Oklahoma Eye Center - Healthy Vision

Healthy Vision

Preventative eye care is important to everyone because eye conditions and diseases that can destroy healthy vision can strike at any time in life, from newborn to old age. Read below for suggested guidelines on when you and your family should have your eyes checked.

Infants and toddlers should be screened for common eye problems such as strabismus (crossed eyes) and amblyopia (lazy eye) during their regular pediatric appointments. Vision testing is recommended for all children starting around 3 years of age.

Most children and teenagers have healthy eyes, but they still need to take of their vision by wearing protective eyewear when playing sports, doing yard work, working with chemicals or taking part in other activities that could cause eye injuries.

Even young adults and middle-aged individuals can be affected by eye problems, so preventative measures should be taken to detect eye diseases early and to protect eyes from injury. These individuals should have a complete eye exam at least once between the ages of 20 and 29, at least twice between the ages of 30 and 39, and every two years between the ages of 40 and 65.

Seniors over the age of 65 should have a complete eye exam by their ophthalmologist every one to two years for detection and treatment of cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other eye conditions.

Suggested examination guidelines are:

Age 0 to 2:
Age 3 to 5:
Age 6 to 19:
Age 20 to 29:
Age 30 to 39:
Age 40 to 65:
Age 65 and over

Screening during regular pediatric appointments
Screening every one to two years with pediatric ophthalmologist
Scheduled examinations as needed
at least one examination
at least two examinations
examination every two to four years
examination every one to two years

Computer Screens and Your Eyes

As more people use computers in the workplace, complaints of eye fatigue, difficulty focusing and dry eye are becoming commonplace. Lighting, furniture and desk configurations that worked fine for typewriters, could add to eye fatigue and discomfort when working with computers.

Although you may experience painful eyestrain and dry eye while using a computer, computer screens do not permanently damage your vision.

To help eyestrain and dry eyes, you may only need to adjust your computer monitor to reduce glare and reflection.

However, to find the cause of your eye fatigue or dry eye, you may need to see your ophthalmologist for a complete eye examination. You may need a new prescription for glasses or contacts.

Correcting Your Vision with Glasses or Contacts

Glasses and Contact Lenses correct refractive errors by adding or subtracting focusing power to your cornea and lens. The power needed to focus images directly on your retina is measured in diopters. This measurement is also known as your eyeglass prescription.

If you have myopia, (nearsightedness), your cornea and lens have too much focusing power, bending light rays to meet at a point in front of the retina. Glasses and contacts compensate for this condition by subtracting power from the eye's natural focus and allowing light rays to focus further back on the retina. If you have myopia, your prescription will be negative, for example - 4.00 diopters.

If you have hyperopia, (farsightedness), glasses and contacts will add focusing power, causing light rays to bend more as the enter the eye. This process moves the focal point back to the retina, allowing for clear vision. If you have hyperopia, your prescription will be positive, for example, +4.00 diopters.

If you have astigmatism, the shape of the glass lens compensates for the uneven corneal curve and focuses the light rays to a single point on the retina.

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