“How often should we ideally visit an optometrist?”
I have a family of 4 with 2 kids who are both 12 and 18. How often should we ideally visit the optometrist to keep a check on their eye health? My 18 year old doesn't have glasses, but my 12 year old recently needed to get a pair.
18 Answers
At least once a year for children, unless they are diabetic, in which case every 6 months would be better, since diabetics need to be monitored more closely. Basically, anyone with chronic ailments should be seen more often.
Hi there,
The AOA recommends annual eye health check-ups for all children 4 years old and older. With the heavy use of computers/iPads there is a tremendous amount of strain on the visual system and we are seeing alarming rates of myopia (nearsightedness) as well as focusing problems. Even if your child doesn't have problem seeing 20/20 how well the eyes work and focus are equally important. Lots of our young patients are wearing specific glasses for computer/iPad that have some focusing power as well as some blue light protection to help their eyes focus and slow down myopia.
Hope that helps.
Sincerely,
Forsight Vision
The AOA recommends annual eye health check-ups for all children 4 years old and older. With the heavy use of computers/iPads there is a tremendous amount of strain on the visual system and we are seeing alarming rates of myopia (nearsightedness) as well as focusing problems. Even if your child doesn't have problem seeing 20/20 how well the eyes work and focus are equally important. Lots of our young patients are wearing specific glasses for computer/iPad that have some focusing power as well as some blue light protection to help their eyes focus and slow down myopia.
Hope that helps.
Sincerely,
Forsight Vision
It is recommended to get a comprehensive eye exam every year. Eye exams check for more than glasses. Optometrists also check the health of the eye and look for signs of disease. Even in children, may eye diseases have no symptoms until it is too late. So, catching them early is key.
Every 12 months is recommended.
After age $40, annual eye check is recommended. For people that are wearing glasses at any age annual visit is necessary, but for healthy people under age 40, eye examination should be done as needed or every 5 year as a part of regular check-up.
Everyone should be seen yearly to check for any progression of eye diseases or deterioration of vision.
It is important to visit your optometrist at least every 12 months for a routine, eye physical. At this visit, your optometrist will check your vision, eye health, and eye alignment (how your eyes work together as a team). If anything unusual is found then he/she will ask to see you back for a follow-up. Often times, pediatric patients who wear glasses notice vision changes more rapidly so they should be checked more frequently.
Every year is recommended for your routine eye examination. During the annual, your doctor should be looking for cataracts and measure the eye pressure for glaucoma, along with a detailed overall ocular health check.
I recommend an eye examination once a year. Not only to check if someone needs eyeglasses, but also to check the health of your eyes. A yearly eye exam may uncover other general health conditions.
Dr. Randy
Dr. Randy
An annual exam would be ideal to keep up with any changes in the prescription and also to monitor the health of the eyes.
For kids, yearly is advisable because we can catch problems early and identify disease before it causes permanent damage. Every two years or sooner if problems once fully grown. Kids in contact sports may develop holes or tears in their retinas and never know it until it starts to cause a retinal detachment.
AOA recommends a yearly eye exam with dilation to check the health of the eye.
Erin Lorraine McCleary
Optometrist
The AOA recommends every 2 years if no problems (no glasses or concerns), otherwise, annually (in the case of your 12yr old who has glasses).
First eye exam is recommended at age 6 months. Then yearly or at least every 2 years if they are normal. Many vision problems, including astigmatism are there before the age of 4.
Annually or more depending on medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.
Morgan Graves
Optometrist
I recommend a yearly eye exam starting at age 3.
You should visit your optometrist annually for a check-up to see if any visual changes have taken place.
First: respond to any new or worsening visual complaints by having them checked by an Optometric Physician. Second: School age children and young adults experience increased demands on their vision each academic year, plus world of academic and recreational digital devices is creating a generation of younger and younger people with serious vision problems. So get the kids checked annually. As for Momma and Poppa bear..do you have any conditions for which you take or were advised to take medication? If so annually. Do you have a visually demanding job and do you get frequent headaches? If so get an annual or symptom based check up. Many conditions are covered by Medical Insurance even if you do not have a vision insurance plan in place. In summary, anyone with changes of complaints gets checked or rechecked upon complaint. Medicated patients annually and adults cruising through their 20s and 30s every 2 to three years. After forty, your changing reading ability will be the trigger to see your Optometric Physician.
