What Does An Eye Examination Involve?

For many people an eye examination plays a regular part in their lives. If you wear glasses or contacts, for example, then you will probably be advised by your optician/optometrist to have a check up every one or two years. The fact is that most specialists here will recommend regular check ups for adults and children on a regular basis even if they don’t have existing eye defects and feel that they can see OK.

The actual examination tests that you are given by an optician/optometrist may vary. Some people will have a simple basic eye exam and others may also need more complicated tests. For example, if you have a family history of diabetes and/or glaucoma then you may be given additional eye pressure tests at the same time as your general check up to make sure that you are not developing these problems.

In some cases the basic eye exam that you are given may show that you could potentially have a vision or specific condition problem. If this is the case your optician/optometrist will probably carry out further tests and/or refer you to an eye specialist.

One of the first things that the person doing your eye exam will do is to take a general look at your eyes and their surrounding areas. They will then use a special inspection device known as an ophthalmoscope to take a closer look inside your eye and at the back of your eye to check for any issues or problems.

They will also use various light devices to check on the operation of your eye and its component parts and muscles — i.e. how your pupil reacts to light and so on. Your optician/optometrist may test to see how your peripheral vision works and how well each eye can focus on objects both close up and at a distance.

One of the major areas that your eye exam will cover is how well your eyes actually work. If you have perfect vision then this is described as having 20:20 vision. The tests here will be used to assess whether you need to wear glasses or contact lenses or whether you need to change the prescription on the glasses/contacts that you currently are wearing.

The main part of the sight test involves looking at a series of letters, colors, pictures and/or lights both with and without the aid of lenses to see if you have any vision issues. You need to wear a special frame here which is kind of like a large and bulky pair of glasses. The lenses are slotted into the frame and the optician/optometrist will use different lenses in each eye in turn to find the one that suits you best.

Even if you have pretty good vision and feel that you do not need the aid of glasses and/or contacts it is still recommended to have an eye exam on a regular basis. Your optician/optometrist can often identify other conditions and illnesses from taking a detailed look at your eyes and there are many different tests that may be done here if it is felt that you do have an issue.

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