Think eye exams are just for checking your vision? While it may be their main purpose, regular eye exams can actually detect a whole host of health issues. Read on to find out how they do so.
Having your Calgary optometrist regularly examine your eyes is extremely important not just for your eye health, but your overall health too. By having an eye exam, your optometrist can detect a number of health issues that you may be experiencing without knowing it, including:
Need an eye exam Calgary? My Optometrist Calgary is happy to announce that we are once again fully open. We’ve taken the necessary precautions to ensure our customers and staff remain safe given these still uncertain times, and are looking forward to seeing all our wonderful patients again in person.
While you may not think going to your Calgary eye doctor for a regular eye exam is helping protect your overall health, it sure is. That's because your Calgary optometrist is trained to be on the lookout for a number of different warning signs or symptoms that can manifest themselves within the blood vessels in your eyes. By looking closely at the blood vessels in your retina, your optometrist will have a good idea of how your blood vessels throughout the rest of your body are doing. If they detect any issues or problems, they'll refer you to a specialist for further diagnosis.
Diabetes: The small capillaries in the retinas of your eyes are affected when you have diabetes. This may lead to your blood vessels leaking blood or other fluids. If your optometrist detects this, they may test you further to determine if you have diabetic retinopathy.
High blood pressure: The blood vessels in your eyes may give your optometrist an indication that you're suffering from high blood pressure if the vessels are torn, bent, or kinked in any way.
High cholesterol: If the cornea of your eye has a yellow appearance to it or a yellow ring around it then that may be a sign that you have high cholesterol. Another way your optometrist may notice you have elevated cholesterol levels is by detecting plaque in the blood vessels of your retina.
Autoimmune disorders: If your optometrist detects that your eye is suffering from inflammation, this may be a sign that you're suffering from an autoimmune disorder such as Lupus.
Thyroid disease: One of the most obvious symptoms or signs when it comes to the thyroid disease known as Graves' disease are the bulging eyeballs of those who are suffering from it.
Cancer: If your Calgary optometrist notices that the structure of your eye is abnormal then they may send you to a specialist for further testing. The abnormal structure could be a sign of mutation. Your optometrist may also be able to detect ocular melanoma due to the pigment of your eyes.
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As you can see from the above diseases and health issues that can be detected by your Calgary optometrist through a comprehensive eye exam, there's much more to a regular eye exam than just the testing of your vision. In addition to the health issues that can be identified by your optometrist, many eye conditions or vision-threatening diseases first develop with no symptoms or very minimal ones. By having your eyes comprehensively examined on an annual basis, your optometrist can screen for these eye conditions and catch any problems before they become more serious.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive eye exam in Calgary, search no more. Contact one of our My Optometrist Calgary clinics at either 403-256-0606 (Health First Optometry), 403-291-0923 (Sunridge Vision Centre), or 403-443-2040 (Three Hills Optometry).
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