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    Ophthalmology

    It is important to treat our eyes with care throughout our lives. Ignoring changes in vision or skipping eye examinations puts our most precious faculty at risk.

    We recommends that adults see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible if you experience any of the following symptoms :

    • Loss of vision or decreased vision in one or both eyes.

    • Changes in vision such as sudden spots, flashes of light, lightning streaks or jagged lines of light, wavy or watery vision, blurry faces, distortions or wavy lines, haloes around lights, double vision.

    • Changes in the field of vision such as shadows, curtain-like loss of vision, black spots or blurriness in central or peripheral (side) vision.

    • Physical changes to the eye such as crossed eyes, eyes that turn in, out, up or down, pain, signs of infection (redness, swelling, discharge, etc.).

    • Changes in colour vision.

    How often should you have your eyes examined?

    Having your eyes examined periodically throughout your life and giving a family history of any eye disease is important. An initial eye exam at six months old helps with early detection of vision problems that can contribute to developmental delays, educational setbacks and behavioural problems in children having difficulty seeing properly. Healthy adults who do not notice anything wrong with their eyes should see an eye doctor according to this schedule:

    Age 19 to 40: at least every 10 years

    Age 41 to 55: at least every 5 years

    Age 56 to 65: at least every 3 years

    Over age 65: at least every 2 years