If you are suffering from vision loss, double vision, serious eye injury, or lazy eye, an ophthalmologist is the best person to approach.
Although there are different visual health practitioners, an ophthalmologists’ degree and in-depth understanding of various vision problems set them apart from the other practitioners. They can conduct intricate surgeries and procedures that require extensive training and skills.
How to Choose an Eye Care Provider
The importance of choosing the right eye care practitioner is crucial to your visual health. Essentially, your trusted eye doctor is a critical aspect of maintaining the best ocular health throughout your lifetime.
Detecting your vision problem is the first step toward knowing who to approach for your specified issue. You can contact the best eye clinic near you to help you better assess your eye condition.
One of the top reasons for a person to seek visual diagnosis is debilitating vision. An annual visit to an optical clinic is recommended to better preserve the peak functionality of your eyes.
Different Vision Care Professionals
Knowing the difference between various eye care providers could ultimately help you identify which practitioner to approach for your visual issues. On your initial visit to the clinic, there’s a big chance that you’re going to be greeted by staff or an Optician.
Dispensing opticians are technical practitioners who interpret prescriptions given by optometrists (OD) or ophthalmologists (MD). In a sense, they assist ODs and MDs in dispensing corrective eyewear like eyeglasses, contact lenses, and even prosthetics for people with different eye conditions.
Optometrists, on the other hand, are self-reliant licensed practitioners. They can also dispense corrective eye wears and contact lenses. On top of that, they can prescribe drugs and other medications for certain eye conditions.
Optometrists can also administer comprehensive eye exams, as well as interpret their results. They also provide vision therapies, low vision rehabilitation, and in some states, conduct minor surgical procedures.
Medical Specialty: Ophthalmology
Optometrists are the general public’s go-to for most eye care problems and procedures.
You can see an optometrist for your routine eye visits as well. However, there are general health conditions which may also be an underlying cause for your eye problem.
In this case, your optometrist may refer you to an ophthalmologist who is also a registered physician. Prescribing drugs, medications, and comprehensive surgical procedures are also a part of an ophthalmologist’s job.
With a background as general practitioners of medicine, they can provide extensive diagnosis and treatment for eye conditions caused by chronic health risks such as diabetes and malnutrition.
Most ophthalmologists also are sub-specialists meaning they go beyond general ophthalmology and have a more specific practice.
Take retinal specialists for instance, on top of practicing general ophthalmology, they have to finish additional years of fellowship that allows them to focus on the retina. The extra years they put onto their subspecialties makes them experts on very specific procedures and eye conditions.
A general ophthalmologist (or comprehensive ophthalmologist) may refer you to a subspecialist had they determined that your condition needs more practiced hands.
