Our eyes are our windows to the world. That’s why they are few things more important than ensuring they receive the proper care. Since they also very complex organs, it’s essential for you to get a comprehensive eye exam annually. During these tests, healthcare professionals will conduct a variety of physical and vision screening exams to assess your overall eye health. Generally, the exam lasts under an hour and you’ll be able to get results very quickly. Your comprehensive professional eye exam will include the following:
Vision Health Background and History
To make a complete assessment of your eye health, your doctor needs to know about your medical history. This includes key factors like allergies, family history of eye conditions or environmental factors that may be impacting vision. Your doctor may ask you some other questions like if you’ve had any surgical procedures or if you have any long term health conditions. Oftentimes, these may play a role in determining your vision and will help your doctor make the best recommendations for you.
Vision Strength Test
Everybody has taken a vision acuity test using an eye chart. In this case, you’ll be seated at a distance and will need to read letters or numbers on chart ranging in different sizes. Your results are them compared to an average person with good vision. You’ll then get a result like 20/20, 20/40 or so on. This means that at 20/40 you see the same things at twenty feet an average person can see from forty feet. Do note, this is just a preliminary test and will not determine a prescription for glasses or contact lenses.
Refraction Test
One of the leading causes of vision problems are refractive errors. Refraction is the way light is focused onto the eye. People who have conditions like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and other problems suffer from problems in the way light focuses. With this test, your doctor will be able to determine what lenses can be used to correct your vision to 20/20 levels.
Physical Eye Health
Your doctor examines two aspects of your eye health. This can be vision errors like refraction tests and visual acuity, but also your physical eye health. Since the eye is such a complex organ, physical damage and other problems may cause vision problems. For this reason, your doctor will use various tools to examine the exterior and interior of your eye. By doing this, they’ll be able to check for cataracts, keratoconus eye condition, macular degeneration, and many other conditions.
Pupil Dilation
As your doctor performs your comprehensive eye exam, he or she may choose to do a dilated eye exam. This enables them to get a better view into key areas located in the back of your eye. Generally, your doctor will administer eye drops which take between 20-30 minutes to take effect. After examination, your eyes will be sensitive to bright light so you’ll need to wear sunglasses until the drops wear off.
Comprehensive Eye Exams: The Best in Vision Care
Comprehensive eye exams are one of the best tools for assessing vision and eye health. With them, your doctor can make the right recommendations for not only prescriptive lenses but other steps you need to achieve clear vision.