You’ve Got Questions…QT Have Answers!
Thank you for choosing QT Optometry for your personalized eye care and/or eye wear needs. We know that you have a lot of options when it comes to your eye care, and we do appreciate the opportunity to convey to you the difference that you can SEE at QT Optometry!
A comprehensive dilated eye exam is a semi painless procedure in which Dr. Q examines your eyes for common vision problems and signs of eye disease. Dilating drops open the pupil (black part of the eye) wide, and allows Dr. Q to view the back of the eye, where most of the anatomical structures are located. Without dilation, only about 20% of the back of the eye is visible, thus, a very limited view of the back of the eye.
After the drops take effect, Dr. Q can get a much better view of the back of the eye (your retina, optic nerve, and blood vessels, etc). Dilated eye examinations can also detect potentially treatable blinding eye diseases, ocular manifestations of systemic disease, and signs of tumors and/or other anomalies of the brain, many of which have no symptoms!
Because of these reasons, Dr. Q recommends having an eye exam annually. Accordingly, the expiration dates on our prescriptions is also set to 12 or 24 months. Remember, without having a comprehensive dilated exam, there is simply no way to tell if your eyes are healthy.
The frequency of your appointments actually depends on YOUR overall health. If you do not wear any contacts or glasses, then you should schedule appointments every one to two years. This is because the vast majority of eye problems/disease are very silent, meaning there are no pain receptors to notify you if something is wrong, thus, annual evaluation can help to detect these silent issues.
People who do wear corrective lenses or who are over the age of 40 should visit annually to ensure that every thing .
More frequent checkups will be needed for certain health conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or other eye diseases.
A full exam with Dr. Q can insure that your child’s eyes are healthy, working together appropriately, and seeing normally. Children do not have the life experience to know that their vision isn’t clear nor comfortable as can be. QT Optometry sees patients as young as three months, if needed to investigate a specific concern, or an abnormal appearing eye. In general, a child’s first eye exam should be between 6 – 12 months of age, according to the American Optometric Association. The next exam should be at 3 years old, and again at 5-6 years old. Thereafter, annual eye exams are recommended until age 18, even if your child does not appear to be having visual difficulties. If your child has not had an eye exam and is starting school, Dr. Q encourage you to make an appointment as soon as possible! Recent research has linked many learning difficulties to visual coordination problems. Dr. Q hopes to see you and your child soon!
Your child might need vision correction, and should obtain an eye exam, if your child displays any of the following behaviors:
- Consistently sits too close to the TV
- Consistently holds a book or tablet too close
- Uses a finger to follow along while reading
- Losses place when reading or a reduction in comprehension
- Squints a lot
- Frequently rubs their eyes
- Has excessive tearing
- Closes one eye to read
- Complains of headaches or tired eyes
- Receives lower grades than usual
Determining the health of your eyes requires Dr. Q to actually view the contact lens on your eye each year. You may be seeing fine and not notice any irritation but, using a microscope, Dr. Q can see problems that have absolutely no symptoms. Some of these problems can lead to scarring or blindness well before they cause you any pain or discomfort. Since the contact lenses rest directly on your eye, the risk for infection and serious disease is much higher for contact lens wearers than for non-contact lens wearers. Accordingly, the FDA has classified contact lenses as a medical device. Dr. Q sets an expiration date on our contact lens prescriptions for one year.
There are many factors that determine candidacy for laser refractive surgery. One common factor is the stability of your eye glasses prescription. You’ll get the best results from your LASIK surgery if your eyesight has been stable for at least 1 year. Another common factor is age, Dr. Q recommends you not to consider refractive surgery until your mid to early 20’s. Vision typically stabilizes once you are done with school and around this age group.
20/20 vision is a special term used to express “normal” visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of vision), measured at a distance of 20 feet away. For example, if you have 20/20 vision, it means that you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. If, however, you have 20/40 vision, it means that you must be as close as 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at 40 feet.
Furthermore, having 20/20 vision does NOT necessarily mean you have perfect vision. 20/20 vision only indicates the sharpness or clarity of vision at a distance. Other important vision skills, including peripheral awareness or side vision, eye coordination, depth perception, focusing ability, and color vision, contribute to your overall visual ability.
Some people can see well at a distance but are unable to bring nearer objects into focus. This condition can be caused by hyperopia (farsightedness) or presbyopia (loss of focusing ability). Others can see items that are close but cannot see those far away. This condition may be caused by myopia (nearsightedness).
Our bodies are constantly changing as we age. The eyes also undergo changes. There are certain activities that may make your vision worse. Some common examples are spending a lot of time in front of a computer screen, playing video games, studying or reading books. There are some causes in vision that are more serious, such as cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and many others. This is why you should get a yearly eye exam.
Dr. Q recommend calling QT Optometry immediately for any of the following problems:
- If your eye is red and/or painful, especially if you’ve been sleeping in contact lenses.
- If you have experienced any vision loss, or if your vision appears to be obstructed in anyway (as though a dark cloud or curtain was covering part of your field of vision).
- If you have an object lodged in your eye or if something has splashed in your eye (chemical or hot liquid).
- If you are near-sighted and you have a sudden onset of flashes of light or new floaters.
If you suspect that you are having an eye emergency, please call or text our office immediately. Our staff is trained to determine what symptoms indicate a possible emergency and can schedule you accordingly. We can frequently see you the same day for a medical office visit and our fees are significantly lower then the average emergency room visit.
