What the Eye Doctor is All About

Growing up with parents as eye doctors, I got to talk a lot about optometrists for show and tell and book reports. When I told people my parents were optometrists, the typical response was, "You mean eye doctors?" I would nod my head. "That's correct." People in need of an vision care in Jacksonville often ask why the eye doctor is so important. "I don't really need to go that often right?", "My eyes are healthy.", "Will they have to touch my eyeballs?" or "My kid freaks out." All of these are legitimate questions and concerns. So I will break it all down and tell you what the eye doctor is all about.

So what does an eye doctor do? It centers around the medical science behind the eye exam. An eye doctor is an OD, or doctor of optometry or an eye specialist. OD's are doctors who are also referred to as eye specialist. The word optometry comes from the greek words optos and metria meaning, literally "vision measurement." And that is what the doctor does. Most doctors use sophisticated medical equipment to test our patients' eye health and vision. Optometrists, or eye specialists, are health care professionals concerned with eyes and related structures, as well as vision, visual systems, and vision information processing in humans.

Why is visiting an optometrist so important? Regular visits to eye doctors will detect any vision problem in its early stages which will make easy and successful treatment much more likely. Every doctor will give a thorough and professional eye exam every time.