When you Should Have your Eyes Examined

Many individuals often wonder when and how often they should see their optometrist. We at Utah Valley Eye Center in Provo encourage annual visits to maintain your eye health. There may be other reasons you may want to consider going in more or less often. Below is a guide to tell you how often and when you should be going to get your eyes examined.

Children:

Children generally should have their first eye exam at 6 months of age, another exam at age three and again at the start of school. Risk-free children should then continue to have their eyes examined every two years until age 18. Children who are at risk should be seen earlier and more often. At risk children include:

• History of premature birth or low birth weight
• Infection of mother during pregnancy (examples: rubella, venereal disease, herpes, AIDS)
• Developmental delays
• Turned or crossed eyes (strabismus)
• Family history of eye disease
• High refractive error or anisometropia
• Other physical illness or disease

Children who currently wear eyeglasses or contact lenses should have annual eye exams. Consulting with the doctors at Utah Valley Eye Center can let you know when and how often your child needs to be seen.

Adults:

To maintain a lifetime of healthy vision, we recommend a comprehensive eye exam every two years for adults ages 18 to 60, and annual exams for seniors age 61 and older. Adults who are at risk need to be seen more often. At risk adults include:

• A family history of eye disease (glaucoma, macular degeneration, etc.)
• Diabetes or high blood pressure
• A visually demanding occupation or one that may pose hazards to the eyes
• Taking prescription or non-prescription drugs that may have visual or eye-related side effects
• Previous eye injuries or eye surgery

Adults who are wearing contact lenses should be seen annually.

If you have any questions regarding when or how often you need to be seen by the experienced doctors at Utah Valley Eye Center in Provo, make sure you call and schedule an appointment today. We can give you an assessment and set you up for annual or bi-annual exams as well as advise you on a variety of eye-care solutions including LASIK.