Paying a visit to an eye doctor is typically reserved for those with vision impairment or an eye condition. If you have 20/20 vision, you might feel like going to an eye doctor is a waste of time. In reality, your eyes are not only windows into your soul, but they're also windows into your overall health. Your eyes are one part of your body where doctors can see your arteries and veins without doing surgery, which gives them insight into other health problems that might be occurring in your body.

Autoimmune Disorders

Autoimmune disorders, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, cause your body to attack healthy cells, which causes inflammation. The cells in the eyes are also attacked, so the surface of your eyes and the vessels in them are typically inflamed if you have an autoimmune disorder. Eye doctors will also look out for red, itchy, and severely dry eyes, which are all symptoms that accompany autoimmune disorders.

Melanoma

Melanoma is a cancer that is typically associated with the skin, but it can also affect your eyes; sunlight poses just as much risk to your eyeballs as it does to your skin. Moles and raised surfaces on the pigment layer of your retina could be signs of melanoma, and because this type of cancer doesn't typically have many signs, it's important to catch it early before it has spread too far.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a common condition that affects many people unknowingly, but visiting an eye doctor regularly can help more people get diagnosed early. When somebody has high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, it causes the arteries in the retina to take on a copper-like color. If high blood pressure goes untreated, it can cause the blood vessels in the retina to harden, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Diabetes

Regularly having high levels of blood sugar can damage the vessels in your retina. To make up for this, your body begins producing new, abnormal vessels to replace the old, weak ones; eye doctors can immediately spot these abnormal vessels. If you have diabetes, it's especially important to see an eye doctor regularly, because diabetes is a leading cause of blindness in Canada.

Going for a yearly physical is one way to stay on top of your health, but adding in an annual trip to the eye doctor can be another means to help you diagnose health conditions before they get too serious. If you have more questions, visit a clinic like Beyond Vision in Edmonton .