Even though you can see well, you may have an underlying disease or refractive error that can cause eye strain or vision problems in the future. Some diseases do not exhibit visual symptoms until an advanced stage when vision loss has already occurred and is unrecoverable. Regular eye exams can prevent some diseases from progressing to an advanced stage. Diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetes can cause blindness. However, if detected early, these diseases can be managed and unnecessary vision loss can be prevented.

The American Optometric Association recommends:

• Children should have a comprehensive eye exam at six months, three years and five years of age
• Ages 6 to 18 should be seen yearly
• Adults (ages 18-60) should been seen every two years
• Adults 60 and older should be seen yearly

If you have eye diseases or systemic diseases you should ask your eye care professional as certain diseases need to be monitored closely to help avoid permanent vision loss.

Depending on your insurance and type of coverage, you may have complete coverage for exams and prescription, a small co-pay, or you may have to pay out-of-pocket for all the expenses. For questions regarding costs please feel free to call us at (715)268-2020 in advance of your appointment and we can give you more detailed information.

We work with most insurance plans. If you want to ensure that you are covered by your plan, please call us in advance of your appointment and our friendly staff can help you with the details of your coverage. Call us today at (715)268-2020.

Please remember to bring the following to your exam:

• A list of all medications
• Your current eyeglasses and/or contacts
• Your previous prescription information (if available)
• Insurance card
• A list of any questions or concerns that you may have

If during the course of an exam it is determined that a patient may require surgery, we will review your diagnosis and the various treatment options. If the patient decides to move forward with a surgical option, we can provide referrals through our long-standing relationships with surgeons throughout northwest Wisconsin and the greater Minnesota metropolitan area. Following the surgery, we closely monitor your recovery and frequently communicate with your surgeon to ensure the best patient care possible.

‘20/20 vision’ simply means that someone can see something 20 feet away that the average person can see at 20 feet away.

However, ‘20/20 vision’ does not account for eye health, underlying eye disease, eye tracking skill, the ability to focus your eyesight at varying distances, long-term focusing ability, or tell you anything about your peripheral vision.

When your eyes are dry, reflex tearing can occur. There are three layers to a healthy tear film (water, oil, and mucin) however the reflex tears are only contain the watery layer. These tears are not adequate for moisturizing your eye, therefore your eye remains dry.

For more information see our page on dry eye.

It may be possible for you to wear contacts, but a consultation with your eye care professional would be required to determine the type of contact lens, wear schedule, and care regimen.

Testing will be done to assess your need for corrective lenses, how well your eyes can see and work together, and the overall health of your eyes will be examined.

The average age for needing reading glasses (presbyopia) is about forty-five. However, this is dependent on several factors including: how you use your eyes, your refractive error (eyeglass prescription) and if you have eye teaming problems.

No, it means that you are more at risk of developing that disease, but with early detection and proper management we can minimize the visual effects of eye disease.