We all depend on our vision in more ways than we can realize. Without healthy vision, our ability to work, play, drive, or even recognize a face can be drastically affected. Many factors can affect our eyesight, including other health problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Having a family member with eye disease can also make you more likely to have that condition.
Eye disease that steals sight can appear at any time. Very often they are imperceptible at first and are difficult to detect. That's why it's so important to see an ophthalmologist for a full eye exam before age 40, and then as often as your eye doctor tells you. The following are just some of the signs or risk factors for eye disease. If you have any of these symptoms, be sure to visit an ophthalmologist. It could be the first step to saving your eyesight.
The Ophthalmologist and Optometrist titles can be very confusing for most people. We hope that the following will help clarify their similarities and differences. Both an optometrist and an ophthalmologist can provide a variety of eye care services. Although the most thoughtful service is prescribing glasses and contact lenses, both are qualified to diagnose a variety of eye diseases and disorders, such as glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachments and macular degeneration. Sometimes, your optometrist or ophthalmologist may first recognize the presence of certain medical conditions. During an exam, they can detect certain diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Other tests may be performed, which may also reveal tumors or strokes. An ophthalmologist is a doctor (MD) who has completed four years of undergraduate studies, four years of medical school and a minimum of four years of residency (in-hospital training). An optometrist has a doctor's degree in optometry. After completing four years of undergraduate study, an optometrist must attend four years of optometry school. Both an optometrist and an ophthalmologist can diagnose and treat certain eye conditions. Both ophthalmologists and optometrists can prescribe medications to treat certain eye disorders, such as conjunctivitis, allergies and glaucoma. A major difference between an ophthalmologist and an optometrist is that an ophthalmologist is trained to perform eye surgery.
Whether the surgery is performed in a hospital, for example, cataract surgery, or surgery in the office, for example, laser surgery after cataract, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy, it is important to remember that only an ophthalmologist is qualified to perform the surgery. It's very important to have routine eye exams, even if your eyes appear to be healthy. By having a routine eye exam, your optometrist or ophthalmologist will not only help you get the best vision, but they will also be able to detect many asymptomatic but treatable eye diseases. Optometrists perform eye exams and eye tests, prescribe and dispense corrective lenses, detect eye abnormalities, and prescribe medications for eye diseases. Many confuse the responsibilities of an optometrist with those of an ophthalmologist. Instead, they have a doctor of optometry (OD) degree after finishing three or more years of college and four years of optometry school. Many think that these three are considered types of ophthalmologists; only ophthalmologists are ophthalmologists, but opticians, optometrists, and ophthalmologists play an important role in providing eye care. Ultimately, the best thing for your eye health is to have regular examinations and take steps to protect your vision. Ophthalmologists, optometrists and opticians play an important role in providing eye care to consumers. Ophthalmologists can provide all the services that optometrists can treat eye diseases, prescribe medications, and place glasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems.
Ophthalmologist Scott Wagenberg MD helps answer your questions about what each type of ophthalmologist can do. A good ophthalmologist will guide you in the right direction if you need to see a different doctor or specialist. An ophthalmologist diagnoses and treats all eye diseases; performs eye surgeries; and prescribes and places glasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems. When you have blurred vision; eye pain; or “floaters”; it's OK to see an optometrist or ophthalmologist; Dr. Wagenberg says. It's important to remember that only an ophthalmologist is qualified to perform surgery on the eyes; so if you need surgery; make sure you see an ophthalmologist. Ultimately; the best thing for your eye health is to have regular examinations; even if your eyes appear healthy; so that any potential problems can be detected early on; before they become serious issues.
