Eye Exams

According to a recent study by Vision Service Plan, indications of high cholesterol were found on an eye exam 65 percent of the time. For diabetes, it was 20 percent of the time; for hypertension, 30 percent. The National Institutes of Health estimates 2.3 million Americans suffer from glaucoma, and an additional 2 million have the disease but don’t know it.

Some diseases can only be diagnosed by eye doctors. Many issues can be prevented by appropriate care, regular screening eye exams and referrals to our specialists when needed.

Doctors at Horizon Eye Care are specialists in comprehensive eye exams, with fellowship-trained, sub-specialty care in all areas of eye disease. You benefit from state-of-the-art equipment, some found only at large academic centers, that aids in the diagnosis and management of all types of diseases and vision problems.

Optomap: Non-dilated eye exam

Horizon Eye Care offers Optomap, a non-dilated eye exam that evaluates retinal health and the overall well-being of patients’ eyes quickly and painlessly. In fact, nothing touches your eye at any time during your optomap and images are available for review immediately.

What You Should Know:

• Optomap is available at certain Horizon locations, so make sure to ask when scheduling an appointment.
• A comprehensive dilated eye exam is still important. During your next annual eye exam appointment, ask your service provider if optomap is the right option for you at the time.
• Insurance does not cover optomap. Prior to your screening, discuss pricing with us.
• Patient must be 10+ years of age.

Types of eye screenings

Diabetic eye screenings are strongly recommended every year if you have diabetes, which makes you particularly susceptible to many eye conditions. Horizon Eye Care doctors are specially trained to diagnosis damage to the retina’s blood vessels caused by diabetic retinopathy. If significant retinopathy is discovered during your routine eye exam, you will be referred to our retinal clinic that specializes in treating diabetic eye diseases.

Diabetes damages the retina’s blood vessels known as diabetic retinopathy. Although there are no symptoms early in diabetic retinopathy, as the disease advances your vision will be blurred or you may see spots in your field of vision caused by tiny specks of blood.

In the later stages of the disease, the body responds by growing new blood vessels on the retina that easily leak blood, severely impairing vision and causing total blindness in some cases. Although diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, most cases can be prevented by appropriate care, good control of one’s diabetes, regular screening eye exams and referrals to a retina specialist when needed.

The best time to treat diabetic retinopathy is before vision is affected. Treatment may consist of laser surgery in the office, surgery in the operating room, or injection of medicine into the eye.

Eye exams and glaucoma

Screening for glaucoma can be difficult. There is no one test short of a complete eye exam that can find all cases of glaucoma. Checking the intraocular (eye) pressure is a step in the right direction, but many cases of glaucoma will be missed with just this measurement. Careful inspection of the optic nerve is crucial in determining if damage from glaucoma has occurred. A family history of glaucoma, prior eye trauma, and being of African or Hispanic ancestry increase the risk of having glaucoma. The older we get, the greater the risk as well. Some studies show that patients with diabetes and nearsightedness are also at greater risk. Those of Asian ancestry have an increased risk of angle closure glaucoma. Different forms of glaucoma exist and all of them can be found with a complete eye examination.