Prescription Adjustment By An Eye Optometrist

By Ladonna Chambers


Every year, at least once, those who were corrective lenses of any type need to schedule a visit with their eye optometrist to have an eye exam. People tend to get busy and keep waiting to make this appointment until their eyes are causing them a lot of problems. Once those problems begin, it is safe to assume that the person's current lens prescription is not suitable for their eyes anymore.

The very symptoms a person experiences after putting off their yearly exam are likely the exact same as the ones that were experienced when they first decided to see an eye doctor to begin with. Problems like squinting to see or frequently occurring headaches are commonly seen among people who are straining their eyes. Often a person even finds themselves completely unable to read signs that are at a distance, even though they used to have no problem doing so.

Changes might be subtle, but as they progress over time they will become more noticeable and more of a nuisance. Avoiding an eye exam for several years at a time is not recommended as it can hinder the ability to greatly improve vision with prescription methods. Once a year is the standard recommendation for patients of any age. Even small children that wear glasses are only asked to return once a year, even though there vision has a tendency to change more rapidly than an adult.

When symptoms begin reemerging, no time should be wasted before setting an appointment for an eye exam. Common symptoms are almost always a result of a person's eyes changing. New glasses or contacts, with a new prescription level will be needed. Continuing to use old prescriptions will not help get rid of symptoms and in some cases could make them worse.

When calling to make an appointment, provide the office with a brief description of any symptoms you are experiencing. Inform them that you believe it is time for a new prescription. This allows the person setting the appointment to schedule an appropriate amount of time for the doctor to do an exam and go through the process of ordering new glasses or contacts if needed.

Some offices offer same day service for new prescriptions, while others send the orders to an outside company. In such a case, a person's new glasses or contacts should be available for pickup at the eye doctor's office in about a week. When being pickup up, typically someone will be there to help with minor fitting adjustments and insure the prescription is correct.

While waiting, you might be instructed to continue wearing the old corrective lenses you have. On the other hand, you might be instructed to to wear anything at all until your new ones have arrived. This is mostly dependent on each individuals situation and what the doctor prefers.

The commons symptoms of an incorrect prescription could be linked to other problems. The important of the exam is being able to rule out those other possibilities. If a yearly visit to the eye optometrist reveals no vision changes, yet symptoms have emerged, there could be other things going on that need to be addressed. Often, you will be sent to another type of doctor for further evaluation and testing.




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