A comprehensive eye exam will evaluate not only how well you see, but also identify potential eye diseases. Some eye diseases, such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, can result in serious vision loss if not detected and treated early. Often patients with these diseases don’t experience any visual symptoms before vision loss occurs.
If you are over 35, you should have a comprehensive eye exam every two years. Patients over 65 or with a family history of glaucoma,diabetes or diabetic retinopathy should have a yearly eye exam.
What To Expect At Your Eye Exam:
Your doctor may dilate the pupils of your eyes in order to better see the retina at the back of your eye. You may want to consider making transportation arrangements, as your vision may be blurry for a few hours if dilated.
Your Exam May Include:
- Medical eye examination evaluating your pupil responses, extra-ocular muscle movement and coordination, anterior segment (front of the eye) and posterior segment (back of the eye).
- Intra-ocular pressure, an important risk factor in Glaucoma.
- Visual field evaluation to assess your peripheral vision, the width of the area you can see when you´re looking straight ahead. This test may detect glaucoma, as well as other diseases of the eye or neurologic disorders such as stroke.
- Visual acuity and refraction to determine the degree to which you may be nearsighted, farsighted or have astigmatism providing a precise eyeglass and/or contact lens prescription.
- Binocular vision skills assessment to ensure that your eyes work together properly as a team. This is important for proper depth perception, eye muscle coordination and the ability to change focus from near to far objects.
- Color vision to determine if you perceive colors properly.
- Integrating your general medical history with your examination findings with expert recommendations from our doctors.
Treatment options will always be discussed during and after your examination.
