This Sunday, June 6th is National Eyewear Day! If you have been putting off your visit to the eye doctor, it just may be time to consider scheduling your next comprehensive exam!
In honor of National Eyewear Day, we are sharing some of our favorite stories about eyewear and trips to the eye doctor that changed peoples’ lives from one of our recent contests. We believe the stories below highlight the importance of eye health and showcase how it is a cornerstone of your overall health and quality of life. When you’re ready to learn more, check out this content on the many vision correction options available to you!
I never even knew that I had poor vision until I went to the eye doctor for the first time when I was 23 years old. I'd had screenings at school, and somehow they never caught it. When I put on my first pair of glasses, I could not believe what I was SEEING. It was an amazing feeling and I make certain to take my own three children for annual eye exams to ensure their vision health.
Because of my annual eye exam in the summer of 2019 I have a new outlook on my eye health. I was struggling with a condition that many (3) neurologists felt was trigeminal neuralgia. I even saw a headache and migraine specialist at Stanford for the painful symptoms I'd experienced. My eye doctor carefully listened to me and understood my comprehensive health history enough to refer me to an Ocular Mobility specialist for further investigation. ALL of my "trigeminal neuralgia-like" symptoms went away once this new doc put me in some very aggressive progressive bi-focals with prism. I purchased three pairs of glasses (two regular and one sunglass) that have changed my life! I am feeling well overall, seeing clearly and free of the pain and other symptoms that had bothered me for more than 18 months.
My daughter’s story changed my life and the way I see things now. At the age of 7 the school told me she had trouble during a vision test. I took her for her first eye exam and was terrified to find out that with her right eye covered, she couldn’t see anything. She ended up having strabismic amblyopia and had 20/200 vision in her left eye. After months of going to therapy and an amazing new pair of glasses, she can finally see with 20/40 vision in that eye. We were so thankful to find it young, because we were told if she had been older it may not have been fixable.
I’ve been getting annual dilated eye exams since 1967, and my eye doctor has watched a freckle on the bottom of my right eye for many years. In 2017, that freckle turned into ocular melanoma, a very rare form of cancer. Early diagnosis saved my eye, my sight, and probably my life because the cancer later metastasized to my liver. It is now a few years since my diagnosis, and I feel fine and live life to its fullest. I’ve made it my mission to educate people about cancers of the eye and to push annual dilated eye exams. The quick peek by your primary care physician will not show most of these cancers because of their location within the eye. Only a dilated eye exam by an ophthalmologist or optometrist can find them. Everyone needs to make it an annual visit, just like a Pap test, mammogram, PSA test, flu shot, and wellness physical.
Inspiring vision stories are everywhere, and the right eyewear can change lives! Enjoy National Eyewear Day and be sure to visit our eye doctor locator to find an eye doctor near you.