May is Healthy Vision Month
Taking steps to care for your eyes can help prevent vision loss from glaucoma and other eye diseases.
Get a dilated eye exam. A dilated eye exam can detect eye diseases at an early stage when there are no symptoms. To perform a dilated eye exam, your eye care professional puts drops in the eyes to dilate, or widen, the pupil so he or she can get a good look at the back of the eye. Early detection and treatment of eye diseases such as glaucoma can slow or stop vision loss and reduce the risk of blindness. Talk to your eye doctor about how often you should have a dilated eye exam.
Be aware of risk factors. The risk of vision loss and blindness is higher for some people based on race, ethnicity, and other demographic factors. For example, you might be at higher risk for glaucoma if you have a family history of glaucoma; have diabetes; are African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, or Alaska Native; or are older than 50. Knowing about your family’s health is helpful to maintain your own eye health. Talk to your family members about their eye health history. It is important to know if anyone has been diagnosed with an eye disease, since some (like glaucoma) have a hereditary component.
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