Optometrists
Another very important individual in your life is your Optometrist. We are born with one set of eyes, and these have to last us a life time so eye health should be a top priority. As someone, who is very nearsighted and has had to wear glasses or contact lenses since Grade 6, I try to take the best possible care of my eyes, and I hope that you do as well.
Some helpful tips that you can use are as follows:
1. Make sure that you have an excellent Optometrist.
2. Visit your Optometrist for a complete eye exam on a yearly basis starting when you are a child. I actually probably should have been wearing glasses as early as Grade 4 as my aunt had noticed that I was squinting when I was watching television, but she never mentioned it to anyone. You definitely should not be waiting until the age of 40 for your first exam when problems could already be occurring without you even knowing it.
3. If anything comes up during the year, and you are concerned that you may have a problem with your vision pick up the telephone immediately and make an appointment as it is always better to be safe than sorry.
4. Discuss with your parents any possible hereditary issues, e.g., If your Grandmother had Glaucoma, this can be passed onto your parent, and onto their children and so on. If there are any items such as this in your family history, your Optometrist should be made aware of these issues in order that he/she can check to ensure that changes are not occurring that could be impacting your eye health.
5. Sunglasses - You should always be wearing sunglasses when outdoors due to the ultra violet rays, which can damage your eyes and perhaps cause cataracts. If you require progressive lenses for reading (like I do), you may want to have your prescription sunglasses only incorporate the distance feature as this will save you money. This is what I do and my sunglasses work perfectly for walking and driving. This is a conversation that you should have with your Optometrist to determine if this option would work for you.
6. If you and your spouse have benefit plans, ensure that you are signed up for both in order to obtain the maximum coverage available to you under both plans. If you have Vision Care available to you, it would be part of the Extended Health Care (EHC) portion of your plan(s).
7. Glasses (perhaps referred to as cheaters), which are sold over the counter in stores are not considered proper eye wear.
If you currently do not have an Optometrist, I have provided a link to one here: http://www.londoneyecare.ca/main.html
PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, AND I AM NOT PROVIDING ADVICE.
Some helpful tips that you can use are as follows:
1. Make sure that you have an excellent Optometrist.
2. Visit your Optometrist for a complete eye exam on a yearly basis starting when you are a child. I actually probably should have been wearing glasses as early as Grade 4 as my aunt had noticed that I was squinting when I was watching television, but she never mentioned it to anyone. You definitely should not be waiting until the age of 40 for your first exam when problems could already be occurring without you even knowing it.
3. If anything comes up during the year, and you are concerned that you may have a problem with your vision pick up the telephone immediately and make an appointment as it is always better to be safe than sorry.
4. Discuss with your parents any possible hereditary issues, e.g., If your Grandmother had Glaucoma, this can be passed onto your parent, and onto their children and so on. If there are any items such as this in your family history, your Optometrist should be made aware of these issues in order that he/she can check to ensure that changes are not occurring that could be impacting your eye health.
5. Sunglasses - You should always be wearing sunglasses when outdoors due to the ultra violet rays, which can damage your eyes and perhaps cause cataracts. If you require progressive lenses for reading (like I do), you may want to have your prescription sunglasses only incorporate the distance feature as this will save you money. This is what I do and my sunglasses work perfectly for walking and driving. This is a conversation that you should have with your Optometrist to determine if this option would work for you.
6. If you and your spouse have benefit plans, ensure that you are signed up for both in order to obtain the maximum coverage available to you under both plans. If you have Vision Care available to you, it would be part of the Extended Health Care (EHC) portion of your plan(s).
7. Glasses (perhaps referred to as cheaters), which are sold over the counter in stores are not considered proper eye wear.
If you currently do not have an Optometrist, I have provided a link to one here: http://www.londoneyecare.ca/main.html
PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, AND I AM NOT PROVIDING ADVICE.
