OPTOMETRY: More than Eye Care
Your Optometrist is trained to see when your eyes are showing that something is amiss with your health
When it comes to vision and eye health, your optometrist is your first point of entry into the eye care system. When optometrists examine your eyes, they look for signs of serious eye health and vision conditions, such as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration. Such conditions can lead to vision impairment if left untreated, so an eye exam could help to make the difference between sight and vision loss. But optometrists do so much more. The systems in your body are interconnected and the eyes offer a unique view into your overall health. By looking at the structures of the eye, including the tissues, blood vessels and nerves, an optometrist is able to tell when something is amiss in the autoimmune, vascular, or neurological systems. In this way, an optometrist’s eye exam can sometimes have an impact on your health that goes well beyond eye care. Sometimes an optometrist’s exam can even save your life.
“IT’S MORE THAN EYE CARE. WE’RE SAVING LIVES.”
Optometrist Dr. Gary Pearce knows firsthand that a seemingly routine eye exam can have a significant impact. His patient, Lisa, came in with a complaint that her vision was changing.
She thought it was time for a pair of glasses. When Dr. Pearce examined her retina, he found significant swelling of the optic nerve with considerable hemorrhaging. Realizing something was terribly wrong, he advised her to go to the emergency room immediately. Upon arrival at the hospital, the patient’s blood pressure was so high that the emergency physicians had difficulty even getting a reading.
She stayed in the hospital in intensive care for a few days, until the doctors were able to bring her blood pressure down from the brink of catastrophe, and Lisa had to take several months off from her job. The emergency physician sent a follow up report to Dr. Pearce, commending him on the significant complications that had been avoided as a result of his diagnosis and quick action. “This is the kind of care we provide,” Dr. Pearce says. “This is what’s at stake.”
DIDN’T SEE IT COMING
John’s vision was generally good. He owned a pair of reading glasses that he only wore occasionally and beyond that wasn’t concerned about his vision. When he started experiencing floaters in his peripheral vision, he tried to dismiss them. One day while golfing, John’s vision got blurry. Was it just really hot outside? Did he need eyeglasses with a stronger prescription? He decided to check in with his optometrist. When Dr. Ana Juricic spoke with and examined John, she knew something was seriously wrong. She referred him immediately to the emergency room. While optometrists can diagnose, treat and manage many ocular conditions, in the cases where an ophthalmologist or other specialist is required, optometrists make referrals and comanage their patient’s eye health care. Tests at the hospital led to a surprising and for John, frightening diagnosis: choroidal melanoma, a form of eye cancer. John calls Dr. Juricic his “guardian angel,” because of her critical role in his diagnosis, as well as the support she provided throughout his treatment.
“WITHOUT MY OPTOMETRIST, I MIGHT NOT BE ALIVE TODAY.”
When Jane suddenly couldn’t see properly, she went to her optometrist. Understandably, she assumed that the problem had to do with her vision. But during the exam, Dr. Bradley Sanger identified potential areas of concern that pointed to issues outside of the ocular system. As well as sending Jane for further evaluation that would indeed reveal she was diabetic and hypertensive, he also referred her for neuroimaging. The MRI and CT scans done revealed a very large cyst on the membrane covering the brain, taking up an astounding 1/3 of Jane’s skull. Jane was admitted to the hospital for urgent – and successful – brain surgery. Despite there being a number of lifethreatening conditions brewing, until she had an eye exam, Jane had no idea that she was hypertensive or diabetic. Her optometrist was the pivotal first step in getting the critical care she required. “Optometry is an essential health care service which greatly benefits patients,” Jane says. “Without my optometrist, I might not be alive today.”
YOUR EYE CARE, YOUR HEALTH
Optometrists should be on your list of health professionals to see every 1-2 years. As your go-to for primary eye care, optometrists have the skills, training, and equipment to: diagnose vision abnormalities treat common conditions like dryness or infections. diagnose and manage serious vision and ocular conditions like glaucoma, macular degeneration or cataracts and can help detect serious conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, tumours and autoimmune diseases. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Find your local optometrist at findaneyedoctor.ca and book your exam today!