Diana Shechtman OD FAAO
Although most people have an annual physical or dental exam, often times the annual eye exam is overlooked. Eyesight plays a critical role in our day-to-day lives. The ability to see certainly affects and interferes with the world around us. Good quality vision is taken for granted until it begins to deteriorate. Visual impairment leads to a decrease in our ability to perform activities of daily living, including driving, computer use and reading. 1,2 Visual impairment is one of the most common disabilities, affecting 314 million people worldwide and3 the majority of visually impaired patients are adults over the age of 65. Common eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataracts contribute to this. 4,5 Current and future research devoted to ocular disease will unquestionably provide better understanding of such diseases, viable treatment options and better visual outcome.
Eye care professional provide high quality eye care through the use of evidence based medicine enabling the advancement of eye care delivery and the development of new treatment options. In addition, eye care professionals provide good vision to their patients. Patients who experience vision loss attributed to eye related diseases are the ones that are at greatest need for proper visual enhancement. Moreover, uncorrected refractive error has been identified as a leading cause of visual impairment. 6
A routine eye exam is comprised of an overall health assessment of the eye and related structures, as well as the evaluation of vision, the visual system and vision processing. Various eye diseases, like age related macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma are insidious and hence, a routine eye exam may identify such conditions before problems ensue. Early diagnosis of ocular disease leads to prompt treatment intervention and better prognosis. Patients need to be cognizant of the importance of annual and routine eye exams. Appropriate and routine eye care reduces the impact of various ocular conditions.
One of the main goals of an eye care professional is to ensure the best corrective vision for the patient. In fact, that is what patients expect. 7 According to a recently published on-line survey conducted among 7 distinct countries (US, France, UK, Italy, Japan, Korea and China), it was determined that vision was by far the most crucial element to all patients.7 The NSIGHT (Needs, symptoms, incidence, global, eye health trends) study was conducted among 3,800 patients with visual corrective needs ranging in age from 15 to 65 years.3 The survey evaluated 40 different needs related to eye conditions, comfort, environment, convenience, health vision, personal performance and appearance. The study’s primary goal was to determine the ranking associated with patients needs when it came to choosing eye-related products. Among the 8 classifications in the study, the two most persuasive categories were vision followed by eye health, while personal performance and comfort rank at the lowest range of the spectrum.
Eye care professionals continue to restore and improve their patients’ sight. What they do everyday is fundamental and ultimately it is what is most important to the patient. So see your eye care professional today.
References
1. Haymes SA, Johnston AW, Heyes AD. Relationship between vision impairment and ability to perform activities of daily living. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 2002; 22: 79–173.
2. Lamoureux EL, Hassell JB, Keeffe JE. The determinants of participation in activities of daily living in people with impaired vision. AJO 137: 265-70.
3. Visual impairment and blindness. World Health organization. www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/ last accessed January 17, 2011.
4. Congdon N, O'Colmain B, Klaver CC, Klein R. et al. Causes and prevalence of visual impairment among adults in the United States. Archives of Ophthalmology 2004; 122:477-85.
5. Visual impairment and blindness. World Health organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/ Last access Jan 16, 2011.
6. Congdon NG, Friedman DS, Lietman T. Important Causes of Visual Impairment in the World Today. JAMA 2003; 290: 2057-2060.
7. Mack CJ, Merchea MM, Thomas H. A global survey reveals vision needs of highest importance amongst a vision-corrected population. Poster presented at AAO 2010; San Francisco
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2 comments:
Take the time every day to give your eyes (and the rest of your body) the nutritive support they need.
Eat the foods and take the supplements that provide the antioxidant vitamins and minerals your eyes require.
You’ll Protect Your Eyesight, ensuring years of good eye health, and increasing the odds that you’ll avoid blindness or vision loss for the rest of your life.
Hi, nice post. Well what can I say is that these is an interesting and very informative topic. Thanks for sharing your ideas, its not just entertaining but also gives your reader knowledge. Good blogs style too, Cheers!
- The Macular Degeneration
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