Eye & Vision Care

When it comes to your family’s vision health, choose the eye experts at UNC Health. You’ll benefit from comprehensive services and friendly specialists without needing to travel far from your home in North Carolina.

What Are Ophthalmologists & Optometrists?

Feel confident you’ll receive the highest-quality care for your vision because UNC Health providers include:

• Ophthalmologists – Medical doctors who diagnose and treat eye conditions, prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses, and perform eye surgeries
• Optometrists – Skilled medical professionals who offer general vision correction care, including eye exams and vision tests, and prescribe glasses and contact lenses

Trust all members of your UNC Health team to work together, so you get the care that’s right for you.

How Often Do I Need an Eye Exam?

Ask your doctor how often you need a routine eye exam from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Most people should get an exam every one to two years.

When to Get Care

Protect your vision by seeing a doctor if you have symptoms of an eye or vision problem, such as:

• Blurred vision or other vision changes
• Discharge
• Eyelid drooping or bumps
• Pain
• Redness or swelling

Your primary care provider or an urgent care physician can treat minor eye concerns, such as an eye infection. But you may need specialized help if you have signs of a chronic (long-term) eye problem.

Conditions We Treat

UNC Health offers complete care for:

• Blocked tear ducts
• Cancer that affects the eye, eye socket, or eyelids
• Cataracts, clouding of the eye lens
• Detached or torn retina
• Diabetic retinopathy, vision problems due to diabetes
• Dry eye
• Glaucoma, common disorder that leads to loss of vision
• Macular degeneration, loss of eyesight that’s usually age-related
• Strabismus, eye misalignment
• Uveitis, inflammation of the eye’s middle layer

Treatments & Services

Find a full range of preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services, including:

• Contact lens prescriptions and consultations for first-time wearers
• Eyeglass prescriptions
• Laser eye surgery (LASIK) to treat astigmatism, farsightedness, and nearsightedness
• Reconstructive surgery
• Routine screening exams and vision tests
• Surgical procedures, including probe and irrigation, eye muscle surgery, and cataract removal
• Vision therapy, exercises to strengthen the eyes and improve sight

Advancing Optical Care

You’ll benefit from care that follows the latest, most effective standards. Many of our providers are active researchers, working to find the causes and cures for eye diseases.