I've gone to eye doctors most of my life not realizing the different types. I had one to remove my cataracts, one examine my eyes after surgery, one examine eyes yearly, one for my retina, and one for my cornea. Needless to say I just can't drop into a Lenscrafters to have my eyes examined. Below is an explanation of how they are different.
Ophthalmologist vs Optometrist
One
of the most common mistakes many patients make is to consider an
optometrist and ophthalmologist as the same position, however there is a
huge difference between the two. Optometrists are usually the primary
health provider for normal vision problems and yearly checkups. The
position requires a Doctor of Optometry degree and a license, and allows
the diagnosing for common vision acuity problems like farsightednesster
and nearsightedness, prescribing corrective eyeglasses, contact lenses,
dispensing and prescription of certain medication, plus testintases and
conditions. Optometrists can handle all this, usually in their own
office or for a firm.
Ophthalmologists
can perform the same functions as optometrists, but are considered a
higher position as they actually are medical doctors with Doctors of
Medicine or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine degrees who specialize in
the eyes and vision care. This means an ophthalmologist can diagnose and
treat highly complicated eyes issues, can perform surgeries like Lasik
and repair retinal damage, and can handle more area specific cases in
vision care. The main difference between the two eye-related careers is
that an ophthalmologist can handle surgeries and other issues that
require more training on the medical side.
