Did you know having your regular annual eye exam could save your life? They say, “The eye is the window to the soul,” but it is also very much the window to the body.
The retina, or the tissue in the back of the eye, is the only place doctors can look at small blood vessels and nerves in your body without needing to cut you open. This makes having an annual routine eye examination with one of our Charlotte optometrists incredibly useful to sometimes detect medical conditions in their early stages. Many common but treatable medical conditions can be first detected within the eye, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
An uncommon, yet potentially fatal, disease that eye care providers can detect during a routine exam is a brain tumor. Changes in a person’s visual field, recent double vision, or changes in the size of a patient’s pupil (one pupil may be larger than the other or one may be permanently fixed in size) can all be signs of a potential brain tumor.
The difference in the optic nerve color or swelling of the optic nerve can be a sign that there may be pathology or disease along the optic nerve or brain, such as a tumor. If your eye care provider is suspicious of a brain tumor, he or she will recommend an MRI to confirm and will likely refer the patient to a neurologist for further management.
At Providence Eye & Laser Specialist, our Charlotte optometrist, Dr. Daniel Gray always performs comprehensive eye exams, listens to your concerns, and provides you with a vision solution and information about your overall eye health. To schedule your annual eye exam, contact us today!
