Who is an optometrist?
An optometrist diagnoses eye problems and provides appropriate treatment. They also offer prescriptions regarding eyeglasses and contact lenses and find abnormalities. These eye doctors also play an essential role in treating ocular symptoms and providing vision care.
They also recommend patients for higher consultations regarding the surgical procedure to treat problems of eyes associated with occupation, recreation, and lifestyle. To gain admission to medical schools for optometry and become a professional optometry candidate, you must pass the Eye Common Entrance Test.
After gaining primary education for four years, they also complete one-year residency training to get expertise in ocular diseases, rehabilitation, and low vision. Optometrists must pass an additional licensure examination if they choose to work in their respective states.
Roles and responsibilities of an optometrist
Optometrists play several roles and responsibilities to provide the best care to the patients, such as:
- Perform screening tests to detect the problems in the eyes.
- Provide the right vision-correcting lens based on the screening and examination test.
- Monitor eye disorders associated with prolonged illness, such as Type 2 diabetes.
- Treat glaucoma and much more age-related eye macular degeneration.
- Provide low vision aids and vision rehabilitation.
What are the conditions treated by an optometrist?
Several types of eye conditions that an optometrist treats are as follows:
- Eyes Cataracts: Whenever the eye lens becomes occluded, cataracts develop. These have the potential to magnify or block the eye, eventually leading to blindness. An optometrist helps detect eye cataracts and suggests wearing eyeglasses that help to alleviate cataract symptoms. They also recommend patients visit an ophthalmologist. Meanwhile, the optometrist provides preoperative and postoperative treatments to patients suffering from eye cataracts.
- Color Blindness: Optometrists also diagnose color blindness in adults and kids. Color blindness has no cure, even through contact lenses, eyeglasses, and many other visual aids.
- Disturbance of Eye Retina: Most retinal diseases share similar symptoms, such as hazy or loss of vision. These diseases include, among others, floaters, photoreceptors, detachments, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy, and epiretinal membrane. Optometrists can recognize retinal issues and seek care from a retina specialist.
- Myopia: Myopia refers to near-sightedness, a vision problem due to which an individual faces difficulty in focusing on distant objects. If a person is diagnosed with myopia, an optometrist provides corneal refractive therapy, contact lenses, eyeglasses, and other surgical procedures to cure patients of such problems. Sometimes, they recommend laser and surgical treatment to deal with myopia.
- Glaucoma: Glaucoma arises from damage to the optic nerve, affecting millions of people and ranking as the primary cause of permanent blindness. An optometrist can do glaucoma diagnosis and treatment.
- Diplopia: Diplopia (double vision) occurs when you see two images of a single object. Diplopia can be monocular, binocular, horizontal, or vertical. While this eye condition can affect anyone, it is more common in people over 60. Besides double vision, headache, dizziness, nausea, and eye pain are some of the symptoms of diplopia. Its treatments include covering one eye for a prolonged period or wearing special lenses. In some instances, double vision can heal on its own as well.
- Strabismus: Strabismus (also known as cross-eyes or misaligned eyes) happens when your eyes are not aligned properly, and both eyes look in different directions. Typically, six eye muscles work together to maintain the alignment of your eyes; if you have strabismus, it means one or more of these muscles cannot control eye movement and the normal positioning of the eyes. This condition is common during childhood (most often when one is around three years old) but can also occur during adulthood. Glasses, contact lenses, prism lenses, eye exercises, and medications are standard treatment options for strabismus.
In addition to the above-listed conditions, an optometrist can treat conditions like hyperopia (farsightedness), Presbyopia, astigmatism, eye inflammation, and infections.
How are optometrists, ophthalmologists, and opticians different?
While optometrists, opticians, and ophthalmologists cater to proper eye and vision health, they differ fundamentally, including education and scope of work.
- Ophthalmologists: Ophthalmologists are medical doctors. They can diagnose and treat any conditions affecting your vision. Ophthalmologists can perform eye surgery as well.
- Optometrists: While optometrists have OD (Doctor of Optometry) degrees, they are not medical doctors. They attend optometric school, where they learn how to treat common eye diseases. Unlike ophthalmologists, optometrists cannot perform surgery.
- Opticians: Opticians are eye care specialists. They help you select the right glasses, contact lenses, and other corrective devices for your vision. Opticians work with the prescription your ophthalmologist or optometrist provides; they cannot diagnose or treat medical conditions independently.
When to see an optometrist?
There is no particular condition to visit an optometrist. A regular examination is helpful for early detection and preserves eye vision. If you follow any listed symptoms, see an optometrist near you.
- Constant pain in the eyes.
- Blurry vision and double vision
- Inflammation in the eyes or red eyes
- Tiny particles that irritate the eyes
- Luminous flashes
- Vision loss
- Loose muscles
If you wear corrective glasses and lenses, you should visit an optometrist regularly for proper treatment. Individuals with chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes face an increased likelihood of experiencing vision impairment.
Moreover, if you have a family health record of eye diseases, vision loss, and any other problem, connect with an optometrist to learn about the risks and treatment. If you require additional medicine or eye surgery, your optometrist may refer you to the ophthalmologist, a doctor with expertise in eye care.
Find the right optometrist near you in Rockville, Maryland
Finding the right optometrist can be a daunting task through a search engine. But Zocdoc has simplified it for you. On this website, you can find a customized list of the best optometrists according to location, certification, experience, and more. With a simple navigation system, one can easily search for the best medical practitioner in their area.
Zocdoc has a verified database of certified doctors with their complete biographies. Once you get the list of the top optometrists in your location, read the details to make an informed decision about the practitioners. Also, booking an appointment with Zocdoc is straightforward.
Healthcare specialists receive genuine reviews and ratings under their profiles. The ratings help you know about the experience of previous patients. Hence, by reading the reviews, you know whether an optometrist is right for you.
Finding the right optometrist near you on Zocdoc is safe, secure, and free!
Statistics about optometrists in Rockville, Maryland
Vision difficulty is increasing rapidly all over the globe. The report of the American Foundation for the Blind shows that there were approximately 111,669 cases of the rate of vision difficulty in 2019 in Maryland. Of these, around 13 087 individuals are 18-34 years old.
As of May 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 630 optometrists actively providing services in Maryland. The shortage of optometrists in Maryland has projected new opportunities to grow nearly 10% from 2021-2031, with about 17000 openings projected yearly.
Estimates derived from the most recent demographic data and research funded by the Eye Institute predict that the number of visually impaired or blind individuals in the United States will double to over 8 million by 2050 as the newest baby boomers turn 65 by 2029.
Sources
American Foundation for the Blind
National Center of Biotechnology Information
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [1]
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [2]
WebMD
American Optometric Association
Cleveland Clinic[1]
Cleveland Clinic[2]
Cleveland Clinic[3]
Cleveland Clinic[4]
