A comprehensive Eye examination take an hour or more, depending on the doctor and the number and complexity of tests required to fully evaluate your vision and the health of your eyes. Comprehensive eye check-ups often consist of the following tests (however, this might vary depending on your doctor and medical history):
- Detailed History including Medical History, History of Past surgery, Family history of hereditary diseases
- Visual Acuity: The doctor evaluates your eyesight and checks your vision for both near and far-sightedness. If your eyesight is not up to par, you will be given a prescription for glasses or contacts.
- Eye Pressure: The doctor measures your ocular pressure with a contact tonometer (Goldman Applanation Tonometer). Drops of local anesthetic will be used for the latter.
- Slit Lamp Test: During the slit-lamp examination, a microscope with in-built lighting is used to examine your eyes. It allows your doctor to examine a detailed picture of your eye at high magnification. Your doctor will use a set of lenses to direct the light behind your back so they can see your retina and optic nerve.
- Dilated Test: In this procedure, your doctor will use eye drops to dilate your pupils for a closer look at your retina and optic nerve. Your vision will be blurry for three to five hours after a dilated assessment, so you won’t be able to drive yourself home. You may also notice an enhanced sensitivity to light. A dilated eye exam is usually necessary for those who have diabetes, high refractive errors, or eye diseases such as macular degeneration, age-related macular edema, or glaucoma.
- Other Special Tests: If your eye doctor has reason to suspect a condition, he or she will arrange or prescribe additional tests outside of your regular eye exam to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of that disease.
How Often Should You Get an Eye Check-Up?
The patient’s current eye health is the only thing that determines whether a visual acuity test or a full eye exam is important. Adults should see an eye doctor at least once every two years to evaluate their eyes for general health and vision or your eye doctor will determine how frequently you should have eye checkup.
Benefits of Having Routine Eye Check-Ups
- Better Visual Function
You should check both near and far vision to ensure peak performance. It shows how often adjustments need to be made when visual acuity improves or declines. The quality of your daily life will increase when you have your eyesight restored.
- Check for Potential Blindness
With early detection, blindness can be avoided in over 90% of cases. More than half of all blindness is avoidable. Therefore, it’s important to take care of your eyes by having regular checkups. Some diseases are very hard to treat or irreversible, therefore, it’s crucial to check the optic nerves and lens thoroughly.
- Helps Avoid Life-Threatening Diseases
Regularly scheduled eye examinations can detect multiple potentially life-threatening diseases. The blood vessels in the retina are a good way to tell how the blood vessels in the rest of the body are doing, and optometry specialists can check on them. Changes in how the retinal blood supply and blood vessels look can be used to find out what’s wrong with a person.