Depending on age or vision needs, eye doctors generally recommend a comprehensive eye check-up once in a year. Choosing an eye specialist can be difficult as you will trust a doctor who would safeguard the precious sense of sight to help you retain a lifetime of good vision. The decision of choosing an eye specialist should not be taken lightly as eyes are an important part of the human body.
Types of Eye Doctors
There are three types of eye doctors. You can choose an eye specialist depending on your needs and requirements.
Ophthalmologists - An ophthalmologist (doctor of osteopathic medicine) is a medical doctor who specializes in treating and diagnosing all types of eye diseases, performing surgery on the eye and prescribe medication. They also write prescriptions for contact lenses and eyeglasses.
Optometrists - Optometrists are responsible to take care of the primary health of your eye. These doctors examine, diagnose, manage and treat diseases, disorder and injuries of the visual system, associated structures of the eye and identify conditions that affect the eye. In some cases, when surgery is already performed by an ophthalmologist, then optometrists participate in pre or post-operative care.
Opticians - Opticians are not generally eye doctors. They use prescriptions written by an ophthalmologist and optometrists to correct the vision of a patient by fitting and selling contact lenses and eyeglasses. Generally, opticians are not required to obtain formal training or licensure. However, some states would require the opticians to complete a certification program to permit them to fit contact lenses.
Things to Be Kept in Mind While Choosing an Eye Specialist
Given below are a few factors you must consider before choosing an eye specialist.
Type of Care You Need - The first and foremost thing you should take into consideration while choosing an eye specialist knows the type of care you need. An optometrist or ophthalmologist will suit your purpose if you just need to get a general eye exam done. However, if you want to get a specific eye disease cured, you can go to an ophthalmologist for ongoing care.
Experience - The doctor you choose must be an experienced professional. You can go through the credentials of the doctor to know if they are professionals. Make sure that the doctor is licensed to perform the specific surgery issues. In this way, when you go to get a treatment done, you will be confident that you would get high-quality eye care.
Equipment - While choosing eye doctors, ensure that they have technologically advanced equipment to cure the eyes. Check for new varieties of equipments. You have to make sure the doctor is very well updated with the newest technology so that they can treat you better.
Recommendation - You can take recommendations from your family, friends or co-workers to find a competent and friendly doctor. This way, when you will go to get your eyes examined, you will not have to face unpleasant surprises.
The eye surgery is a complicated process and cannot be done for people who are not physically fit. It is important to contact highly skill doctors to take action in saving your eye at all cost. In most cases, the surgical or medical eye care is done by an ophthalmologist. In most cases, for chronic eye diseases and common eye problems (eye infection or dry eyes), optometrists offer medical eye treatment. For certain eye disorders, surgery needs to be performed with special care and an ophthalmologist may be required to perform the treatment.