subject: Skipping The Eye Doctor Can Be Dangerous [print this page] Even as we become a far healthier society, and even as we become more aware of the need to be proactive with our medical care, far too many people are going without visual examinations, especially during their early 20s. As a result, numerous people who actually need eyeglasses are not wearing them while they drive, operate other machinery, and take care of their children, a fact which represents a safety concern for everybody.
Most schoolchildren have received annual vision and hearing screenings since the late 1960s, and the vast majority of problems that are identified in those screenings are handled. Parents are ultimately responsible for treatment, but even parents who cannot afford it have numerous resources available to them to ensure that their kids go to school each day with the equipment they need to be successful.
If every visual problem started in childhood, then these screenings would completely solve the problem. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. In fact, because we tend to be more active during our youth, and because physical activity has a natural positive effect on eyesight, some of the most common visual impairments won't show up on childhood vision screenings, even if they have already begun to have an impact.
During our college years and the first few years of our adult lives, however, our lifestyle tends to become less active and we tend to spend more time in intense study. Both of these changes tend to exacerbate visual problems that already exist and contribute to the emergence of new visual problems. However, people are statistically most likely to delay treatment during this period, even when a condition impedes their lifestyle.
When the deterioration of a person's vision reaches a point where it clearly impedes that person's ability to function, most people seek treatment. But nearsightedness and farsightedness, the two most common visual problems, often develop slowly. Many patients can spend years living with vision that is negatively impacted by one of these issues, but not impacted so badly that it is impossible for them to function.
There's a difference between functioning and functioning well, though. Many common visual problems cause headaches, drowsiness, and even vertigo; and even though these side effects may be manageable they do have an impact. For example, another common symptom of a progressive visual problem is diminished peripheral vision, which can limit a person's ability to drive a car effectively.
It's true that the kid who's diagnosed with myopia in elementary school might have to spend a few years being called "four eyes" by the other kids. But he is also far more likely to continue to see the optometrist as an adult, since he knows that he needs to in order to keep his prescription correct and his eyes working. In a sense, he's to be envied.
For those who do have a minor visual impairment, getting a set of eyeglasses can be a life-changing event. Nobody likes to get drowsy every time they open a book or to lose peripheral vision while driving, and at some level we're aware of the safety risk that goes along with these gradually worsening problems.
by: farnjohn956
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