What to expect during an Eye Exam?
A comprehensive eye exam uses a wide range of tests and procedures to test your vision and ocular health. Diagnostic tests such as autorefraction or retinal imaging will be performed prior to your eye exam. This gives the doctor a chance to review the results before a thorough examination is started.
In the exam room a detailed history of your medical and ocular health is taken. So please bring in a list of all your medications as systemic conditions may have ocular impact.
Visual acuity:
To determine the sharpness of your vision, you will be asked to read an eye chart from a computer. The letters will progressively get smaller as you read them out loud until you no longer can see them.
Color Vision Test:
You will be asked to read out numbers from a book to determine if you are color deficient. 10% of all males and 2% of females are color blind.
Stereoscopic vision test:
This test determines how well both eyes work together. You will be given 3-D glasses for this test and will be asked to identify the raised objects from a book. Stereoscopic vision test is important in identifying diseases such as Amblyopia, Strabismus, Suppression and stereopsis.
Cove test:
This is an objective determination of the presence and the amount of ocular deviation. The doctor will cover and uncover each eye with a paddle while you are looking at a target at a close range or at a distance. The misaligned eye will deviate inwards or outwards and the amount of it can be measured using a prism bar.
Refraction:
To determine your exact prescription, the doctor will use a phoropter by asking you to respond to questions “which is better, one or two?” while flipping back and forth between different lenses. Remember to relax and respond what you see as there are no wrong answers.
Slit lamp Exam:
A slit lamp which is a highly magnified device is used to examine the health of the eye. Eye condition such as dry eye, corneal dystrophy, cataract, uveitis and abnormality of the iris can be seen during this test. Furthermore, the doctor can use a special 90D lens to view the retina. Conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy can be diagnosed.
Goldman Tonometry:
Eye pressure are measured by placing an anesthetic drop and a flurescene dye in the eyes. Then a tool called tonometer is used to measure the pressure of the eyes. The tonometer is highly accurate and is the “gold standard” for glaucoma. Patients should not hold their breath during the exam and can breath slowly through their nose.
Retinal Examination:
To assess the health of the retina, the doctor will put drops in the eyes to dilate them. This will provide much wider view of the retina and conditions such as retinal holes, tears and detachment can be detected using a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope (BIO).
The Entire exam can take anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour.