Since President Lyndon B. Johnson made it a national observance in 1963, save your vision month has helped remind Americans about the importance of taking good care of their eyes by scheduling annual eye exams.

“For our adult patients, diabetes is the biggest cause of eye problems we see at Mercy Care,” optometrist, James Stewart said. “For children, developing lazy eye is common, so it’s recommended that children start to visit their eye doctor at age one.”

Visiting your optometrist at least once a year is crucial to maintain the good health of your eyes, even if you don’t wear glasses or contacts. Optometrists are able to fully see inside the eye to diagnose or rule out any eye disease. They’re also able to detect diabetes, high blood pressure, aneurysms, and brain tumors!

“Just last month, we were able to diagnose two brain tumors and one suspected brain tumor,” Dr. Stewart said. “Had they not come in for their regular eye exam, who knows the damage that may have occurred from it. Luckily, we were able to effectively diagnose and refer them to have the tumors removed.”

According to the American Optometric Association, over 40 million Americans have some form of reduced eye sight that ranges anywhere from blurry vision to complete blindness. The most common eye problems are cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, and age-related macular degeneration.

“Glaucoma only presents itself with one symptom, which is gradual loss of vision,” Dr. Stewart explained. “After experiencing vision loss, most people will visit their eye doctor and find out that they have glaucoma. Unfortunately, damage has already been done. The majority of vision problems people develop are preventable, so we stress the importance of annual eye exams for everyone.”

In addition to comprehensive eye exams and treatment for adults and children, Mercy Care provides dilated diabetes exams; diabetic retinopathy monitoring; glaucoma diagnosis and treatment; and diagnosis and management of retinal diseases such as macular degeneration.

Don’t wait for your eyesight to slip away. Schedule an eye exam with your optometrist today, or call us today at 678-843-8600 to schedule an appointment with our reliable optometry team.