Sometimes it is always hard for individuals who have eyesight problems to choose on which specialist to go to. Knowing the difference between the optometrist and ophthalmologist can help you to understand which specialist to see. So, in the below article we can learn about some of the differences.
The word optometry originates from a stem “op,” in Greek and it means that the measure of sight. Ophthalmology comes from the origin of a Greek stem called “op” that is the study of eyes. An optometrist is a person who has a specialist in treating the vision problems and diseases. So the Optometrist don’t treat the eyes, but they refer them to the ophthalmologist. On the other hand the ophthalmologist is a specialist that has undergone intensive training and has the knowledge to perform surgery. The ophthalmologist is highly trained in that they have knowledge and education in caring for the vision problems and deals with a broader range of eye problems since they have two options of either specializing or generalizing. You will find that the names also have the initials like the Doctors of Ophthalmologist is D.O while the Optometrist Doctors is O.D.
This two have also specialized in some areas, and we are going to give an overview of both of them. You will find that the optometrist has two terms of fours each of studying the first one is for the undergraduate school, and the other is for an extra four of optometry. They have to decide to have the subspecialists that can be any of the; low vision, dry eye, contact lens fitting, and many others. The optometrist have not undergone the education to know what affects the eyes and how they can affect the rest of the body. You will find that the specialists cannot be allowed to perform other surgeries like the minor eye diseases.
An ophthalmologist is an individual who has specialized and can be doctors of medicine or the doctors of osteopathy. As the optometrists they also undergo eight years of studies, the first four is for the undergraduate school while the other four is for medical school and they can generalize to be doctors. The ophthalmologist has undergone training in that they can perform eye surgery. Also, they have some programs that they can specialize in like pathology program, the cornea, the retina and some of the other programs. After they have finished their programs they acquire the license so as to work freely. The ophthalmologist can detect the illness and can examine a problem in other parts of the body. You will find that this specialist knows the side effects of other medicines.