5 reasons to visit the Optician

About the author: Tim Harwood is an Optometrist with over 8 years experience of practicing in both private and multiple opticians. He also regularly contributes to his laser eye surgery forum on his own personal website.

Most of us (especially men!) only tend to have eye tests and dental checkups if we are actually having any problems. This article is going to attempt to convince you that you really should get your eyes tested regardless of whether you think everything is ok or not. Below are my top 5 reasons to go to the opticians:

1 You may be below the driving standards

Often people have blurred vision without even realising it as the deterioration tends to happen slowly over many years. The driving standards are extremely strict and you could be driving around illegally without knowing. If you were involved in a car crash regardless of whose fault it was, if your vision was found to be below the legal driving standards your insurance could be void.

2 You could have a lazy eye

This is especially important for children, so if you are a parent reading this you should take you child with you when you get your eyes tested! Your child may have a lazy eye and you would never know it so best to get a check to ensure it can be treated.

3 Eye diseases

There is a chance that you could have an eye disease without being aware. An eye test could pick up an eye disease before it damages your vision. Glaucoma is an example of an eye disease with no symptoms and most people are unaware of it until it has got to a stage where it is very difficult to treat.

4 General health

Eye tests can show up certain general health conditions such as diabetes and blood pressure.

5 Headaches

If you are someone who has always had headaches and have never found out the cause, then you should consider having your eyes tested! A large percentage of headaches are caused by visual problems and this is the reason your doctor will always advise that you have an eye test if you tell them that you get headaches.

I hope this article has inspired you to go and see your optician, but you really shouldn’t need a reason to get your eyes tested. Our vision is priceless and 30 minutes of your time every 2 years or so is certainly something you should be able to commit to! If you are someone who is putting off going for an eye test because you hate the idea of wearing glasses or contact lenses then there are other options such as laser eye surgery or contact lenses so you need not worry.

About the author: Tim Harwood is an Optometrist with over 8 years experience of practicing in both private and multiple opticians. He also regularly contributes to his laser eye surgery forum on his own personal website.