The importance of family history in vision problems

Although vision exams are essential for preventing diseases and maintaining eye health, there are situations in which providing a detailed account of family history to the specialist is essential.

During the anamnesis, that is, when the professional asks the patient some questions, this question is especially important, since several eye diseases can be transmitted genetically. Therefore, information such as family eye history is crucial at the time of diagnosis. These diseases can manifest and worsen at any stage of a patient's life.

Some of the most common vision problems occur when your eyes do not allow light to focus correctly on the retina, known as “refractive error”.

This condition is mostly inherited, so there is a high probability that these vision problems will be passed down from generation to generation. According to the World Health Organization, more than 2.2 billion people have some type of refractive error, namely myopia and astigmatism.

More serious eye diseases can also be hereditary! A patient who has family members with Glaucoma is 4 to 9 times more likely to develop this disease than an individual who does not have this history. Therefore, it is crucial to find out about your family history so that specialists can diagnose you as accurately as possible.