Routine Eye Care

The eye exam includes the following tests: 

• Visual acuity: This checks overall clarity of vision. You will be asked to read from the Snellen Chart where the letters decrease in size as you progress down the chart. You will probably recognize this well known chart by the large E at the top as it is a standard tool for checking how well a patient can see.
  
  If the patient is a young child who has not learnt the alphabet yet, the optometrist will use a chart with various well known symbols, such as a picture of a house or butterfly to test how well the child can see.
  
  
• Binocular testing: This is an assessment of how well the eyes work in unison, both while looking close up and while looking at a distance. In the cover test, each eye is covered one at a time while the patient focuses on an object. The optometrist observes how one eye responds while the other eye is being covered which can provide important information on how the eyes work together as a team.
  
  
• Stereopsis: You will be given polaroid glasses to allow you to see certain images up close in 3D and this evaluates your depth perception.
  
  
• Near Point of Convergence: This measures the ability your eyes have to move inwards in sync in order to focus on a target up close.
  
  
• Eye movements: The optometrist will check how smoothly your eyes can move in all directions without causing any discomfort. 
  
  
• Visual Field Screening: An evaluation is performed to determine if there are any visual field defects. You will be asked to focus on a central target while identifying how many fingers the optometrist is holding up at different points in the periphery. 
  
  
• Refraction: The optometrist will determine your current and accurate prescription to decide if you need glasses or contact lenses. There are various tools and tests that the optometrist will perform in order to arrive at your prescription using both subjective and objective methods. Different lenses are used and you will be asked which options allow you to see more clearly.
  
  Through refraction, the optometrist will let you know if you are nearsighted (known medically as myopia) or farsighted (hyperopia). It’s also possible that you have an astigmatism which is typically when your eye is not perfectly round and therefore another element called a cylinder is added to your prescription to correct the astigmatism and allow for clear vision.
  
  
• Evaluating the health of the eye: The optometrist will assess the health of your eyes through a visual inspection. This includes shining a retinoscope on the pupil to assess the response to light. Additionally dilating eye drops are administered to enlarge the pupils and to enable a complete evaluation of the eye through fundoscopy which uses a light and a magnifying lens to inspect the critical retina section at the back of the eye.
  
  Depending on age and medical history, testing for glaucoma may become part of routine evaluations. It is an easy way to prevent the onset of this condition, by assessing the eye pressure.