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How often should you get your eyes checked?

There is no single answer for everyone. The right gap between eye check-ups depends on your age, your general health, your family and any symptoms. The guide below is a common starting point, based on what eye doctors widely advise; at your check-up, the eye doctor tells you when to come back. To know what each visit involves, read what happens in an eye check-up.

Why have a check-up if I see well?

Several serious eye conditions do not hurt and do not blur vision until they are advanced:

• Glaucoma (kala motia in Hindi, kachbindu in Marathi) slowly damages side vision first. Lost vision cannot be brought back, but treatment can usually protect what remains.
• Diabetic eye disease changes the retina years before vision drops.
• High blood pressure leaves signs in the blood vessels of the retina.
• A lazy eye in a child responds better to treatment the earlier it is found, often before the child notices anything.

A check-up finds these while there is still time to act.

How often, by age?

Babies and young children

• Premature babies need eye screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), at the time the baby's doctor advises.
• Every child should have a full eye check-up before starting school, usually between three and five years of age.
• Children who wear spectacles usually need a check every 6 to 12 months, because their power can change quickly while they grow. See spectacles for children.
• See an eye doctor soon, at any age, if you notice a white reflection in the pupil in photos, an eye that turns in or out, or a baby who does not follow faces.

Teenagers and adults under 40

With healthy eyes and no spectacles, a check-up at least once in your 20s and twice in your 30s is a sensible minimum. If you wear spectacles, a check every one to two years keeps the power right. Contact lens wearers should have a check every year.

40 to 64

Have a full check-up by 40, even if you see well. Near vision starts to change around this age, and the risk of glaucoma begins to rise. After that, many eye doctors advise a check every two to four years until about 54, and every one to three years from 55 to 64. Read why the eye check-up at 40 matters.

65 and over

Every one to two years, because cataract, glaucoma and macular degeneration all become more common with age.

Who needs check-ups more often?

• People with diabetes: type 2 diabetes, a check-up when it is first found and then every year; type 1 diabetes, as your doctor advises, usually within a few years of diagnosis and then every year. Women with diabetes who are pregnant need an eye check early in pregnancy. This matters in Goa, where the ICMR-INDIAB study (2023) found diabetes in about one in four adults. Diabetes also brings cataract earlier; read cataract and diabetes.
• People with high blood pressure: as advised, often every year.
• A parent, brother or sister with glaucoma: start by 40, or earlier if advised, and usually check every year.
• High short sight (myopia): the risk of retinal detachment and glaucoma is higher, so a yearly check is common.
• A past eye injury, eye surgery or eye inflammation (uveitis).
• Long-term medicines that can affect the eyes, such as steroid tablets, drops or inhalers, and some medicines for arthritis, lupus or tuberculosis. Ask your doctor whether yours is one.

When should I not wait for the next check-up?

Book a visit soon if you notice blurred or misty vision, glare from headlights at night, frequent changes in spectacle power, headaches when reading, or a red, sore or watering eye that does not settle in a day or two.

Some symptoms need care the same day: sudden loss or dimming of vision, a curtain or shadow over part of your sight, a sudden shower of floaters or flashes of light, a very painful red eye, or any injury or chemical splash. Emergency eye care at ReNew Vision is available 24 hours; see eye emergencies.

Does a spectacle power test count as a check-up?

Not fully. A power test finds the lens that lets you see clearly. A complete eye check-up also looks at eye pressure, the lens, the retina and the optic nerve. If it has been years since your last full check-up, ask for one along with your spectacles. See what a complete eye check-up includes.

A simple way to remember

Pick one month a year, such as your birthday month, for the family's eye check-ups, and keep the date with your diabetes or BP review if you have one. Keep your last prescription and report in one folder, so the next visit can compare.

The Eye OPD at ReNew Vision, Vaddem, Vasco runs Monday to Saturday, 4 pm to 7 pm. Call or WhatsApp 072489 88039 to plan a visit.

Questions patients ask

Do I need an eye check-up every year?

Not always. Adults with healthy eyes can usually go two to four years between check-ups until their mid-50s. Every year is common with diabetes, high BP, glaucoma in the family, high short sight, contact lenses, and in children who wear spectacles.

How often should a diabetic get an eye check-up?

At least once a year, even if your sight seems fine, or more often if the eye doctor finds changes in the retina. With type 2 diabetes, have the first check-up when the diabetes is found.

When should my child have the first eye check-up?

Before starting school, usually between three and five years of age, and earlier if you notice a turning eye, a white reflection in the pupil in photos, or a baby who does not follow faces.

I see clearly. Do I still need an eye check-up?

Yes, from about 40 and earlier if you have diabetes or glaucoma in the family. Glaucoma and diabetic eye disease can damage the eye before vision blurs.

How often should contact lens wearers get their eyes checked?

Usually every year, and at once if a lens-wearing eye becomes red, painful or blurred. Take the lenses out and bring them, with the case, to the visit.

This page is general eye-health information, not personal medical advice. Your eye doctor advises you after examining your eyes.