Experts recommend that everyone gets regular eye exams despite having great vision. They advise that regular eye exams should start when we are children. The main reason children should get eye exams is to keep an eye on any developing eye conditions.

When we get older, especially after 40, doctors recommend at least annual eye exams. When you are this old, your vision starts to deteriorate, and keeping an eye on it will help you manage the changes. 

However, there is another reason regular eye exams are essential as you get older. It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul; it would also be correct to say they are windows to your body's health. Read on to find out what and how doctors can know about your health from your eyes.

How Does the Eye Speak?

The eye does not really speak, obviously, but it can tell a lot about your body. The eye is the only place in the body where doctors can look at your veins and arteries without making cuts. Doctors can observe the blood vessels in the eye with more detail by dilating the pupil. The blood vessels in the eye can reveal a host of hidden conditions in the body.

Some conditions in the body will take a long time to show symptoms until they are developed. When an eye doctor studies the blood vessels in the eye, they can learn about some of these conditions. Here are five conditions that show symptoms in the eye before they present anywhere else in the body.

Diabetes

About 7.3 million Americans over 18 years old have undiagnosed diabetes. It is a staggering statistic. Many of these people will only know they are sick once the conditions develop significantly.

Diabetes can cause vision or limb loss if it is not managed early. Symptoms in the rest of the body will be silent and may go unnoticed. But when a blood vessel in the eye raptures, an eye doctor can detect it. Diabetic maculopathy affects the blood vessels in the retina's center. It is a common cause of blindness.

Brain Tumors

When an eye doctor gives you an eye exam, they can detect abnormalities in pupil dilation. They also check for blurry vision and discoloration of the optic nerve. All these may be signs of a developing brain tumor. If you present any of the above, the eye doctor will often recommend you see a neurologist.

Heart Disease

Eye doctors can tell if you have high cholesterol by observing your eyes. High cholesterol manifests in the eye as a white ring around the cornea. It contributes to coronary heart disease, a stroke, or heart attack.

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis causes the optic nerve to swell, creating scotoma. Scotoma is a defect of the visual field. Eye doctors can easily notice this during a routine eye exam.

Hypertension

Many people have discovered that they have hypertension after an eye exam. Hypertension causes blood vessels in the back of the eye to rupture. Eye doctors can spot this during an eye exam.

For more on how yearly eye exams can save your life, call Advanced Eyecare Central Coast at (805) 773-6000 for our office in Pismo Beach, California.