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Jim Meffort-Nelson
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Minnesota Optometric Association Urges Early Detection of Vision and Eye-Related Health Problems

March is national "Save Your Vision Month," and the Minnesota Optometric Association (MOA) emphasizes the importance of regular eye exams in the early detection and treatment of eye and vision-related disease, as well as vision correction. Save Your Vision Month is the oldest and most-established observance in the cause of eye and vision care.

March is national "Save Your Vision Month," and the Minnesota Optometric Association (MOA) emphasizes the importance of regular eye exams in the early detection and treatment of eye and vision-related disease, as well as vision correction.  Save Your Vision Month is the oldest and most-established observance in the cause of eye and vision care.

Do you need an eye exam sooner than later?  Like regular dental visions, regular eye exams are important for all ages.  To find out if an eye exam is needed now, visit  The Great America Eye Test, developed by the American Optometric Association.  The test uses simple "yes" or "no" answers, and includes national guidelines for regular eye exams according to age.

"We invite everyone to take the Great American Eye Test," said Dr. Dirk Colby, MOA president and family eye doctor with West Metro Ophthalmology.  "The test only takes a few minutes and it's another way we can encourage people to be proactive in maintaining their own eye health."

Optometrists regularly diagnose and treat eye diseases and conditions.  Diabetes and glaucoma are a couple of diseases that a comprehensive eye exam can detect.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among people aged 20-70 in Minnesota.  But only 8 in 10 Minnesotans have a dilated eye exam every two years.  Glaucoma, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy, the most common diabetic disease, are serious threats to vision and should be treated promptly.  Type 2 diabetes can also be caught early with an exam and treated.

Glaucoma, an increase in fluid pressure inside the eye, leads to optic nerve damage and vision loss.  This disease is a the leading cause of blindness for people over forty in the U.S., but a form of glaucoma striking younger people is caused by a gene that was recently discovered in research by the National Eye Institute.  During an exam for glaucoma, the family eye doctor checks the pressure in the eyes to assess overall eye health.  The most common form of glaucoma develops painlessly and without symptoms, so a regular eye exam is important.

Optometrists successfully treat glaucoma with medications on a daily basis to arrest progression of the disease, and they also treat ocular hypertension, an increase in the pressure in the eyes that causes glaucoma.

Children's vision and eye health: Parents often underestimate the importance of a regular comprehensive eye exam for their children, even though they schedule regular dental and medical appointments.  If families have insurance covering other health care, eye exams are no doubt covered as well.  But often parents assume that vision screening is taking place at school, but this is just an assumption, since schools don't automatically offer them.  And screenings address vision acuity, but not other eye health issues.  Children can't tell if they have vision problems, since they can't make a comparison to good visual acuity.

The MOA has developed a program on children's vision and eye health, "Good Sight Goes Far," designed for parents, teachers and school nurses, filled with tips, classroom activities, emergency procedures and more, all available by clicking here.

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