As an Ophthalmologist, Dr. Aguilera knows the importance of proper ocular treatment. This is one of the reasons she strongly encourages comprehensive eye exams for her patients.
A comprehensive eye exam is much more than a simple vision test or vision screening. It does more than have you look at the Snellen chart to see letters from larger to smaller. With a comprehensive eye exam, there are many potential tests.
Patient History
A patient’s background is one of the most important parts of a comprehensive eye exam. The reason: genetics plays a major role in what the patient is at higher risk of having. A quick look into past medical history can do wonders for trying to diagnose our patients.
Snellen Chart
Although the Snellen chart isn’t the only test performed, it is a good base test to determine whether or not visual impairments may be present. A test for visual acuity is another common practice for a comprehensive eye exam.
Refractive Error Testing
When the Snellen chart tells us that a patient doesn’t have 20/20 vision, one of the more common reasons is due to what’s called a refractive error. A refractive error occurs when someone has nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or some other form of common condition.
Tonometry Test
A tonometry test is given during a comprehensive eye exam to determine if the patient has glaucoma. To determine if there is glaucoma, this test measures the amount of pressure inside your eye. This test is performed using an applanation tonometer, which is a common instrument in the world of ophthalmology and allows for testing or pressure in the eye.
Split Lamp Test
During a comprehensive eye exam, the internal and external parts of the eye may need to be examined to determine any causes of vision impairments. A slit lamp is an instrument used to examine the eye for things like cataracts, retinal detachment, or macular degeneration.
Eye Teaming Tests
A comprehensive eye exam will also test your eyes to see how they function as a pair and also individually. As you may assume, your eyes working together in unison is best for your vision, and this is a test that can determine just how great of a team they truly are.
Pupil Dilation
While other tests involve machinery and words you may not be familiar with, a pupil dilation test is no more than a simple set of eyedrops that will enlarge the patient’s pupils for examination. This allows us to look farther into the back parts of the eye, which can sometimes be a necessity to find root causes of any underlying issues.
Be Sure to Include A Comprehensive Eye Exam as Part of Your Routine Checkup
A comprehensive eye exam is just as important for your well-being as a routine family doctor visit or their bi-annual trip to the dentist. This is especially true in pediatric patients whose eyes are not yet fully developed. To ensure any issues are detected with your child’s vision before they become too permanent to heal, make sure to keep them on a schedule with their pediatric ophthalmologist.
Questions or Concerns?
If your child might be having issues with their vision and it is affecting their ability at school or elsewhere, call us today and we’ll gladly walk you through the steps of proper routine eye care with a comprehensive eye exam.