How often should you get your eyes tested?
A simple guide for adults and children, the signs that mean you or your child may need glasses, and when to see an eye doctor straight away.
Watches and eyewear · · 2 min read
Many people only get their eyes tested when they can no longer read a phone or a bus number. By then, they have often been straining for months, with headaches and tired eyes they blamed on something else. A short eye test at the right time saves a lot of that.
A rough guide by age
This is general guidance. Your eye doctor may ask you to come more often.
- Children: before they start school, and then once a year. Children rarely complain about poor eyesight because they think everyone sees the way they do.
- Adults up to 40: every two years if you have no problems.
- After 40: every one to two years. Most people start finding it hard to read small print up close around this age. It is natural and easy to correct.
- After 60, or if you have diabetes or high blood pressure: once a year, including a check by an eye doctor for problems inside the eye.
Signs your child may need glasses
- Sitting very close to the TV or holding books near the face.
- Squinting, tilting the head or covering one eye to see.
- Rubbing the eyes often or complaining of headaches after school.
- Losing their place while reading, or marks dropping without a clear reason.
- Copying wrongly from the blackboard.
Signs you may need glasses or a new power
- Holding your phone further away to read it.
- Headaches after reading, screen work or driving.
- Difficulty seeing road signs, especially at night.
- Your current glasses feel "not right" any more.
See an eye doctor straight away if you have
- Sudden loss of vision, even for a short while.
- Sudden flashes of light or a shower of floating spots.
- Eye pain, or a red eye that is painful.
- Double vision that comes on suddenly.
These are not things glasses can fix. Go to an eye hospital or an ophthalmologist the same day.
An eye test at an optical store checks your eyesight for glasses. It does not replace a full check by an eye doctor for eye diseases.
Getting your eyes tested with us
Our Titan Eye+ store in Tenkasi does eye tests for glasses. Bring your old glasses, if you have them, so the optometrist can compare your current power with the new one.