Annual eye examinations are important. Dilations allow your Optometrist to look inside your eyes with little obstruction. Looking inside a non-dilated eye is like looking through a peep-hole, however, once the eye is dilated, it is like opening up the door to see inside the eye. An Optometrist can sometimes be the first doctor to notice changes in your blood vessels.
The eye is one of the few places where we can actually see the blood vessels and the red blood cells moving through the capillaries in the eyes. The sooner eye diseases are caught, the sooner they can be treated. There are over 400 systemic diseases that can be found by looking inside the eyes. Diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and certain types of tumors can all be diagnosed by seeing signs or symptoms in the eyes.
Dilations are quick and pain-free. Following your dilation, you may notice some light sensitivity and will need to protect your eyes with sunglasses if you are in the sunlight. Your Optometrist should be able to supply you with some temporary sunglasses that you can wear over your prescription glasses or contacts. After about four hours your eyes should be almost back to normal again.
Sunglasses are extremely important for people to wear. You are never too young or too old to wear a quality pair of sunglasses. The most important aspect of sunglasses is to have at least 99 percent UVA and 99 percent UVB protection. The darkness is not as critical. In fact, UV protection can also be put onto clear eyeglasses and contact lenses. Many over-the-counter sunglasses do not have this amount of Ultra Violet protection. Do not buy them unless it is clearly marked 100 percent UVA and UVB protection.
On cloudy days it is especially important to remember to wear your UV protective sunglasses. On overcast days, our pupils dilate and allow even more UV to enter our eyes and cause damage. When we wear sunglasses, our pupils dilate to allow in more light. If our sunglasses do not have the proper UV protection, then even more damage can be done. This can lead to eye diseases such as premature cataract formation.
For more information, please call Dr. Carol Aivazian at 661-287-3939.