Skipping Eye Exams Linked to Nearly 6 Million Cases of Preventable Vision Loss, According to Vision Care Experts

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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

The National Federation of the Blind estimates that 7.6 million adults suffer from a vision disability, including blindness and low vision, which is defined as vision impairment so severe that it can no longer be corrected. According to the Vision Council, as many as 80% of those cases could be prevented with annual eye exams and basic eye care. 

Despite these staggering numbers, most Americans are unaware of the importance of routine eye care. Of the 93 million adults at high risk for vision loss, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that fewer than half visit an eye doctor for annual exams.

As the average age of the U.S. population increases and the risk of permanent vision loss rises with it, many eye doctors are now urging Americans to prioritize eye health. Below are some of the risk factors for vision loss and what doctors recommend you do to better protect your vision.

Who Is at Risk of Vision Loss and Eye Diseases?

While vision loss and eye diseases like glaucoma or cataracts generally affect older adults, the risk factors that lead to these conditions typically appear much earlier. Many of the signs of poor health like hypertension, high cholesterol or a sedentary lifestyle begin in early adulthood, for example. Practicing routine eye care from an early age can help you avoid serious problems later on.

For the 34.2 million Americans with diabetes, for example, the risk of diabetic retinopathy is serious. Although diabetes medicines manufactured by drugmakers like Pfizer Inc. PFE and Merck & Co. Inc. MRK help, the medicines don’t stop all eye-related diseases in their tracks. While it has no symptoms in early stages, diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults when left untreated.

When caught early, especially before it presents symptoms, patients can work with their doctor to develop a treatment plan that can prevent it from progressing to severe vision loss or blindness.

Another disease with few to no early symptoms is glaucoma. An estimated 3 million Americans already have this eye disease, which can progress to eye pain, severe headaches, nausea and blindness if left untreated. When caught early, on the other hand, doctors can provide a treatment plan and eye protection that help reduce the eye pressure that causes glaucoma. 

Other common eye conditions that doctors can catch and treat with the help of exams include macular degeneration, cataracts, detached retina, eye muscle problems and tumors. 

What Should You Do To Prevent Vision Loss?

Because the risk factors often appear in early adulthood or before, doctors recommend that their patients begin proper eye care as soon as possible. This helps to increase the chances of early detection so that potential visual impairments can be corrected immediately and diseases or problems can be treated before they cause long-term damage.

Dr. Christine Joy, a New York-based optometrist, recommends “a comprehensive annual eye exam at every age and life stage” to keep vision healthy. The VSP(R) Vision Care network eye doctor emphasized, “An eye exam goes well beyond just checking your eyesight and plays a critical role in spotting signs of chronic diseases, like diabetes, which is the leading cause of blindness among working adults in the U.S. aged 20 to 74 years.”

Without those annual exams and eye care, diseases can go unnoticed, and vision problems can become progressively worse. In addition to catching eye diseases like cataracts or age-related macular degeneration early enough to treat them before they cause significant vision loss or blindness, an eye doctor can also detect early signs of other health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. 

For the estimated 150 million Americans who have refractive errors — visual impairments like nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism — routine eye care can also improve quality of life. Going without glasses or lenses not only means reduced vision but can also cause headaches and eye strain from the extra work your eyes are doing to compensate for the refractive error. These chronic headaches, trouble concentrating and overall reduced quality of life could all be prevented with routine eye care.

To keep the costs of annual exams and any corrective care you might need, it helps to have a full service vision insurance policy. VSP Individual Vision Plans offer extremely affordable standalone policies that can fill in the gap of your individual or employer-provided health plan because most health plans either have no vision benefits or too few to cover the routine care doctors recommend.

VSP Individual Vison Plans insurance says it provides affordable access to annual comprehensive eye exams, a large network of eye doctors and significant savings and allowances for corrective lenses, laser surgery and other eye protection and care. Today, it’s helping more than 80 million Americans get the eye care they need to detect diseases early and prevent vision loss later in life.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.