10 Diseases That an Eye Exam Can Detect

An eye exam involves a series of tests to evaluate your vision and check for eye diseases. Your eye doctor may use a variety of instruments, shine bright lights directly at your eyes and request that you look through an array of lenses. Each test during an eye exam evaluates a different aspect of your vision or eye health.

Here is a preview of ten diseases that can be found at the Precision Eye Institute:

1. Diabetes: Our ophthalmologists can detect diabetes by looking at the blood vessels in the back of eyes to determine their health.
2. High Blood Pressure: If the doctor notices blood vessels have crossed or compressed by looking in the back of the eye that could be a sign of high blood pressure.
3. Stroke: There is no direct way to tell if a patient is going to have a stroke with an eye exam, but there are ways to detect symptoms that increase a patient’s chances.
4. Sickle Cell Disease: We can determine if a patient has sickle cell disease with a dilated fundus exam.
5. Thyroid Disorders: According to Harold Stein, Raymond Stein, and Melvin Freeman authors of “The Ophthalmic Assistant” an eye exam can determine if a patient has thyroid issues based on how much both eyes bulge from inflammation of the cells.
6. Cancer: Several types of cancers can be detected by an eye exam. For example, ocular melanoma can be detected through a dilated examination of the eye with a combination of a bright light and a magnifying lens.
7. Arthritis:There are several types of arthritis in the eye including Sjogren’s syndrome (dry eyes) that can be detected with an exam.
8. Multiple Sclerosis: Our ophthalmologists can determine the health of the optic nerves by looking in the back of the eye with a dilated fundus exam.
9. High Cholesterol: We can detect potential signs of high cholesterol just by looking at the colorization of the corneas.
10. Tumors: It is possible to develop a tumor in and on the eye. Our ophthalmologists have the resources to detect them. It could be as simple as checking the response level of the pupil with a bright light.

For more information on eye exams and diseases or to schedule an eye exam in New Smyrna Beach contact the Precision Eye Institute.