How often should you get an eye exam?
For most adults, every one to two years, and every year for children, anyone over 65, contact lens wearers and anyone at higher risk. That holds even when nothing feels wrong, because the part of the exam that matters most is the part you cannot feel.
Why regularly, when your vision seems fine
A comprehensive exam does two jobs. It measures how well you see, which you would probably notice changing. It also checks the health of the eye, which you would not.
Glaucoma takes peripheral vision first and is usually painless. Diabetic changes to the retina can be well advanced before vision blurs. Both are far easier to manage when they are found early, and early means before symptoms.
Who should come every year
- Children: vision changes fast while they are growing, and a school year is a long time.
- Adults over 65: cataracts, glaucoma and macular changes become more common with age.
- Contact lens wearers: the fit and the health of the eye surface both need rechecking, typically yearly.
- People with diabetes: an annual dilated eye exam is standard, and your doctor may want you sooner.
- Anyone being monitored for glaucoma, macular changes or cataracts, on the schedule your doctor sets.
- Anyone with a family history of glaucoma or macular degeneration, which raises your own risk.
Come sooner than your due date if
- Your vision changed, blurred, or started fluctuating
- You have new floaters, flashes of light, or a shadow in your side vision
- Your eyes hurt, or there is pressure, redness or discharge
- You had an injury, or something got into your eye
- Headaches or eye strain started showing up after screens or reading
- Your glasses or contacts stopped feeling right
Flashes, a sudden shower of floaters, or a curtain across your vision should be checked the same day. Call the clinic nearest you rather than waiting for an appointment slot.
The practical version
Put it on a regular rhythm, like a dental check. An hour every year or two, for eyes you only get one set of.
Prefer to talk to a doctor than read another article?
Schedule a comprehensive eye exam at the clinic closest to you: Scottsbluff, Alliance or Bridgeport.
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