Healthy Sight Maintenance and Preventive Eye Care for Healthy Sight

Maintenance and preventive vision care are essential to Healthy Sight. Consider the standard approach of the general medical/primary care practitioner:

• Elicitation of chief complaint
• Thorough history taking—including current and past individual history, family history, review of prescription and non-prescription medications in current or recent use, allergies or sensitivities
• Physical examination—routine, comprehensive, follow-up, or disease-directed
• Laboratory or diagnostic studies as indicated
• Assessment of risk factors—smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, plus occupational, recreational, and environmental exposure
• Counseling on healthy lifestyle considerations, and specific preventive or corrective measures for the individual

This approach can be adapted for use in vision care:

• Elicitation of chief complaint
• Thorough history taking—including present and prior eye history, relevant medical history, family eye history, review of prescription and non-prescription medications in current or recent use; allergies or sensitivities
• Ocular examination—routine, comprehensive, follow-up or disease-directed. Includes assessment of Snellen acuity, refraction, slit lamp biomicroscopy, tonometry, dilated ophthalmoscopy
• Additional diagnostic studies as indicated—eg, visual field, OCT, fluorescein angiography, corneal pachometry, laboratory or radiologic evaluations
• Assessment of risk factors—smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, plus occupational, recreational, and environmental exposure
• Visual lifestyle concerns—computer use, outdoor work, ball sports, industrial hazards, night driving
• Customized eyeglass prescription to maximize quantity and quality of vision and promote long-term ocular health
• Counseling about appropriate eyewear, healthy lifestyle considerations, and specific preventive and corrective measures for the individual

Overall Health and Ocular Health are Affected by Just About Everything People ARE, Including:

• General health and fitness
• Medications—prescription and non-prescription
• Chronic diseases
• Allergies/sensitivities
• Age
• Gender
• Family history
• Race, ethnicity, and demographic characteristics that are associated with increased risk (eg, African Americans, Hispanics, and Pima Indians are at increased risk for diabetes and retinopathy)
• Income
• Access to healthcare
• Educational background
• Access to information
• Medical history
• Environment (including everything from climate and geographic locale that may result in heightened ultraviolet radiation [UVR] exposure to indoor lighting that may produce eyestrain)

...As Well as Just About Everything People DO, Including:

• Occupation
• Workplace environment
• Computer use
• Sports and recreational activities
• Diet and nutrition
• Exercise
• Smoking (or choosing not to smoke)
• Alcohol consumption
• Clothing choices
• Eyewear choices
• Work habits