Your eye doctor can help you maintain good optical and general health. The National Institutes of Health recognizes the connection between your eyes and your body. That is why you should keep your appointments for your eye exams. Here are the details explaining the connection between the health of your eyes and your whole body. 

Keeping an Eye on Health

You can have eye exams even if you already have prescription eyeglasses or contacts. These eye checks enable your eye doctor to understand your eyes better. Your eyes serve as maps of your body’s health. Checking your eyes provides your eye doctor with necessary information about medical conditions brewing in your body. 

What the Eyes Can Say About One’s Health

An eye exam can lead to the discovery of general health conditions. Your eye doctor can determine what kind of condition you have through different changes in your eye structures. Here are some of the significant changes that your eye doctor may spot:
 

• Clover like pupils can tell your eye doctor that you have uveitis or eye inflammation. A normal pupil has a round shape. If the pupil looks like a three- or even a four-leaf clover, you have eye swelling. The next step is to find out what causes this inflammation. 

Studies show that uveitis is connected to infectious or autoimmune diseases like syphilis or lupus. It can also mean you have tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, or rheumatoid arthritis. Knowing the source of the inflammation can help formulate the right treatment plan. Treating the swelling in the eye can prevent permanent eye damage. 
 

• A gray or white ring around your cornea’s edge occurs in seniors. This eye condition is arcus senilis and develops as part of aging. Your eye doctor will see this as a sign of a cholesterol spike. It can tell your eye doctor that you have a higher risk of developing a heart ailment, especially in people in their 40s. The ring shows a buildup of fats in the body. 
   

• Floppy eyelid syndrome is an eye condition that often affects overweight men. These individuals often have sleep apnea and thick necks. If you have this ailment, your eyelid can flip while you sleep due to its looseness. The flipping leads to the irritation of the eyeballs and the inner parts of the eyelid. 
   

• Yellow plaque buildup near your inner eyelid is a sign of xanthelasma. It is often an indicator of heart disease or high cholesterol. The plaque formation tells you that you should watch your cholesterol levels through medication, diet, or exercise. 
   

• Spots of blood in your retina tell your eye doctor that you have diabetes. High blood glucose levels often damage and weaken the tiny blood vessels in the eye. This causes diabetic retinopathy, which leads to poor eyesight and even blindness. Controlling your blood sugar levels can slow the progression of the eye condition.
   

Your eye health has a clear connection to your general health. At Coastal Vision, we always see to it that our patients only receive high-quality eye care. Please visit our clinics in Chino, Irvine, Long Beach, and Orange, California, for an in-person consultation. Call us at 888-501-4496 to set an appointment or inquire about our regular and comprehensive eye exams.