It is downright terrifying to consider serious problems with our eyes. After all, for most people, sight is a major sense of the body that we cannot bear to lose. We use our eyes to enjoy life, help with work-related tasks, and discover more about ourselves. We also use our eyes to navigate our world. No able-bodied person would want to lose their eyesight– but unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with 20/20 vision. Because of accidents, injuries, or genetics, many people might have eye problems. Poor vision is why you might want to visit an optometrist or eye specialist in Singapore.
If your eyes feel cloudy and unfocused at times, you might need to see one. You need to do the same if you have eyesight that blurs when you read faraway signs or hold books close to your face. If you start to see spots swimming in your vision, you must call one. When you call an optometrist, you can find solutions to the simplest or worst eye problems.
What is an eye specialist?
You might already know that eye specialists treat eye problems, but you are not aware of the extent of their services. They provide full eye care– they treat, diagnose, and prevent eye problems from occurring in the first place. An eye doctor can administer comprehensive eye exams, prescribe glasses and contact lenses to those who need corrective eyewear, and even perform eye surgery or treatments.
Any well-trained eye specialist in Singapore can treat complex eye problems. Eyes may encounter a variety of diseases that can affect a person’s eyesight. In the worst-case scenario, a person may lose their eyesight completely. You would want to see an optometrist immediately when you encounter eye problems that affect your quality of life.
You might wonder what is a good reason to visit your eye doctor. Sometimes, some eye symptoms are temporary and you might not need treatment for your eyes. Your eyes have some of the most complex immune systems in your body. When eyes start to function badly, you might not be able to notice it until the problem becomes too annoying to ignore.
A little knowledge is necessary for you to catch your eye problems earlier. When you find an optometrist to help you while your condition is in its early stages, you have a higher chance of treating your disease and recovering from it.
Eye problems you need treatments for
When one thinks of ‘eye problems,’ they might think of serious diseases that leave the patient completely blind. However, eye issues vary according to symptom severity. Some eye issues make it harder for you to focus your eyes at certain lengths.
Though your problems may feel inconsequential, you still need to visit an eye specialist in Singapore to help you receive treatments before they worsen. Some are insidious in their ability to affect your eyesight.
Here are a few eye conditions you need to know about to identify the symptoms.
1) Glaucoma
One (or more) of the most deadly diseases on this list is glaucoma. A glaucoma condition is a group of diseases that damages the optic nerve in your eye and slowly result in blindness. Glaucoma can occur when the fluid pressure within your eye slowly rises and damages the nerves, but scientists have found other instances when the condition still happens with normal fluid pressure in the eye.
One does not need to succumb to the effects of glaucoma and become completely blind. Early detection is crucial to prevent serious eye damage and vision loss. Depending on the type of glaucoma you have (‘open-angle’ or ‘closed-angle’), the speed of your vision loss may vary. Sometimes the slow loss of vision is not preferable to rapid vision loss, because you may not notice your disease until you have consulted an eye specialist in Singapore.
2) Cataracts
A doctor should address your cataracts as soon as they are detected. The clouded spots may not disturb your vision at first, but when it progresses, the cloudiness or milkiness becomes severe. They may make you blind if they are allowed to develop. Unfortunately, they are sometimes difficult to spot at first because the cloudiness of your lens may look subtle. They are also slow to develop. If you see any warning signs, do not hesitate to call a doctor.
Cataracts look like a cloudy film over one’s eye. Those who have cataracts report having vision akin to looking through frosted glass. Because of this, you may have difficulty seeing objects at night, looking at faraway objects, reading books or newspapers, and much more.
3) Refractive errors
When someone has refractive errors, it can result in blurry vision. Blurred eyesight happens in a variety of ways– astigmatism, hyperopia, presbyopia, and more. The most common refractive error is myopia, also called nearsightedness. Myopia occurs because the shape of your eyes bends or refracts light incorrectly. Myopia can cause resulting in blurrier vision when you try to focus on faraway signs and writing.
If you have refractive errors in your eye, seek an eye specialist in Singapore immediately. They can assist you by finding prescription glasses you can wear to adjust your vision. They can also create contact lenses to help with your blurred vision. For permanent results, you can even ask for eye surgery to correct problems like myopia.
You might not want to wait for a debilitating eye condition before considering your next optometrist visit. While you still have better eyesight, consult a doctor about seemingly minor eye problems before they worsen. Other body parts may heal, but eyesight is a crucial yet delicate sense easy to lose.
Need an optometrist who can talk to you about any eye issue you may have? Visit Nova Eye Centre, an eye specialist clinic in Singapore, by booking an appointment through their website.