COVID-19 has resulted in an urgency to streamline our way of life, including online grocery shopping, pharmacy delivery, telemedicine. While some aspects of eye care require face-to-face appointments, as with other medical disciplines, many issues can be addressed via telemedicine, where your eye doctor communicates with you over the phone or a video. If you have a complicated vision condition that requires frequent monitoring such as glaucoma, a cornea transplant, macular degeneration, or diabetic retinopathy, it is important to maintain contact with your doctor. Procedures may vary from office to office. Some aspects of your care or even a portion of your routine visit may be completed over the phone to minimize the amount of time you are in an office or in contact with others. A few safety tips include:
- If you wear contacts, consider switching to glasses for a while to reduce the risk of eye infections. Glasses may also prevent you from rubbing or touching your eyes and offer a layer of protection against virus particles floating in the air which can infect you.
- Plan ahead for eye drops or medications and utilize prescription delivery when you can to reduce trips to the pharmacy.
- Practice eye safety, which includes wearing safety glasses when necessary and using your medications as prescribed to reduce the risk of needing additional visits beyond your standard eye care appointments.
Featured image: Shutterstock
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