Eye doctors

Eye Doctors—Who Needs ‘Em?

The father of American optometry was John McCallister, a friend of Thomas Jefferson’s who claimed that Benjamin Franklin wasn’t the first to invent the ever-popular bi-focal glasses. John McCallister Sr. minted the first optometry school which then taught new generations of optometrists and proliferated eye doctors; still, eye doctors remained a rarity throughout much of the 19th century. But does an optometrist’s practice render them doctors? Not quite. Among an optometrist’s many talents, the title of “eye doctors” isn’t one of them. Find out what their services do include…

Opthamologists vs. Optometrists

Opthamologist eye doctors need to undergo four years of med school in addition to a pre-med degree in order to become official “eye doctors m.d.s”, while optometrists only have to go to four years optometry school to gain their doctorate and be “o.d.s”. Unfortunately, the distinction is lost on the average bespectacled patient, especially when some optometrists work within the hallowed halls of hospitals.

Therefore, how do optometrists write prescriptions for prescription lenses? Their prescription writing ability is confined to adjusting lenses. They often work as independent from other doctors, but correspond in case they must refer you to an opthamologist eye doctor M.D. for eye disease prescriptions. Optometrists are enabled to provide prescriptions in the event of minor infections, of course, but not for more serious diseases like glaucoma. Optometrists are enabled to perform some lasik eye procedures, but would refer you to an opthamologist

Opthamologists are eye doctors who focus on the medicine and eye disorders. Since they’ve undergone exhaustive med school training, they would be ideal for someone whose eye disorders are symptomatic of another medical condition: the rheumatoid arthritis patient who experiences chronic dry eye, or the diabetic experiencing ocular complications because of it. There are many eye problems a diabetic can have: diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, all of which can potentially lead to blindness. Opthamologist eye doctors are ideal for such patients to help them coordinate complex medications—some critics claim that opthamologist eye doctors unnecessarily complicate simple prescriptions, and are harder to schedule appointments with.

Alternative Medicine Eye “Doctors”: Behavioral Optometry

Behavioral Optometry—the science of winking? Not quite. Behavioral optometry was minted by a 1920s opthamologist eye doctors(not a Christian Scientist) William H. Bates who advised alternatives to corrective lenses. He advised legions of other eye doctors that the human eye was intended for long distance sight, though it’s all too commonly used for up-close activity like reading and office work. One of his supporting arguments to this fact was that illiterate people don’t appear to have weakened eye muscles and subsequently any need for “reading” glasses…debatably, a very classist viewpoint!

Like many alternative medicines, behavioral optometry is an expansive, sweeping study that aims to treat the entire body, not just the eyes. Bates’ behavioral optometry didn’t necessarily outlaw glasses use, but sought to improve upon them. One of behavioral optometry’s innovations were eyeglasses with indented prisms into the glass. Indented textures upon glasses supposedly improve one’s reading ability—many prism stickers can be applied to regular glasses and then later be removed as well.

If these are eye that are behaving, Bates might argue that misbehaving eyes don’t exercise their near sighted vision, focusing on fixed far away dots, as much as they should. Eye doctors still suggest the eye exercises of behavioral optometry as vision therapy to supplement prescription eyeglasses. Its inclusion in any eye care regimen is controversial for some eye doctors, who complain that there isn’t enough sound scientific evidence that eyeball exercises truly work the wonders they promise to.

Can optometrists provide the LASIK eye procedures that you desire for drastically improved vision? Certainly. Whether you’d trust someone without a med school degree is your prerogative. For more tips on how to pick and choose your eye doctors, please call the number listed or click on our convenient contact form for more today!