- Yearly eye health and vision examinations are one of the most important part of preventative health care of an individual.
- The eye is the second most complex part of the body, Comprehensive Eye examination every year is important because often patient’s eyes may not show signs or symptoms if there is ongoing problem back side of the eyes, so patients may not know that a problem exists.
- On yearly basis, eye examinationsare especially important to prevent severe vision loss or eye related problems.
- A comprehensive eye exammay include but is not limited to step-by-step tests during which many parts of the eye are examined.
- Your medical history
- Many pre-existing medical conditions may affect patient’s eye health and vision acuity.
- The doctor will ask about your overall health, eye health, any eye surgery done in past, medical conditions, medications you are taking, family’s medical history and your work environment.
- Your initial vision acuity
- The doctor will determine the far and near vision acuity of each eye.
- For example: you may be able to read the eyechart letters at 20/60. Vision acuity testing is written as a fraction, and in this instance, it means that you mustbe 20 feet distance away from an object or letters that you should be able to see from 60 feet away. Therefore, you need vision correction devices such as a pair of glasses or contact lenses. Normal visual acuity is 20/20.
- Keratometry / Topography
- Doctor will focus a circle of light on the cornea, which is the front of the eye, to see the curvature of the cornea. This is important for diagnosing any problems with the cornea and for contact lens fitting.
- Glaucoma Eye Pressure Test
- Using a handheld digital device, the doctor will blow a small air puff onto your eyes to check glaucoma pressures in both eyes from handheld tool. This is to make sure that the pressure in your eyes is below 20. If the pressure is above 20, the patient is a suspect for glaucoma and will need to be closely monitored by the doctor or may patient have referred to the specialists.
- Refraction
- The refraction is performed in several different ways, including digitally and manually. The refraction determines the power your eyes need to correct refractive errors like:
- Nearsightedness or Myopia: A condition in which patients can see close objects clearly but have trouble seeing far.
- Farsightedness or Hyperopia: A condition in which patients can see far away objects clearly but have trouble seeing close objects/reading.
- Astigmatism: A condition in which a patient’s cornea is an irregular shape and this can alter their vision.
- Presbyopia: A condition that usually occurs in patients after the age of 40, in which the crystalline lens in the eye changes shape and makes it difficult for patients to see objects up close. Patients normally need to wear reading, bifocal, or no-line progressive glasses to see far, intermediate and reading.
- These are the most common conditions found but there are many more eye related conditions that can severely effect vision or lead to vision loss. To prevent these conditions from progressing and risking your vision, patients should visit our optometrist office yearly to get the health and refraction of their eyes evaluated.
- The doctor or our trained staff will run vision screening with advanced technology equipment to determine your refractive error.
- The doctor will then finalize your eye exam prescription with the help of a phoropter by asking questions like “which is better, #1 or #2?”
- The refraction is performed in several different ways, including digitally and manually. The refraction determines the power your eyes need to correct refractive errors like:
- Additional Testing
- To have a complete and thorough eye exam, we recommend taking digital retinal photos. This is a photo of the back of your eyeball that will show to the doctor, he/she will explain in the details of how your back side eye health is, like any hemorrhage or any unusual encounters.
