Well - Tara Parker-Pope on Health
December 20, 2010, 4:17 pm
Tending to Your Eyes
By KAREN BARROW
Yvetta Fedorova

Poor vision can lead to job loss, social difficulties and the pain and cost of falls and accidents. And though routine eye exams can help to detect the early signs of vision loss and prevent the progression of some eye diseases, few adults make their annual appointments, writes Jane Brody in this week’s Personal Health column.

A nationwide survey showed that only a small minority of those most at risk get the yearly eye exams that could detect a vision problem and prevent, delay or even reverse its progression. Fully 86 percent of those who already have an eye disease do not get routine exams, the telephone survey of 1,004 adults revealed.

The survey was commissioned by Lighthouse International, the world-renowned nonprofit organization in New York that seeks to prevent vision loss and treats those affected. In an interview, Lighthouse’s president, Mark G. Ackermann, emphasized that our rapidly aging population predicts a rising prevalence of sight-robbing diseases like age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy that will leave “some 61 million Americans at high risk of serious vision loss.”

How often should you have an eye exam? Read the full column, “What We’re Not Looking After: Our Eyes,” and then please join the discussion below.

    * Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
    * Privacy Policy
    * NYTimes.com 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018