Who is an optometrist?
An optometrist is a qualified healthcare professional specializing in diagnosing, managing, and treating eye and vision defects. They are skilled in identifying signs of eye injury, ocular abnormalities or diseases, and vision impairment due to diabetes and high blood pressure.
As a part of their education, they attend optometry school and acquire a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree. Thus, they are not medical doctors and cannot perform surgeries. They can only prescribe limited eye care medicines.
During a typical visit, the optometrist asks about general health history and eye problem symptoms. They may also conduct a detailed physical exam, which includes checking the eyes for refractive errors. Next, they will analyze eyesight through a visual acuity test. Once they have reached a diagnosis, they can prescribe corrective contact lenses or fitting spectacles to achieve proper vision if any refractive error is detected. They can even refer the patient to a specialist eye doctor when required to provide optimum patient eye care.
What is the role of optometrists?
Optometrists are at the frontline of eye and vision care. They are primary care providers who help their patients take the first step toward a healthier vision and body. They do so in multiple ways, such as treating eye conditions resulting from systemic diseases like high blood pressure, flu, etc. Read the following list to learn more about the role of an optometrist in healthcare:
- Low vision care provision: Optometrists often deal with patients suffering from irreversible eyesight issues. They offer good low-vision care services for a speedy recovery and educate patients on various eye exercises to improve vision.
- Binocular vision care provision: Optometrists offer personalized vision therapy sessions to patients to heal holistically from binocular anomalies. Sportspersons and students mainly require this type of vision care and therapy.
- Eye disease detection: Optometrists may use an ophthalmoscope to detect various eye diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma and chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes that affect eye vision. In persistent visual disparity cases, optometrists can suggest further screenings for a proper disease diagnosis and refer the patient to an ophthalmologist for effective treatment.
- Review and counseling provision: Optometrists review patient medical records or case files to assess treatment progress and evaluate the status of patients' eye vision. They also counsel patients undergoing pre- or post-surgical care and teach them about best practices for using contact lenses.
- Medication prescription: In some states, optometrists are certified to prescribe topical medications like antihistamines, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and scheduled and non-steroidal analgesics to manage glaucoma and ocular disorders effectively.
- Collaboration with medical specialists: Optometrists' detailed eye vision and function assessments help pediatric ophthalmologists effectively treat amblyopia issues in children. Similarly, optometrists and ophthalmologists collaborate on many other eye conditions to provide comprehensive patient care.
- Research and training: Optometrists are actively involved in research and training activities, and experienced ones may also choose to teach and train new professionals. Research activities may primarily focus on vision disorders caused by neurological defects. Optometrists who are researchers work on patients suffering from amblyopia and binocular vision and submit their findings for a comprehensive analysis.
Ophthalmologists vs. optometrists
An ophthalmologist is a board-certified medical doctor specializing in eye and vision care. They attend graduate medical school and acquire a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. They have the qualifications and training to diagnose and treat all eye conditions or diseases. They can even prescribe medications or corrective eyeglasses and perform eye surgeries. Ophthalmologists actively participate in scientific research on the cause and treatment of vision disorders and eye diseases and are suitable eye professionals to approach for severe eye conditions.
On the other hand, optometrists primarily focus on vision defects or refractive errors in patients. As explained earlier, they attend optometry school and graduate with a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree. Optometrists can test and correct eyesight and manage vision impairment issues. However, they cannot detect all eye disorders or perform eye surgeries. Optometrists can detect eye abnormalities early and refer the patient to an ophthalmologist for better treatment. They are the eye professionals to approach when seeking corrective equipment like contact lenses or guidance about them.
What questions should you ask your optometrist?
Typically, an optometrist is an excellent resource for getting personalized eye care to improve and maintain lifelong eye health. They can also answer all your doubts regarding necessary examinations, present symptoms, and future treatment plans. So, next time you visit an optometrist near you, make the most of your appointment by asking essential questions such as the following:
- What tests are you going to perform today?
- Can you explain my test results?
- What are the various treatments for my eye ailment?
- Do these eye medications have any side effects?
- Am I eligible for vision correction surgery?
- Should I be aware of any new symptoms that may occur later?
- What eye conditions will come along with aging?
- Does my personal or family medical history put me at risk of any eye diseases?
- What lifestyle changes should I make to maintain good eye health?
- Can my diet improve my eyesight?
- How can I prevent digital eye strain?
- Are there any reliable online resources to learn more about my eye condition?
- How often do I need eye exams?
- Do I need a follow-up appointment?
What are the best ways to maintain your vision and eye health?
From enabling the performance of mundane everyday tasks to allowing you to enjoy beautiful vacation spots, your eyes play a significant role in your daily life. Thus, it becomes essential to protect them proactively. You can try to adopt the following steps to do so:
- Eat foods that can help enhance and protect your eyesight, such as fatty fish like salmon and tuna, raw red bell peppers, seeds and nuts, dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, eggs, lean meat, poultry, beans, and legumes.
