Daily Fit Tip: Seriously, Get Your Eyes Checked!

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Today’s daily fit tip is not about exercise or nutrition, but instead the importance of getting that body of yours checked out from head to toe.   Did you know that you may have a mole on your eye-ball? 

A routine visit to my eye doctor several years ago showed me that I have more moles than I thought.  And I never thought that I would have one on my eye-ball! 

Weird, but true and it has to be watched to make sure that the mole doesn’t turn cancerous.  If I didn’t know it was there, then we wouldn’t be able to watch it. 

So…

Manic:  Not making time to have your eyes checked because you are too busy.  Plus if you have perfect vision, you may have never thought that it is important to see an eye doctor, but it is.

Managed:  Making time to schedule an appointment.  Admit it,  you remember to schedule doc appointments for everyone else, but forget yourself.  So read this and then make two appointments, one with an eye doctor and another one with a dermatologist to have all of those other moles checked out, too.

Thank goodness I found time several years ago to make those appointments for myself.  I continue to schedule my yearly checkups right around my birthday.  That is how I keep track that another year has truly gone by, and gone by fast!

I do this because Arizona has the second highest cases of skin cancer in the world.  Australia is number one.  My dermatologist found several high risk moles on my skin that he quickly froze off.  No pain, but definitely peace of mind.

Did you know that you can get Melanoma in your eye-ball?  Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. 

I am living proof that you can have a big ol’ mole on your eye-ball and not know it.  Thank goodness my eye-ball mole is not a suspicious one, but it must be watched for any changes.

Knowing that I have this mole gives me the opportunity to continue to have it monitored.  If we see any changes, then there are treatment options.  The trick is finding it early and seeing an eye doctor can result in early detection.

I had no symptoms and my eye-ball mole can’t be seen with a blind eye (no pun intended).  It is good to know that it is being watched by a professional.  I must admit that if  I had perfect vision, I would probably have never made an appointment to have an eye check-up.

When you go to the eye doc, ask for the test that detects moles.  My eye doc uses OptiMap and my insurance didn’t cover it, but I sure am glad that I opted to get the test anyway.  The extra $29 that I paid for the test is well worth knowing that I have an mole in my eye that needs to be watched (again no pun intended!) by a professional.

So to my fellow manic managed moms and gal pals out there, consider having an eye exam.  It could save your life. 

I see Dr. Mark J. Page at Arizona’s Vision in Phoenix.  I highly recommend Dr. Page and his great team.  For more information call their office at 480-706-EYES (3937) or visit www.arizonasvision.com.