Capability of optometrists and ophthalmologists

Ophthalmology is very important for everyone because each individual only has one set of eyes during the whole life. The eyes deserve the most careful monitor for all individuals. In fact, eye care is one of the most critical parts of body health. Some people may get injured in their legs or hands and need to see a surgeon, while a dental problem requires a patient to see a dentist. Encountering an eye problem or abnormal sign, it is necessary for the patient to visit an eye doctor or eye care professional. This is an equal or even more important part than other aspects of care for other organs.

An eye care professional can be an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. Some people may do not know the functional differences between these two roles and have no opinion to make a choice. In general, the selection of an optometrist or an ophthalmologist depends on personal needs and specific circumstances. In fact, only ophthalmologists are licensed to perform eye surgery. In addition, some eye injuries are only within the responsibility of ophthalmologists. These areas that require strong skills are beyond the realm of optometrists or even opticians.

Except for eye surgery and certain eye injuries, other visual problems can be dealt by optometrists. An optometrist can be considered as a general doctor who helps patients with vision issues. An optometrist can prescribe corrective eyeglasses and contact lenses that can also be done by an optician, and also works at proactively helping patients manage eye health. In short, an optometrist is more power than an optician. In addition to basic lens or glass prescription, an optometrist can also deal with eye problems and even diseases such as vision deterioration, cataracts, macular degeneration and the like.

People with common vision problems can just resort to an optometrist. These problems include nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, cataracts and so on.