- Exercise routinely to maintain good health and avoid chronic diseases that can impact your eye health, such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
- Use protective eyewear when participating in sports, science experiments, construction work, and other activities that could put you at high risk for developing eye injuries.
- Wear shades outdoors to protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) sun radiation.
- Quit smoking, as it can make you prone to conditions that can harm your vision.
- When using digital screens, follow the 20-20-20 rule. This rule states that you should look away at any object that is 20 feet away for about 20 seconds at 20-minute intervals.
How to lower eye strain when working on your laptop or computer?
Here are some tips to keep your eyes healthy when working long hours on the screen.
Many people place the computer or laptop screen very close to their eyes when working. Extended working hours in such a position can dry your eyes and increase the risk of eye problems. Place the screen at arm's length from your eyes. The top of the screen should be just below your eyesight so your eyelids stay slightly closed when focusing on the computer screen.
The lighting and brightness are more important than you think. A dark workspace or inadequate screen brightness often causes eye strain and headaches. The room or your workspace should have adequate lighting. The screen should be bright enough to the point where you do not feel the need to squint. Adjust the light and brightness so your eyes feel more comfortable when focused on the screen.
More often, we are so engrossed in our work that our eyes stay focused on the screen for hours. It strains our eyes and causes headaches. Most optometrists suggest following the 20-20-20 rule. Take your eyes away from the laptop screen every 20 minutes, and focus your eyes on any object 20 feet away for about 20 seconds. It gives your eyes a much-needed break from the screen and improves lubrication. You could even get up from your chair and walk around or stretch your body for a few minutes before returning to the screen.
We forget to blink when working on the screen, which makes our eyes dry. Regular blinking helps restore moisture in your eyes and avoids eye strain.
If the letters on the screen are too small to read, increase the font size. Bringing your eyes closer to the screen will only add extra strain and may harm your eye health. A larger screen may also help.
How can you find the best optometrists near you in Englewood, New Jersey?
Visiting an optometrist is crucial to your overall good health and well-being. A person's vision changes over time, and according to the American Optometric Association, nearly 16 million Americans have undiagnosed or untreated vision impairments that a comprehensive eye exam could have detected. Regular eye examinations can also save you from unnecessary expenses as they help in the early diagnosis of more severe diseases, ranging from glaucoma and macular degeneration to STDs, brain tumors, etc.
With Zocdoc, you can easily find the best and the most experienced optometrists in Englewood, New Jersey, per your healthcare requirements. To start your search, go to the Zocdoc search bar and select your condition or specialty, location, and date. Once you enter your search criteria, a comprehensive list of highly qualified eye care providers appears.
If you want to find a provider who accepts your insurance, add your insurance information (your specific coverage and provider) on the Zocdoc search. It will help you see in-network providers who accept your plan. Check out Zocdoc's patient help center for more information and solutions related to insurance.
Each provider on Zocdoc has a unique profile that details their educational qualifications, board certifications, clinical interests, expertise, experience, and spoken languages.
You can also read updated and verified patient ratings and reviews to help you make a well-informed decision before visiting an optometrist. Zocdoc also allows you to perform an area-specific search to locate a licensed optometrist near you. You also have the option to filter the search results by gender if you want female or male optometrists in Englewood, New Jersey.
You can also book video appointments on Zocdoc before an in-person visit to better understand your optometrist. Look for a purple video icon on optometrists' profiles or filter the video appointment selection.
Booking appointments on Zocdoc is simple, secure, and free!
Statistics on optometrists and vision disorders in New Jersey, USA
As per the May 2021 data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US had about 38,720 practicing optometrists, and New Jersey had about 660 such practitioners.
Vision impairment data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 170,000 people in New Jersey were blind or had severe eyesight, even with corrective glasses, during 2012-16. Severe vision impairment prevalence is higher among those with poor health (10%) and less than high school education (7%), compared to people with good health (3%) and high school and above education (3%). Almost 46% of people with severe vision impairment have mobility issues. Nearly 34% of severely visually impaired people have arthritis, and about 17% of people with vision impairment have diabetes. About 42% of severely vision-impaired adults in the 65+ age group experienced a fall in one year.
In 2019, nearly 18.3 million Americans (prevalence rate of about 11.6%) in the 40+ age group lived with early-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). About 1.49 million Americans (prevalence rate of 0.94%) live with late-stage AMD, as per the data published on the Jama Network website.
As per a 2015 eye health survey published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, more than 24.4 million people in the 40+ age group have cataracts. More than 2.7 million people in the 40+ age group have glaucoma. Almost 7.7 million people suffer from diabetic retinopathy. About 3.2 million women and 1.68 million men in the 50+ age group are affected with dry eye syndrome.
Sources
The College of Optometrists
News Medical Life Sciences
WebMD[1]
WebMD[2]
American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[1]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[2]
Jama Network
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Optometric Association
Oxford Optometry
BrightFocus Foundation
Rebuild Your Vision
National Eye Institute
Hartford Healthcare
Verywell Health
