A funny thing happened after we moved from Colorado to Georgia – my vision changed. All of a sudden I didn’t need my glasses to read anymore. Maybe it was just the high humidity, but it was time to get an eye exam even though I just had one last spring. I went last week and indeed my right eye changed – for the better. My doctor also said that even though I still needed bifocals, if I wanted to take them off to read, that would be fine.
However, the most surprising news was that I have the beginnings of macular degeneration in my right eye. (My last two exams didn’t show this.) My mom has this as well, so my optometrist advised that I start taking a vision supplement like lutien. Needless to say, I’m glad I went in for exam, and thrilled to have an excuse to replace my sunglasses since they had a big scratch in them.
Why eye exams are important
Even if you aren’t experiencing changes in your vision, it’s very important to get an eye exam once a year. One way to do that affordably is with VSP. Annual eye exams – such as the VSP Vision Care WellVision Exam® – are important to your overall health. They allow VSP eye doctors to detect early signs of health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and in my case, macular degeneration.
Eye exams aren’t just for adults either. Everyone including babies and toddlers should get an eye exam. VSP recommends that parents take their children to the eye doctor for a comprehensive eye exam starting as young as six months old, then again at three years old, before kindergarten and every year after that.
Also, in-school screenings don’t provide the same level of detection as comprehensive eye exams. I don’t know about your children’s school, but our previous school missed or misdiagnosed problems with both of my kids’ vision and hearing. So it’s best to take them to a professional, especially if your child shows signs of vision problems include squinting, head tilting, avoiding “close work,” trouble focusing, continuous rubbing of their eyes, headaches, and so on.
Help VSP Support Special Olympics
VSP is running a really cool campaign to help Special Olympics Athletes get the critical eye care services they need. When you go to seemuchmore.com/special-olympics-high-five and High Five an athlete, VSP Vision Care will donate a FREE eye exam, new glasses, and follow-up eye care services to an athlete served by the Special Olympics – up to 50,000 athletes served!
In addition, you can share your high five, fist bump, low five or cross town with others on Twitter, Facebook or via email to get the word out about this wonderful program.
Visit SeeMuchMore for more information about VSP and vision care benefits. I was selected for this post by the Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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I’m glad to hear they caught it early to you could prevent/address the degeneration. Everything involving the eyes is so important. We’ll be taking my daughter to her first REAL eye appointment this week. Poor thing took after me and will likely need to get glasses (she’s only 11).
I’ve had glasses since 8th grade, so a yearly exam is pretty normal for me. Good luck with your daughter. Luckily there are lots of cute frames out there these days!