Mcdonald Optical
Iowa City Eye Health Services
Eye Health Exams From Top Iowa City Optometrists
Doctor’s Note: Sometimes, a vision screening at school or your primary physician’s office will NOT detect many ocular health problems and vision disorders! So don’t fall behind—contact a McDonald Optical expert eye doctor in Iowa City and schedule an eye exam today!
What Is Vision Therapy?
Keeping up with eye health is often as crucial as maintaining oral, muscular, cardiovascular, emotional, and mental health, though it’s often overlooked and forgotten about.
Much like other forms of health maintenance, there are many different ways to stay on top of eye health. One of the more apparent measures is regular eye exam visits. These help ensure that the attendant physician can spot any problems which might or could be developing before those problems develop into something worse.
Eye Health Tips
Here are some at-home day-to-day eye health services that everyone can practice to try and keep themselves in the best eye health possible:
Eat a healthy and balanced diet.
Making sure that you get enough vitamins and nutrients from a diverse diet goes a long way to keep your eyes and the rest of your body in good long-term shape.
Regular Exercise.
Even just thirty minutes of exercise a day helps lower stress, increases blood flow, and helps your body maintain healthy levels of cholesterol or blood pressure, all of which play factors into good eye health.
Protective Eye Wear.
You might be on a job site, and safety glasses are required; you could be at the beach and need sunglasses to stay cool, or you might even just be at the computer and have a pair of blue light-filtering eyeglasses on-hand. The point being, suitable protective eyewear can be an easy and affordable step in keeping your eye health in tip-top shape. With McDonald Optical’s broad selection of high-quality glasses at our online eyeglasses store, finding suitable protective eyewear has never been easier.
Know Your Risk Factors.
Your age, weight, personal medical history, and your family’s medical history are all significant influences and even possible predictors of how your own eye health functions. Knowing is half the battle, and it helps to have some idea of whatever predisposed factors may be at play in your specific situation regarding your vision.
Cut Out Smoking.
Over time, smoking can lead to cataracts, macular degeneration, and other symptoms like high blood pressure that contribute to eye health degeneration. The best thing to do is quit and cut out a major risk factor that routinely affects millions.
Take A Break!
Sometimes, the best thing you can do, whether you’re reading a book, working on a computer, or even doing a job outside, is to take a break from whatever you’re doing simply. Giving your eyes a chance to rest and recharge from a particular light environment is a great way to keep them refreshed and healthy for years to come.
When Should I Go For An Eye Exam?
Most people might think that you only really need an eye exam for glasses, but did you know that the American Optometric Association recommends that your first eye exam should occur between six and twelve months of age?! The American Optometric Association recommends everyone have a comprehensive eye exam according to the following schedule:
- At 6 to 12 months of age
- At least once between 3 and 5 years of age or as recommended
- Before first grade and annually after that between age 6 and 17
- At least every two years between age 18 and 64
- Annually at age 65 and older
Exceptions include patients with the following risk factors, which should indicate at least ANNUAL comprehensive eye exams, or more frequently as recommended:
Pediatric Risk Factors
- Prematurity, low birth weight, prolonged supplemental oxygen at birth.
- Family history of myopia, amblyopia, strabismus, retinoblastoma, congenital cataracts, metabolic or genetic disease.
- Infection of mother during pregnancy (e.g., rubella, toxoplasmosis, venereal disease, herpes, cytomegalovirus, or human immunodeficiency virus).
- Maternal smoking, use of alcohol or illicit drug use during pregnancy.
- Cortical visual impairment.
- Difficult or assisted labor, which may be associated with fetal distress.
- High or progressive refractive error.
- Strabismus.
- Anisometropia.
- Academic performance problems.
- Known or suspected neurodevelopmental disorders.
- Systemic health conditions with potential ocular manifestations.
- Wearing contact lenses.
- Functional vision in only one eye.
- Eye surgery or previous eye injury.
- Taking prescription or nonprescription drugs (e.g., over-the-counter medications, supplements, herbal remedies) with potential ocular side effects.
Adult Risk Factors
- A personal or family history of ocular disease.
- Belonging to specific racial and ethnic groups.
- Systemic health conditions with potential ocular manifestations.
- Occupations that are highly demanding visually or have a high potential of being hazardous to the eyes.
- Taking prescription or nonprescription drugs with ocular side effects.
- Functional vision in only one eye.
- Wearing contact lenses.
- Eye surgery or previous eye injury.
- High or progressive refractive error.
- Other eye-related health concerns or conditions.
Patients who have undergone refractive surgery (LASIK, PRK, SMILE) should still have an eye exam every 1-2 years to monitor overall ocular health.
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