Eye care professional is an individual who provides a service related to

the eyes and vision. In a general sense he is a health care worker concerned in eye care. His qualification may be post secondary, practitioners (doctoral level)

Types of eye care professionals

Optician:

An optician is a person who provides lenses designed for the alteration of a refractive error. Corrective lenses can be contact, spectacles, and ophthalmic prosthetics. He also works in any variety of places like independent practice, joint practice, hospitals, eye care centres. The equipment used by him is lensometers and the first spectacles are made using quartz later on optical glass came into existence.

Ophthalmologist:

The person who studies ophthalmology is an Ophthalmologist. Ophthalmology deals with surgery and diseases of the visual pathways and it includes study of operation on eyes. 72 ocular diseases and surgical instruments came into use. If you meet an Ophthalmologist he will prescribe you osteopathic medicine. Many doctors who are undergone post graduate training can proceed with a surgery.

Orthoptist:

Orthoptics is the branch deals with the treatment and diagnosis of defective eye coordination and movement such as binocular vision, amblyopia, nystagmus by Orthoptist

Five areas of orthoptic problems treatment

1. Vision theory

2. Eye patching

3. Surgery

4. Corrective lenses – prismatic, spherical and Fresnel lenses

5. Pharmaceuticals like cycloplegics

Latest orthoptic practice:

1. Primary activities like ocular motility and co management, assessment of special needs, rehabilitation in neurological disorders.

2. Secondary activities like low vision management, glaucoma assessment, biometry, fundus screening and photography, visual electro diagnosis.

Low vision specialist:

Some ophthalmologists and many optometrists have a supplementary specialization in diagnosis, treatment and low vision testing and are skilled to conduct low vision eye assessment and prescribe extraordinary low vision optical devices.

Optometrist:

Optometry is the branch concerned with eyes and its related structures. It also includes visual systems and vision processing information
Optometric history is tied to the development of vision science, optics and optical aids, optical instruments, imaging techniques.

Ocularist:

An ocularist is a person who studies about fabrication and fitting of ocular prostheses for the persons who lost an eye or eyes due to illness. The process involves

1. An impression of the eye socket

2. Shaping a plastic shell

3. Painting the iris and

4. Fitting the ocular prostheses

Besides prosthetic eye ocularists can develop skills in a wide range

Ophthalmic medical practioner:

He is a medical doctor who has not completed a specialisation in ophthalmology. He is an employed person who carry out medical eye examine for the people and prescribe eye patches, glasses, contact lenses and any other orthoptic treatment.

Finding a perfect eye care

1. You can enquire your family members about eye care professionals and the medicines they use

2. You can enquire your friends and relatives for a perfect eye care

3. You can ring up and enquire the department of ophthalmology

4. You can contact optometry at a nearby medical centre or hospital.

5. You can contact ophthalmologists or optometrists. These groups usually called as eye care professional societies.

6. You can approach insurance company to know the list of eye care professionals.

7. You can check out the available journals in the market.

8. You can also go through books regarding vision diseases and its cure.

9. You can even search at a book store or a library to know more about eye care professionals.

10. You can search online data bases for the list of eye care professionals.

11. You can contact health clubs for clear information regarding eye care professionals.

12. You can contact vision therapist.