Scheduling your routine trip to the eye doctor may spark feelings of annoyance (“I don’t have the time!”), irritation (“My prescription never changes; what’s the point?”) or even ambivalence (“Whoops! I forgot to schedule my appointment, maybe next week.”).

But the seemingly menial task of getting your eyes checked so you can refill your contact or glasses prescription can yield greater health benefits than many young women realize.

Eye exams reveal health problems that may go undetected for months or years. While writers may wax poetic about how the eyes are the "windows to the soul," optometrists know that they are really windows to your entire body.

A routine eye exam can detect many diseases. This list will look at some that younger women can get and may not be aware that they are developing until a visit to the eye doctor.

Spondyloarthritis

For this family of inflammatory diseases, in particular, eye exams are deeply useful. These are rheumatic diseases (diseases that affect joints and connective tissues) that your regular eye exam can bring to light.

For example, if you suffer from inflammation of the eye and have a seemingly unconnected issue – back pain – and you decide just to ride it out, you may be enabling an inflammatory arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis (AS) to live in your body.

However, a scheduled, or even better, an unscheduled visit to your eye doctor as soon as your eye becomes inflamed, could deliver a diagnosis.