What is a comprehensive eye exam?
A comprehensive eye exam includes standard vision tests as well as a variety of other specialized tests to evaluate your eye health and other aspects of your vision. During the exam, Dr. Wilson dilates your pupils so he can examine structures inside your eyes such as blood vessels and the optic nerve.
With this in-depth exam, he can detect serious eye problems like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy before you experience symptoms. Many chronic eye diseases don’t cause symptoms until they harm your eyes. By the time symptoms develop, like loss of vision, the damage may be permanent.
With routine eye exams, Dr. Wilson finds problems when they’re in the early stage, while you still have time to start treatment that prevents or delays vision loss. These are only a few examples of tests typically included in a comprehensive eye exam:
- Tonometry: tests pressure inside your eye
- Visual field test: measures your peripheral (side) vision
- Stereopsis test: measures depth perception
- Visual acuity test: tests the smallest letters you can read on a standard chart
- Slit lamp exam: uses a binocular-like magnification device to examine the outside and inside of your eyes
When should children have their eyes examined?
Newborn babies have their eyes checked for problems before leaving the hospital, and pediatricians continue to monitor their eye health and vision development at each well-child visit.
Vision screenings are routinely done around age 3 or 4. Your child’s vision should be checked again when they enter school or around age 5.
After age 5, children’s vision should be checked yearly to be sure no problems develop as they grow. If vision screening detects a potential problem, Dr. Wilson performs a comprehensive eye exam.
