Who does what
Three different people work on eyes, and the titles matter. An optometrist holds a doctor of optometry degree, performs routine exams and writes prescriptions for glasses and contacts. An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor and surgeon who handles disease, injuries and operations. An optician fits and sells the glasses and does not examine anything. For a routine exam an optometrist is the usual and cheaper choice.
A comprehensive exam covers more than the letter chart. It includes an eye pressure test for glaucoma and a look at the retina, usually through drops that dilate your pupils and blur your near vision for a few hours. Glaucoma takes peripheral vision first and causes no pain, so an exam is the only way to catch it early.
Your prescription belongs to you
Federal rules require the prescriber to hand you a copy of your glasses or contact lens prescription at the end of the exam, without your asking and without an extra fee, and you may fill it anywhere. A contact lens prescription is separate from a glasses prescription, requires its own fitting, and is valid for at least one year. Glasses prescriptions last one to two years depending on the state. Ask for your pupillary distance to be written down, because online sellers need it and offices are not always required to include it.
Vision insurance is a separate policy from health insurance and mostly works as a discount plan for one exam and one pair a year. A medical problem, such as an injury or an infection, is billed to your health insurance instead.
Habits that protect your eyes
- Wear sunglasses labeled as blocking 100 percent of UVA and UVB, since a dark tint proves nothing.
- Never sleep, swim or shower in contacts, never rinse them in tap water, and replace the case every three months.
- Rest your eyes at a screen by looking at something twenty feet away for twenty seconds every twenty minutes.
- Wear safety glasses for yard work and power tools, which account for a large share of household eye injuries.
When it is an emergency
Sudden loss of vision, a curtain or shadow across part of your sight, a burst of new floaters with flashes of light, or a painful red eye all need care the same day. For a chemical splash, flush the eye with clean running water for at least fifteen minutes, then go to the emergency room.
Tip Photograph your prescription the day you get it. You will want it when your glasses break in another city.
