Never Too Early

As Infinite Eye Care has mentioned a couple of times this month, January is National Glaucoma Awareness month. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that gradually steal sight without warning because there are no symptoms and once vision is lost, it is permanent. Although the most common forms primarily affect the middle-aged and the elderly, glaucoma can affect people of all ages. The bright side to all of this: it’s preventable!!!

The cure is as simple as receiving an eye exam. Even though this process is quick and painless, 2.7 million people in the United States over age 40 have glaucoma because they do not catch it early enough. Even more astonishing, half of those individuals still don’t know that they have it.

In addition to adults, we recommend that all children receive eye exams.

Minnesotans who are parents of newborns are strongly encouraged to bring their young ones in for a FREE eye exam. The best time to examine the eyes, though it may seem young, is between 6 and 12 months. This effort is being performed all over the United States in an attempt to catch vision problems as early as possible.

Here at Infinite Eye Care, we provide a service called the InfantSEE program. This program is designed to ensure that eye and vision care become an essential part of infant wellness care to improve a child’s quality of life. Under this program, Dr. Tom provides a comprehensive infant eye assessment as a no-cost public service.

While it may sound like it would be pretty tough to check the eyesight of an infant, the test is tailored for the very young, as it includes preferential looking to see if they’re looking at specific targets.

Talking about glaucoma is not meant to scare you. However, it is meant to make you more aware of a growing disease that is 100% preventable if the right precautions are taken. Please make an appointment for yourself and your family members. It’s never too early!