In general, most people are quite good at asking for medical assistance when they need it. Most of us will react by arranging an appointment when we get a reminder indicating that we need a check-up – possibly at the dentist, or for an update of regular medication, or for a check-up for a continuing medical condition. But it appears that less people are concerned about having regular eye tests, and in quite a few cases don’t consider that they should have one.

It is a fact of life that, irrespective of how good your general health is, over the course of your life your eyesight will deteriorate. It is as much a symptom of getting older as grey hair, the appearance of wrinkles and the bits of the body that start to sag a little. So being the defiant creatures that we are, we can decide to dye our hair, use anti-wrinkle creams, decide on botox or get someone to nip or tuck the parts of us that don’t want to defy gravity. But we don’t hurry to get our eyes tested if things we see suddenly aren’t quite as defined as we expect. Instead we blame being tired, or having had a glass or two of wine, or the room being badly ventilated – any reason other than to accept that possibly our eyesight isn’t quite as focused as it used to be.

It seems strange that we generally neglect our eyes more than the majority of our body, and I guess this is because we don’t have much control over how they look. You can straighten your hair, paint your nails, lose weight, wear attractive clothes…but your eyes are just ‘there’ and apart from purchasing multi-coloured contact lenses, there’s little you can do to change them.

The lack of desire to check on the health of your eyes is even more peculiar when you consider how little hassle it is to have an eye test. It’s no problem to find with an optician, and after just a few quick and easy tests, you will know if there are any problems with your eyes, and if there are, most complaints are easily resolved by glasses, contact lenses or Laser eye surgery. A lot of people don’t notice how much their eyesight has become less effective over the years until they have an eye test.

There are a handful of basic tests that the optician completes. The one that we will all be familiar with is the chart of letters reducing in size, which can determine whether you are short-sighted or long-sighted. If you are either of these, then the defect can be quickly resolved by using prescription glasses or contact lenses, or permanently corrected by undergoing Laser eye surgery. Astigmatism too, would also be identified with this test, unless it is very mild, and it too can be resolved by prescribing glasses or lenses, or by Laser eye treatment.

The overall health of both the inner and outer eye is tested by shining a light into the eye and assessing the reaction. For the inner eye (the retina) a piece of equipment called an ophthalmoscope is used. This looks similar to a torch and includes a magnifying glass so that the optician can check for any anything untoward. The optician will also check that whether your eye muscles are functioning as they should as you look up and down, and from side to side.

Further tests can be done at the request of the patient, or if the optician thinks them necessary. These usually relate to glaucoma, and you are likely to be tested if you have a close relative who has suffered with it, or if you are of African or Caribbean origin, as people with this ancestry are often more prone to this problem. The main test is the eye pressure test as an increase in pressure can suggest the onset of glaucoma and early identification means that treatment can be undertaken as early as possible.

The other well-known eye complaint is a cataract and this may be diagnosed at an eye test if it is in the early stages, although this is one problem that many people do notice themselves as the eye lens becomes opaque which can greatly impair vision. This problem is usually dealt with by operating to extract the faulty lens and replace it with a plastic lens. This is an extremely successful operation with a small fraction of patients experiencing serious complications afterwards, and recent trails with a type of Laser eye treatment could maybe reduce the likelihood of complications still further.

So really, there is no excuse for overlooking your eyes. They do a lot of hard work for you. The least you can do is make sure they get the care and attention they deserve.