What your eyes can reveal about your health

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Eye tests play a huge part in making sure your eyes stay healthy. Not only are they important for indicating whether you need to start wearing glasses or need to change your prescription, but also for detecting some common eye conditions.

For World Health Day (April 7th), Specsavers Ópticas are explaining how regular eye tests can protect sight and identify early signs of health conditions.
Lisa James, store director of Specsavers Ópticas Guardamar says: ‘In a Specsavers survey¹ it was revealed that 21% of respondents didn’t know how often they should visit their optician for a routine check-up and the same percentage either can’t remember their last eye examination, or have NEVER had one. Not only does this mean their eyesight is at risk but potentially other aspects of their health too. That’s because while there are several changes we may notice in our vision which could be a sign of a wider health condition, there are also some things that can only be detected during an eye test.’
During a comprehensive eye test our opticians have spotted signs of conditions including glaucoma, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis and cancer, so it’s an important health check.
Cancer of the eye caught early thanks to an eye test
When Teresa B booked an eye test at Specsavers Ópticas in Jávea, she had no idea it would lead to saving her sight and potentially her life.
Teresa first noticed a slightly blurred area of vision in her left eye and suspected it could be the start of cataracts. But during the comprehensive eye test, the optical team noticed that there had been a significant deterioration in the clarity of her vision and she was experiencing distortion of her peripheral vision and referred her for further tests.
Hospital La Fe in Valencia confirmed she had choroidal melanoma, the most common kind of eye cancer in adults and she underwent a course of radiation therapy to stop the tumour growing. After further tests she has been told everything is OK and has only lost a small amount of sight in her eye.
Teresa says: ‘I would strongly advise anyone to have regular eye checks. If I hadn’t visited Specsavers this condition may not have become evident for a considerable amount of time and the damage to my eye could have been irreversible and the cancer could have spread to other parts of my body.’
Visit www.specsavers.es to find your nearest store and book an eye test.
¹ OnePoll survey of 2,000 respondents conducted August 2022