Your vision is important to your physical and mental health, as well as your ability to be a productive worker and a capable wife and mother. Age-appropriate visits to an eye doctor are just as important for you as are periodic checkups with your primary care physician or gynecologist, or your children’s pediatrician.

When to Seek Eye Care
When should you see an eye care professional (ophthalmologist or optometrist)? The answer depends on your age, race, and general health, and whether you have any diseases (especially diabetes) or any known eye problems. See the checklists on this website for suggestions on what questions to ask the eye doctor.

Children and Young Adults
For your children, the answer to this question can be found by reading our PDF document “Do you or your child need glasses?” Briefly, age-appropriate eye exams are suggested soon after birth and at six months, three years, and about five years. These screenings should detect any vision problems at an early age, when they stand a better chance of being correctable. Young adults need to see an eye doctor only if they have any problems, such as a need for new eyeglasses, an eye injury, or a change in their vision.

In Middle Age
If you are a middle-aged person (40-60 years old) who is symptom-free, healthy, white, and without a family history of eye disease, you should get a comprehensive eye examination from an optometrist or an ophthalmologist in order to establish a baseline. This should be done as close to age 40 as possible, and the doctor should examine your eyes through dilated (wide open) pupils. After that, get follow-up checkups from an eye care professional every two to four years until age 60. If you are black, you should start at age 40 to have a dilated eye exam at least every two years. This is because glaucoma is very prevalent in blacks; damage from this silent disease can be prevented if the disease is caught early.

Seniors
If you are over 60, get a thorough eye exam, through dilated pupils, at least every two years, even if you are symptom-free and at low risk. The reason for this is because as people—even very healthy ones—age, they have an ever-increasing risk for getting major, blinding eye diseases: cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. It is very important to notice the early signs of these diseases, especially glaucoma, if there is to be effective treatment.

If You Have Symptoms of Eye Disease.
At any age, if you, your child, or your parents have any symptoms, for example, blurred vision, see the eye doctor immediately. You may or may not just need new glasses; only the doctor can tell. A sudden loss of vision, even if it is in just part of one eye, requires immediate attention; it could be a detached retina or optic neuritis, both of which can be effectively treated only if detected promptly.

Eye Problems Because of Diseases or Genetics.
If you have other health problems, especially diabetes or any of the autoimmune diseases, you should be under the care of an eye specialist, whom you need to see often in order to prevent serious vision loss. Similarly, if you have a family history of eye disease (such as cataracts at an early age, retinal detachment, glaucoma, or AMD), you ought to visit an eye care professional regularly because you may be at risk of developing these conditions.

If You Develop a Serious Eye Disease.
If you already have a serious eye disease, see your eye specialist regularly; keep your appointments even if you observe no change in your vision.

How Can You Find an Eye Health Care Provider?
For tips on reliable methods of locating a competent ophthalmologist or optometrist, see the National Eye Institute’s website.

Where Can You Get More Information?
The National Eye Institute (NEI), a branch of the National Institutes of Health, has lots of unbiased, easily understood information available on its public-information website.

All of the NEI information is available, free, by writing to: National Eye Health Education Program, 2020 Vision Place, Bethesda, MD 20892-3655.