Eyes Are the Window to the Soul and Your Health

Guest post by Emily Hunter

The eyes are the windows to the soul, or at least that’s what everyone’s heard.

That’s largely a matter of opinion.

For your doctor, however, the eyes can be windows into the rest of your body.

While eye diseases like glaucoma and cataracts can be, of course, seen through an eye examination,

people who know what to look for can find signs of all kinds of illnesses, including diabetes and

high blood pressure.

In fact, all the details might be in your eyes long before other symptoms make themselves known.

Your eyes may not reveal your inner most thoughts or being, but your doctor can look deep within

and detect signs of heart disease, cancer, HIV, aneurysms, and other diseases.

There are reasons to have eye exams other than vision.

“Your doctor can look deep within and

detect signs of heart disease, cancer,

HIV, aneurysms, and other diseases.”

Looking into Your Eyes

One of the reasons your eyes reveal so much is because they are the only places in your body

where your doctor can look at veins, arteries, and nerves, without any LASIK eye surgery.

If you’ve got issues that can be seen in your blood vessels or nerve tissue, they’re likely to be

seen in your eyes during a comprehensive eye examination.

An in-depth look at your eyes should be a priority, especially if there’s a history of eye problems

in your family.

If you wait for symptoms to appear, it will be that much more difficult to deal with any issues

that might occur, because the disorder has been given time to advance.

In fact, some eye problems cause no symptoms until it’s too late.

“One of the reasons your eyes reveal

so much is because they are the only

places in your body where your doctor

can look at veins, arteries, and nerves,

without eye surgery.”

Visible to the Naked Eye

You could have your mother’s eyes in more ways than one.

Many qualities of your eyes are passed down from your family, much more than just the shape

or color.

If your parents wear glasses or contacts, for example, it’s much more likely you’re going to need

them yourself at some point, if you don’t already wear them.

One of these hereditary conditions is heterochromia.

In layman’s terms, it means your eyes are two different colors, so one may be brown while the

other is green, for instance.

Normally, this is completely harmless thing, but if one of your eyes ever changes color, it’s time

to see the eye doctor.

It may be due to bleeding in the eye, glaucoma, or some other serious condition.

“Strokes, tumors on the brain or optic

nerve, multiple sclerosis, and syphillis

are just some of the disorders that can

affect the size of your pupils.”

There are some eye conditions, like a sudden change in eye color, that are easy to notice.

If that happens, it should be taken care of right away.

Usually, for instance, both pupils are the same size.

Now, some people do naturally have mismatched pupils, but for most of us, if one is bigger than

the other, it could be a sign that requires medical attention.

Strokes, tumors on the brain or optic nerve, multiple sclerosis, and syphillis are just some of the

disorders that can affect the size of your pupils.

If you look in the mirror and your eyelid is droopy, or your eye appears bloody, or yellowed, or

they appear to be bulging, take it to the doctor.

It might be nothing, or it could be a sign of problems with your eyes or elsewhere in your body.

Only Your Doctor Knows For Sure

The problems that are easily visible when you look into the mirror are often not the worst ones.

A comprehensive eye examination can literally be a life-saving procedure when it catches little

things before they become really big.

When your doctor shines a light into your eye, it’s probably uncomfortable for you, but that little

glance can reveal a whole lot.

Just a glimpse can get a good look at your optic nerve, at the fluids in your eye, and the state of

your retina.

Your optic nerve is connected directly to your brain.

Just by observing the color of it, a doctor can see signs of an aneurysm, a brain tumor, or even

multiple sclerosis, long before any symptoms manifest.

The retina is packed with nerves and blood vessels, and it is the only place in the body where

they can be easily seen without surgery.

“A comprehensive eye examination can

literally be a life-saving procedure when

it catches little things before they

become really big.”

Certain diseases like hypertension or diabetes causes blood vessel damage, which is normally

very hard to find at that stage, except through an eye exam.

A look at the retina can even reveal signs of AIDS.

Heart disease through arterial blockage can be very dangerous.

Imagine being able to find out well before a heart attack occurs that bits of cholesterol are

collecting in your bloodstream.

An eye exam can do that.

The tiny bits that make up these potential blockages appear in the retina.

Once these are detected, further work can be done to determine what steps to take next.

An eye exam can really change everything.

If you notice any changes in your eyes, you should get an examination as soon as possible,

but beyond that, a periodic appointment with the eye doctor can save you a lot of grief in

the long run.

It could even save your life!

About the author:
Emily Hunter crafts content on behalf of the eye surgeons at Eyecare 20/20 working for the Marketing Zen Group. She loves designing strategies with her team and is excited about spreading the Zen gospel. In her spare time, she cheers for Spirit of Atlanta, Carolina Crown and Phantom Regiment, creates her own sodas, and crushes tower defense games. Follow her on Twitter at @Emily2Zen

Are you keeping an eye on your eyes?

Did you know that your eyes are the window to your health?

Have you been scheduling regular appointments with your eye doctor?

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