injury, or family eye conditions that may be hereditary.

Adults who wear glasses or contacts should have an eye exam each year. If you don't wear glasses or contacts, you can schedule yourself an appointment every two years up until the age of 61. After that age you will need to see the eye doctor once a year to be sure you are not developing any conditions that can cause blindness when left untreated. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or any other type of serious medical condition, you should see your eye doctor once a year at the least. These diseases can have effects on your eyesight and eye health.

Can I Schedule Everyone At Once?

Sometimes it seems most logical to schedule your entire family for their eye exams at the same time. This is not a bad idea at all. When you schedule everyone for an eye exam on the same day, you will need to be more prepared however. First, to get time slots directly next to each other, you will need to make your appointment in advance. If you wait until the last minute, you will not be able to get a block of appointments for everyone in your family. So, be prepared and plan ahead when scheduling for more than one family member.

Remember that if there are several eye doctors in the practice you visit that you will be able to go in with your children. Sometimes assistants will accidentally schedule you with one eye doctor and your child with the other at the same time. You will need to accompany your child to their exam so be sure to tell the assistant when you are scheduling that you need to be present for your child's exam as well.

Being responsible and scheduling eye exams when necessary is part of staying healthy. Some people think that it is fine to squint when you have trouble seeing and simply ignore symptoms as such. However, if you ignore negative eye symptoms, you will likely be damaging your eye health more. When symptoms are treated, they can be controlled. Living your life with poor vision is not a good thing to do. You will be missing out on a lot if you choose to do it and you might even be compromising your health. So, be sure to stay on schedule and plan those eye exams appropriately.