When you find it too difficult to look and read the bill boards that arch up high over the streets, it is time that you visited the Optometrist. When the words in a book burst into globules that fade and blur so that you cannot read them, it is time to pay the Optometrist a visit. When while walking on the pavement you run into the street light because you could not see it, it is time to drop in at the Optometrist's office.

At this, if you gawk and silently wonder what the word "Optometrist" means, allow yourself to be brought to date on the list of medical professions. Optometrist is someone whom you would call in two simple words- an "eye doctor". They work about fifty hours every single week to just keep people's eyes healthy.

• What else do they do? Well, the moment you walk into their office with a tentative gait, you get whisked into the chair, and before you can even speak, the man in white apron fixes up different lenses in front of your eyes, and asks hastily for you to read out the letters on the light box. This he does to check your vision and see whether you suffer from near sightedness or far sightedness. And accordingly, the doctor decides on the 'power' your eyes have, and give you the information regarding the right pair of eyeglasses that you should wear.

• They will even check your depth of vision, color perception, the focusing ability and vision coordinates. They will test you for glaucoma or other eye diseases and see what effects diabetes or high blood pressure could have on your eyes. They will try to offer you the necessary eye treatments for vision therapies.

• Most of the Optometrists are in general practice. They work with old people and children and even the ones who need special vision therapies to correct their poor eyesight. And most of the Optometrists today also practice in private. They not only look after their patients, but they also need to do the basic essentials to run their offices. They have to keep electronic records, hire employees, and prepare the patients' base. They even order for supplies and equipments.

• You should not confuse an Optometrist with an Ophthalmologist or dispensing Optician. An Ophthalmologist not only treats eye diseases, diagnoses injuries and even prescribes eye contacts or glasses, but he can also perform eye surgeries when required. The Dispensing Opticians actually fits the contacts or eyeglasses according to the prescription offered by the Optometrist or Ophthalmologist.

• Optometrists also offer drugs as a part of the vision therapy that an eye patient needs to go through. They even provide postoperative and preoperative care to all the cataract patients and the others who have had eye surgery or laser vision correction treatment.

• If your eyes start to itch or give you troubles over the weekend, you need not worry. This is because according to the American Optometric Association Surveys, an Optometrist works for about forty-nine hours per week, and they even reschedule the evening or weekend events to squeeze you in for a sitting.

An Optometrist is always there to look after your eyes when you start having any eye problems. They are well qualified, and their record of experience on an average is quite satisfactory. You should rest assured that once you are in the chair, you will be only a blink away from complete recovery!