I vividly do not forget that late Friday afternoon when my eye pressure spiked and I staggered on foot to my ophthalmologist’s office because the rapidly thickening fog in my sight view shrouded passing cars and traffic lights.

The office was already closed, but the entire eye care team was there waiting for me. One in all them pricked my eyeballs with a pointy instrument, allowing the ocular fluid that had built up to empty. That relieved the pressure and restored my vision.

Nevertheless it was the fourth vision-impairing pressure spike in nine days, they usually feared it could occur again — heading right into a weekend. So off I went to the emergency room, where I spent the night connected to an intravenous tube that delivered a robust anti-swelling agent.

Later, after I told this story to friends and colleagues, a few of them didn’t understand the importance of eye pressure, and even what it was. “I didn’t know they might measure blood pressure in your eyes,” certainly one of them told me.

Most individuals consider their vision to be vitally essential, yet many lack an understanding of a few of the most serious eye diseases. A 2016 study published in JAMA Ophthalmology, based on a web-based national poll, showed that almost half of respondents feared losing their eyesight greater than their memory, speech, hearing, or limbs. Yet many “were unaware of essential eye diseases,” it found.

A study released this month, conducted by Wakefield Research for the nonprofit Prevent Blindness and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, showed that one-quarter of adults deemed in danger for diseases of the retina, corresponding to macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, had delayed searching for look after vision problems.

“There’s significantly less of an emphasis placed on eye health than there’s on general health,” says Rohit Varma, founding director of the Southern California Eye Institute at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center.

Because eye diseases might be painless and progress slowly, Varma says, “people get used to it, and as they age, they start to feel, ‘Oh, that is a traditional a part of aging and it’s OK.'” If people felt severe pain, he says, they might go get care.

For many individuals, though, it’s challenging to get an eye fixed exam or eye treatment. Thousands and thousands are uninsured, others cannot afford their share of the associated fee, and plenty of live in communities where eye doctors are scarce.

“Simply because people know they need the care doesn’t necessarily mean they will afford it or that they’ve the access to it,” says Jeff Todd, CEO and president of Prevent Blindness.

One other challenge, reflecting the divide between eye care and general health care, is that medical insurance, except for kids, often covers only eye care geared toward diagnosing or treating diseases. More health plans are covering routine eye exams today, but that generally doesn’t include the sort of test used to find out eyeglass and phone lens prescriptions — or the associated fee of the lenses. It’s possible you’ll need separate vision insurance for that. Ask your health plan what’s covered.

Since being diagnosed with glaucoma 15 years ago, I’ve had more pressure checks, eye exams, eyedrops, and laser surgeries than I can remember. I should know to not take my eyesight with no consideration. And yet, when my peepers were filling with that vision-threatening fog last March, I felt oddly sanguine.

It turned out that those serial pressure spikes were triggered by an opposed response to steroid-based eyedrops prescribed to me following cataract surgery. My ophthalmologist told me later that I had come “inside hours” of losing my eyesight.

I hope my brush with blindness can assist encourage people to be more conscious of their eyes.

Eyeglasses or contact lenses could make an enormous difference in a single’s quality of life by correcting refractive errors, which affect 150 million Americans. But don’t ignore the danger of way more serious eye conditions that may sneak up on you. They are sometimes manageable if caught early enough.

Glaucoma, which affects about 3 million people within the U.S., attacks peripheral vision first and may cause irreversible damage to the optic nerve. It runs in families and is five times as prevalent amongst African Americans as in the final population.

Nearly 10 million on this country have diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes during which blood vessels within the retina are damaged. And a few 20 million people age 40 and up have macular degeneration, a disease of the retina related to aging that diminishes central vision over time.

The formation of cataracts, which cause cloudiness in the attention’s natural lens, may be very common as people age: Half of individuals 75 and older have them. Cataracts may cause blindness, but they’re eminently treatable with surgery.

If you happen to are over 40 and have not had a comprehensive eye exam shortly, or ever, put that in your to-do list. And get an exam at a younger age if you’ve gotten diabetes, a family history of glaucoma, or in the event you are African American or a part of one other racial or ethnic group at high risk for certain eye diseases.

And do not forget children. Multiple eye conditions can affect kids. Refractive errors, treatable with corrective lenses, may cause impairment later in life in the event that they usually are not addressed early enough.

Healthful lifestyle selections also profit your eyes. “Anything that helps your general health helps your vision,” says Andrew Iwach, a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and executive director of the Glaucoma Center of San Francisco.

Minimize stress, get regular exercise, and eat a healthy weight-reduction plan. Also, quit smoking. It increases the danger of major eye diseases.

And consider adopting habits that protect your eyes from injury: Wear sunglasses once you go outside, take regular breaks out of your computer screen and cellphone, and wear goggles when working across the house or playing sports.

The Prevent Blindness website offers information on virtually all the pieces related to eye health, including insurance. Other good sources include the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s “EyeSmart” site and the National Eye Institute.

So read up and share what you have learned.

“If you get together for the vacations,” says Iwach, “in the event you aren’t sure what to discuss, discuss your eyes.”

This text was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.