An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor (MD) who specializes in vision together with eye care.

Ophthalmologists are trained to perform eye exams, diagnose and treat disease in the eye, prescribe medications to ensure eye care and perform eye operations like refractive surgery. Ophthalmologists also write prescriptions for eyeglasses and contact lenses.

There are two main types of eye care providers: optometrists and ophthalmologist.

Optometrists:

An optometrist is the primary health care provider for routine eye care, ranging from sight testing to the correction to the diagnosis, treatment, including management of vision changes. In the industry, an optometrist is not viewed as a medical doctor. An optometrist can examine, diagnose, and treat your eyes for vision errors, but cannot perform laser operations on your eyes. If you want basic eye care services such as eyeglass and contact lenses prescription you can visit your optometrist for early exams, or even receive medication and treatment for certain eye conditions. Optometrists often pick up problems in the eyes like cataracts or high pressure and then send the patient on to an ophthalmologist for further management.

Ophthalmologists:

You can visit ophthalmologists for the same eye care as an optometrist, such as routine eye exams or prescription refill. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who can perform medical and surgical interventions for eye conditions such as cataracts, laser vision correction procedures, glaucoma, retina and strabismus operation, plus more. Ophthalmologists differ from optometrists and opticians in their levels of training and in what they can diagnose and treat.

It can be tough to work, play, drive or even recognize a face without healthy vision. It is important to treat our eyes with care throughout our lives.

Your eyesight quality can be affected by other health problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

If you notice physical changes in an eye, like crossed eyes or that the eye moves inward, outward, upward or downward, seek help from an eye care professional. Contact your ophthalmologist immediately if you have any eye pain or sudden loss of sight because it might be a sign of a serious problem.

Ophthalmologists can be seen through self-referral too, especially if it is for laser vision correction surgery. Most eye problems though are referred by the primary health care provider, like optometrists.

Having to wear contact lenses or glasses is a cumbersome requirement for some people and may be negatively affecting their lifestyles. Laser eye surgery is a long-term solution provided by Dr Dylan Joseph, which can allow you to achieve better eyesight. Laser eye surgery is used for reshaping the surface of the eye called the cornea to allow light rays to fall at precisely the correct place at the back of the eye. An ophthalmologist specializes in eye operations to provide you with improved eye care together with vision. Laser eye surgery allows both eyes to be corrected within the same appointment.