Dilated eye exams are sometimes inconvenient, as your near vision is compromised, and you are light sensitive for a few hours afterward. However, the benefits are tremendous, and we have your eye health interests at heart when we recommend a dilation. Below is a general guideline for how often you should be dilated.

-Patients with macular degeneration should be dilated at least twice per year to ensure that the disease is not progressing to a more serious form.

-Diabetics need dilation at least once per year, to check for retinopathy; the blood vessels leak fluid onto the retina. Diabetic retinopathy is treatable. This is not only sight threatening, but also gives clues to the overall health of your body, especially the kidneys.

-Glaucoma or glaucoma suspects should be dilated once per year. We study the optic nerve to detect damage before vision loss is noticed.

-Over age 60? Dilated exams at least every other year to check for cataracts, macular degeneration, and retinal disease.

-Those with myopia (nearsightedness) should be dilated every 2-3 years because they are at higher risk for retinal holes, tears, and floaters.

-Children with hyperopia (farsightedness), eye turns, or learning disabilities should be dilated at least once before age 5 to rule out focusing disorders.

-Young, healthy adults should be dilated every 3-5 years to screen for abnormalities such as melanoma, retinal thinning, or other miscellaneous disorders.

By performing a microscopic exam, we are able to discover and monitor many types of growths. Dilated eye exams can check for melanoma in the back of the eye. Many eyelid and ocular surface conditions have a connection to skin disease. Those with rosacea are especially vulnerable. Hot compresses, creams, ointments, and oral antibiotics can be effective in managing skin and eyelid conditions.

As vision care experts, optometry doctors really are the only physicians trained to understand the interplay of all facets of vision on the quality of our lives. The development of vision, learning at school and our performance in the globally competitive world are all limited by how we see, handle, and process visual information.

As the environment changes around us, the demands on our vision change as well. Consider the demands of working on the computer, the dry air from internal heating and the tremendous amount of information we must process each day. The Earth is changing too. Global warming brings rising tides and as the ozone layer dwindles, sending more harmful UV radiation to the earth, our risk for cataracts and macular degeneration increases. Cataracts and macular degeneration can alter our vision and color perception, as can medicines for arthritis, heart disease, and vascular disease.

Developing a relationship with a primary eye doctor that understands the important role of vision in your life, not just to see the eye chart or for the convenience of contacts and the fashion of eyewear, but for so much more – to maximize and protect vision throughout your life.