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Eye tests are vitally important when it comes to proper vision correction, preventing sight loss and ensuring eye health is maintained into old age.
According to Ceri Jackson, head of sight loss prevention at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, one of the problems is the level of importance people put on their own eye health - with many taking their sight for granted.
Speaking to the South Wales Echo, Jackson said: "We often don't treat our eyes as we would other parts of our body and we often don't see them as a health issue."
She claimed the biggest problem with eye conditions that require vision correction is that because they can develop over long periods of time, they can go unnoticed. And if they are not treated promptly the damage can become irreversible.
"You often don't know if you have a problem with your eyes so the most important thing is to make sure you have a regular sight test, not to wait until you think you might have a problem," Jackson told the news provider.
But she claimed this was not the attitude that the majority of people adopt when it comes to looking after their eye health.
She added: "What we need to do is change our culture. We know that 90 per cent of people fear losing their sight more than any other sense and so much of eye disease is preventable or treatable. A 30-minute check-up could save your sight.
"It's also really important that we instil the habit of looking after our eyes at a young age, children need eye tests and this will also help them take that habit into their teenage and adult years."
However, according to recent research published on MedPage Today, traditional vision tests can miss a number of underlying vision problems that may need immediate correction.
By Will Stevenson
