Optometrists and ophthalmologists, how do they differ? What are the roles that they do in maintaining and correcting proper eyesight? Most people are really confused with the difference between optometrists and ophthalmologists. Are you confused, too? Read on and find out the difference between these eye doctors.
In truth, both eye doctors treat vision problems that hinder people from seeing things normally. They both wear white lab gowns and know more than we do in terms of our eyes. Which is which, really? Ophthalmologists are eye doctors who specialize in medical and surgical care of our eyes as well as prevent eye problems from occurring. They have finished a four year course in pre-medical education and continued on for four more years of medical school. Afterward, they go on internship for a year and study for three more years for specialization.
Optometrists on the other hand are eye care providers who examines, diagnose, and treat eye problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, cataracts, and retinal disorders. Additionally, they also do the testing on patient’s eye and look at their ability to focus their eyes, see colors and depth properly. They are also the ones responsible in prescribing contact lenses and eyeglasses to people who need them.
In most cases, an ophthalmologist is the professional eye doctor in Indianapolis who is allowed and licensed to make surgeries in patients’ eye problems. They can give patients total eye care as opposed to optometrists who can only do limited procedures in patient’s eyes.
With this information in hand, you should know who to go for when you are having eye problems. Generally, if you are going to need eye surgeries, it is best to look for ophthalmologists. They are more trained eye doctor Indianapolis who can give you the right examination, diagnosis, and treatment. On the other hand, if you only have minor eye problems, you can just go to an optometrist who can also perform examinations and diagnosis in your eyes.
Although there is a big difference in terms of skills, training and practice between ophthalmologists and optometrists, both eye doctor Indianapolis IN work hand in hand in order to give people the best vision that they can have. With them, you can be assured that your eye problems will be solved in no time at all.