How Often Should I See my Eye Doctor?

A world without clear vision is a tough world to navigate, which is why regular eye exams are important. When it comes to how often you should come see us for an eye exam, it depends upon many factors, which we explore here.

At Vision Corner, Dr. Sophia Barnes and our optometry team have extensive experience helping patients improve and preserve their vision. Eye exams go far beyond achieving 20/20 vision (though that’s important), as we also routinely check for the early signs of vision-robbing eye diseases.

Here are a few rules of thumb when it comes to comprehensive eye exams.

A clear start

Let’s start with children. You should first have us assess your child’s vision at 6-12 months old and then again at 3 years old.

When your child is getting ready to enter first grade, we recommend that you bring them in so we can check for any vision problems, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. 

These vision problems are what we call refractive errors, and they can greatly interfere with your child's ability to keep up in school.

If we find no issues during these first exams, we still recommend that you bring your child back every year until the age of 18. Bear in mind that you may need to bring them in more frequently if they wear corrective lenses, as their vision can change during these developmental years.

Maintaining great vision

Between the ages of 18 and 39, you should still have your eyes checked every year, even if your vision is great.

For example, if you have 20/20 vision, you should see your optometrist/eye doctor annually because we not only check for refractive errors, but for early signs of eye disease, as well. 

From the ages of 40 to 64, you may want to check in with your eye doctor more frequently, as your vision may naturally decline.

If you do rely on corrective lenses, you should definitely see our optometrist/eye doctor annually  as refractive errors can change with age, and we need to ensure that your lenses address these changes. 

As well, if you’re at risk for ocular disease, such as a family history of eye disease, an annual exam is important so we can intervene at the first signs of a problem.

If you’re experiencing any eye health issues, such as computer vision syndrome (overexposure to blue light) or dry eyes, make an appointment with one of our eye doctors so we can quickly get you back on the road to better vision.

As you get older

Just like every other area of your body, your eyes can weaken with age and succumb to problems that affect your vision, such as:

• Age-related macular degeneration
• Cataracts
• Glaucoma

The prevalence of these conditions rises with age, so we recommend that you make an appointment with one of our eye doctors on an annual basis after the age of 65. 

To give you an idea of the importance of regular visits when you’re older, diseases like glaucoma present no early symptoms and can only be detected with an intraocular pressure test.

Extenuating circumstances

If you have diabetes or any other condition that can affect your eyesight, we strongly urge you to schedule eye exams with one of our eye doctors every six months so we can monitor for problems like diabetic retinopathy more closely.

To schedule an exam today, contact our office in Houston, Texas, and one of our team members will set you up with an appointment.