Vision – Eye Care

optometrist St. Louis

Looking for an eye doctor in St. Louis? Whether you’re going in for your yearly checkup or have eye problems that require glasses, corrective surgery, or worse, your eye doctor plays a large part in your health and your life. Choosing the right one ensures that you get the best care for your needs, which can mean completely different things for different people. The following tips on choosing the right eye doctor should help you out.

 St. Louis Vision – Eye Care

Ask for Recommendations: The easiest way to find a good ophthalmologist or osteopathic doctor is to ask your current primary physician (or pediatrician if you’re asking for your children). If that fails, then you can ask your friends, family, and co-workers. Usually the best way to do that is to ask the person you know who wears glasses, as they will have the most experience. Failing that, you can look online and search for options in your area. This also allows you to look up Yelp or other online business review sites to see what locals think of them before you make an appointment.

Choosing a Type of Doctor: Depending on how bad your eyesight is, what kind of care you need, and what your problem is, you might need a different type of doctor. A basic St. Louis eye doctor, optometrist or osteopathic doctor will be able to test your eyes and write you a prescription for glasses or contacts if you need them. An ophthalmologist is a full doctor who can perform surgery, treat eye diseases, and offer vision tests and glasses.

 St. Louis Eye Doctor

If you have a specific eye condition, you can also look around to see if there is a specialist in your area. While you are not likely to find one in a small town, you are very likely to find a specialist in a large city such as St. Louis, especially if you have a common disorder, eye disease, or problem. For example, some doctors specialize in treating patients with glaucoma, this makes it easy to choose them if you have the disease.

Vision Insurance: It is absolutely mandatory that your eye doctor accept your vision insurance. You should call them in advance and ask upfront before you even think about making an appointment.

Waiting Time: If you call in and it takes you several weeks to get an appointment for an interview or examination, that is a bad sign. While it does mean that the eye doctor is very popular, likely a great doctor, and probably more than capable of handling your needs, it also means that you’ll be in trouble if you have an emergency, need testing quickly, or need a new prescription in a hurry.

Examination: Once you’ve narrowed down your local options, you can go in for a preliminary examination. If you’re happy with the exam, feel comfortable, and are happy with your results, then you’ve found the right eye doctor. If not, pick someone else and visit them.

Another thing to keep in mind is that not all eye doctors are ‘doctors‘. An osteopathic doctor or optometrist isn’t a practicing physician, so if you need surgery or something other than a medical examination and glasses prescription, they aren’t qualified.

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