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Regular eye exams are the key to ensuring a lifetime of healthy vision for you and your family.

Regular eye and vision examinations are an important part of preventive health care. Many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms. As a result, individuals are often unaware that problems exist. Early diagnosis and treatment of eye and vision problems are important for maintaining good vision and eye health, and when possible, preventing vision loss.

RECOMENDED EYE EXAM SCHEDULE
PATIENT AGE	RISK FREE	AT RISK
Birth to 24 months	At 6 months of age	By 6 months of age or as recommended
2 to 5 years	At 3 years of age	At 3 years of age or as recommended
6 to 18 years	Before first grade and every two years thereafter	Annually or as recommended
19-59 years	Every 2 years	Annually or as recommended
60+ years	Annually	Annually or as recommended

Healthy Eyes at Every Age

Infant Vision Birth to 24 Months of Age

Children's Vision 2 to 18 Years of Age

Adult Vision 19 to 59 Years of Age

Senior Vision 60+ Years of Age

Low Vision (Blind or Visually Impaired)

 

Infant Vision
Babies learn to see over a period of time, much like they learn to walk and talk. They are not born with all the visual abilities they need in life. The ability to focus their eyes, move them accurately, and use them together as a team must be learned. Also, they need to learn how to use the visual information the eyes send to their brain in order to understand the world around them and interact with it appropriately.

Even if no eye or vision problems are apparent, at about age 6 months, you should take your baby to your doctor of optometry for his or her first thorough eye examination.

Things that the optometrist will test for include:

InfantSEE® is the American Optometric Association's public health program designed to ensure that eye and vision care becomes an integral part of infant wellness care to improve a child's quality of life. Under this program, participating optometrists provide a comprehensive infant eye assessment between 6 and 12 months of age as a no-cost public service. Click here to learn more and locate a doctor in your area who can provide the free infant assessment.

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Children's Vision
The Equation is Simple: Good Vision = Better Learning

IS YOUR CHILD STRUGGLING IN CLASS?
Many children with undetected vision problems struggle in the classroom. These symptoms include:

COMMON CHILDREN'S VISION TERMS
Amblyopia, also known as “lazy eye,” is loss or lack of development of clear vision in just one eye. The cause is the lack of use of that eye in early childhood.
Astigmatism is a vision condition that causes blurred vision due either to the irregular shape of the cornea, the clear front cover of the eye, or sometimes the curvature of the lens inside the eye.
Color Deficiency is the inability to distinguish certain shades of colors or, in more severe cases, see colors at all. Color deficiencies are almost always hereditary and affect one in 12 boys, but only one in 200 girls.
Converngence Insufficiency is an eye coordination problem in which the eyes have a tendency to drift outward when reading or doing close work.
Hyperopia is often called farsightedness. This vision condition occurs when distant objects are usually seen clearly, but close objects do not come into proper focus.
Myopia or nearsightedness is when the images of distant objects appear blurred. The eyeball is too long for the normal focusing power of the eye.
Strabismus is a condition in which both eyes do not look at the same place at the same time. It is sometimes referred to as crossed eyes. Poor eye muscle control usually causes crossed-eyes.

Children considered at risk for the development of eye and vision problems may need additional testing or more frequent re-evaluation. A doctor of optometry can discuss potential risk factors with you.

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Adult Vision
Most adults, aged 19 to 40, enjoy healthy eyes and good vision. The most common eye and vision problems experienced by people in this age group are due to visual stress and eye injuries. By taking proper steps to maintain a healthy lifestyle and protect your eyes from stress and injury, you can avoid many eye and vision problems.

It is recommended that adults aged 19 to 40 receive an eye exam at least every two years. If you are at risk for eye problems due to a family history of eye disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or past vision problems, your doctor of optometry may recommend more frequent exams. In between examinations, if you notice a change in your vision, contact your doctor. Detecting and treating problems early can help maintain good vision for the rest of your life.

If you are over 40 years of age, you've probably noticed changes in your vision. Difficulty seeing clearly for reading and close work is among the most common problems adults develop between ages 41 to 60. However, this is also the time when other changes in your eyes can start to affect your work and enjoyment of life.

Beginning in the early to mid-forties, most adults may start to experience problems with their ability to see clearly at close distances, especially for reading and computer tasks. This normal aging change in the eye's focusing ability, called presbyopia, will continue to progress over time.

Initially, you may find you need to hold reading materials farther away to see them clearly. Print in the newspaper or on a restaurant menu may appear blurred, especially under dim lighting. If you already wear prescription glasses or contact lenses to see clearly in the distance, the near vision changes caused by presbyopia can bring about the need to use bifocal or multifocal lenses. If you are nearsighted, you may have discovered that you now need to remove you glasses to see better up close. Fortunately, people with presbyopia now have many options to improve their ability to see well.

Along with the onset of presbyopia, an increase in the incidence of eye health problems occurs during these years. Whether or not there is a need for eyeglasses, adults should be examined for signs of developing eye and vision problems. A comprehensive eye examination is recommended at least every two years. Don't rely on an insufficient substitute like the limited driver's license vision test or other vision screenings to determine if you have an eye or vision problem.

This is also the time in life when your risk for developing a number of eye and vision problems increases. If you experience any of the following symptoms, you may have the early warning signs of a serious eye health problem:

Regular eye examinations and early diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases can help you continue to preserve good vision throughout life.

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Senior Vision
It's a fact of life that vision changes occur as you get older. But these changes don't have to compromise your lifestyle. Knowing what to expect and when to seek professional care are important steps to safeguarding your vision.

As you reach your 60s and beyond, you need to be attentive to warning signs of age-related eye health problems that could cause vision loss. Many eye diseases have no early symptoms. They may develop painlessly and you may not be aware of changes to your vision until the condition is quite advanced. But wise lifestyle choices and regular eye exams can significantly improve your chances of maintaining good eye health even as you age.

You may not realize that health problems affecting other parts of your body can affect your vision as well. Individuals with diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure), or taking medications that have eye-related side effects, are at greatest risk for developing vision problems.

The following are some vision disorders of which you should be aware:

Regular eye exams are even more important as you reach your senior years. Annual eye examinations are recommended for everyone over age 60. See your doctor of optometry immediately if you notice any changes in your vision.

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Low Vision

Ten million Americans, including more than 10,000 Alaskans, are blind or have vision loss that cannot be corrected by eyeglasses, surgery, or medical treatment.  Most of these people have remaining usable eyesight – often referred to as “low vision” – but their vision loss interferes with everyday tasks or with their ability to succeed on the job.

Vision loss can develop gradually from specific eye conditions, such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, or more suddenly as a result of stroke or injury.  Vision loss varies, with the most common types being:

• Blurred vision or loss in visual acuity
• Loss of central vision, frequently caused by macular degeneration
• Loss of peripheral or side vision, most often caused by glaucoma or stroke.

There is hope and help for people with vision loss to continue to meet their goals for life and work. You may benefit from these services offered in Alaska by the Alaska Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired:

• A low vision assessment where a vision professional determines which specialized magnifiers and other devices will help you make the best use of your remaining vision to accomplish needed tasks, enjoy pastimes, and participate fully in society.
• Vision-related rehabilitation services to learn new, effective ways to handle daily living tasks, communicate (computers and Braille), and get around your home and community safely.

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