Consider an Eye Exam if You Experience These Symptoms
If you've had perfect vision your whole life, you may ignore early warning signs that it's time to get glasses. Your eyes change as you age, and some of those changes bring problems with muscles that focus your eyes. Medical problems are more common as you get older too. Conditions such as macular degeneration and cataracts can affect your vision. That's why you shouldn't wait until you can't read distant signs or see up close until you get an eye exam. Here are some signs you should get your eyes tested.
Seeing Light Halos At Night
When you begin to see halos around street lights at night, you should visit an eye clinic for an exam because you could have early cataracts. Cataracts progress at different rates. It may take years for yours to get bad enough to require surgery or you may need to have them removed much sooner than that. Cataracts are cloudy lenses. The lenses of your eyes can get so clouded that you become blind. Before that, your vision becomes impaired to the point where it isn't safe for you to drive or do other daily activities if you don't seek treatment.
Frequent Headaches And Nausea
The muscles in your eyes may work so hard to allow you to see normally that you have frequent eye strain and headaches. If headaches are a new symptom, you should consider vision problems as a possible source, especially if you work on a computer all day. Also, if your vision is a little off, you may get nauseated when you read or work on the computer. An eye examination lets you know if you need reading glasses, anti-glare glasses for working on a computer, or prescription glasses to correct a developing vision problem.
Double Or Wavy Vision
If you experience episodes of wavy vision, it could be an early symptom of macular degeneration. You definitely want to see an eye doctor as soon as possible when you have this symptom because early treatment is important for preventing vision loss when you have macular degeneration. Double vision has many possible causes, some of them could be serious medical problems while others could be weakening of eye muscles. Double vision, even if it comes infrequently, is a symptom that should send you to an eye doctor right away.
Sudden Vision Changes
A lot of the changes in your eyes happen gradually over a long time, which makes them easy to ignore. However, when there is a sudden change in your vision, it is a sign of an acute problem that needs prompt attention. This includes things like sudden blurry vision, development of dark spots, and narrowing of the visual field. These could indicate problems with the optic nerve or retina that need emergency care.
An eye exam is an easy procedure to endure and it doesn't take long. If your symptoms indicate an underlying medical problem, you may need more complex testing. However, an exam for glasses is painless and should be easy to go through even if you have a phobia about someone working with your eyes. If you go to an optometrist that offers full eye services, you'll be able to get your exams and glasses at the same location, which makes the process convenient too.