When was the last time you had an eye exam? Has it been more than a year since your last visit to the eye doctor? If the answer to these questions is more than a year, it’s time to schedule an appointment at a Optical Solutions location near you. A common misconception about eye exams is that they’re only for people who have vision problems, but the truth is that they’re for everyone. Eye appointments aren’t just about checking to see if you need glasses; they’re also about maintaining healthy eyes.
Testing Your Eye Health
When getting an eye exam, it’s not all about selecting between option 1 or option 2. Do you also recall the interocular pressure (IOP) test where the doctor uses a puff of air to test the fluid pressure inside your eye, and the bright lights the doctor uses to look into your eyes? Those are just some of the procedures that determine not only your vision quality but evaluate your eye health.
To the average patient, it may seem as if the doctor is doing nothing more than placing lenses over your eyes, but in reality they are checking every aspect of your eye health. There are many conditions that you may not know you have. With a comprehensive eye exam, these conditions can be caught early, and treated properly.
Eye Health Tests
Throughout your eye exam, there are several things that an eye doctor looks for. The following are the different eye tests performed by the independent doctors of optometry at Optical Solutions:
Visual Field Test: A common part of an eye exam, in this procedure the patient is asked to cover one eye, while the doctor moves an object from the side of their head to the front of their face. The patient will then be asked to announce once the object is visible.
Glaucoma Test: Tests the patients intraocular pressure, by administering a puff of air into the eye, the doctor will not only measure the eyes fluid pressure, but can also determine how long it takes the cornea to flatten.
Retinoscopy Test: Using the retinoscope, the doctor will shine a light into the patients eye, allowing the doctor to see the reaction of the retina. It helps the doctor determine the patient’s needs for corrective lenses without having to rely on feedback from the patient. The Retinoscopy is usually used on small children, or persons with disabilities who have a hard time communicating. The patient will not experience any discomfort or pain throughout this test.
Refraction Test: Known as the test most associated with an eye exam, the refraction test uses a refractor to test the patient’s visual acuity. The refractor is placed on the patients face, like a mask. The patient then observes an eye chart through the refractor and announces how well they see the characters on the eye chart.
Cover Test: Known as the lazy eye test, the cover test is commonly performed on children to test for ocular deviation, or lazy eye. The patient is asked to focus on an object, while the doctor watches the reaction of the eyes. Ocular deviation, or lazy eye, occurs when the eye either moves inward or outward, as the patient attempts to focus on the object.
Slit Lamp Test: The doctor implements the slit lamp test to test for structural problems in the eye, that can go unnoticed. Special fluorescent drops are placed into the patient’s eyes so that the doctor can examine the eye with a device that measures and examines the inner workings of the eye. The eye drops may cause some discomfort, but it is usually for a short amount of time.
Ensure that you receive a comprehensive eye exam by scheduling your eye exam at any of our Optical Solutions locations.
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