What Is A Refraction Eye Exam
A refraction eye exam helps your eye doctor figure out what prescription you need for glasses or contact lenses. To test this, your doctor may have you look into a machine that displays lenses of different strengths. By switching the lens in front of each eye while you read letters and numbers on a chart, your doctor can figure out which lens is best for you. This refraction test also helps your doctor to determine if you need a different strength lens in each eye.
What Is A Dilated Eye Exam
A dilated eye exam is the best thing you can do for your eye health! Its the only way to check for eye diseases early on, when theyre easier to treat and before they cause vision loss.
The exam is simple and painless. Your eye doctor will check for vision problems that make it hard to see clearly, like being nearsighted or farsighted. Then your doctor will give you some eye drops to dilate your pupil and check for eye diseases.
Since many eye diseases have no symptoms or warning signs, you could have a problem and not know it. Even if you think your eyes are healthy, getting a dilated eye exam is the only way to know for sure.
First Time At The Eye Doctor Heres What To Expect
By: Eyetique|Published on: Jan 26, 2020|Categories: Eye Health|
Need to have your eyes checked, but youve never been to an eye doctor before? Heres everything you need to know before you go.
Maybe youve noticed that road signs are blurry or that you otherwise dont see as well as you used to. Maybe youre experiencing some other problems with your eyes or vision, or perhaps you just know that getting an eye exam is recommended.
Whatever your motivation for considering your first-ever visit to the eye doctor, know that its a great choice to make for your health. An eye exam is about more than checking how well you can see its also an opportunity to make sure your entire visual system, and even your entire body, is as healthy as possible.
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How Do I Know Which Type Of Eye Doctor I Should See
Choosing an eye doctor can seem tricky because there are two types of eye doctors: optometrists and ophthalmologists. Both prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses and are trained to diagnose and treat common eye problems. Learn more about their differences in this article.
Note that another type of eye care specialist, an optician, is qualified to fit your prescription eyeglasses and advise you on lens types and coatings. Opticians dont conduct eye exams or diagnose and treat eye problems.
Do: Bring Your Current Prescription Glasses And Contacts
Bringing your current prescription for glasses and contacts is always a good idea, as your eye doctor may want to test your vision in them. Its especially important if youre seeing a new eye doctor.
If you have a prescription card, be sure to bring it. Otherwise, have your information sent over by your previous eye doctor.
Feel like youre ready to have an eye exam? Schedule yours at Loden Vision Centers in Nashville, TN, today, and make your eyes a priority!
Many thanks to Doctor Loden and his amazing staff! They made something that would otherwise be very intimidating very comforting. Their professionalism and service was off the charts. I am one day post surgery and am pain free and can see better than I have for twenty years. I would recommend them to anyone!
I am so thankful to Dr. Loden. My results from my LASIK surgery were instant. I don’t have hardly any vision distortion and it 1 day post surgery, it will just keep getting better each day. I see better now than I’ve ever been able to with glasses or contacts. I so recommend Dr. Loden!!!
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Dont Forget Your Glasses & Contacts
Make sure to bring your current eyeglasses and contact lenses. We want to test the strength and performance of your current corrective eyewear against any changes that may have occurred in your prescription. Human eyes can change significantly as we age, so dont be surprised if your glasses need replacing.
Dont forget to bring sunglasses either. By using special eye drops, the optometrist will dilate your pupils during a comprehensive eye exam. The primary side effect is light sensitivity for 4 6 hours. Remembering to bring a pair of sunglasses will help manage bright lights for the rest of the day.
How Eyeglasses & Contacts Work To Correct Your Vision
To understand how eyeglasses and contact lenses correct your vision, a brief understanding of how the eyes work may be helpful. The basic steps of vision are as follows:
- When you focus on an object, first light passes through the cornea, which is shaped like a dome and bends this light to help the eye focus.
- The light enters the eye through your pupil, and the amount of light that is let in is controlled by the iris.
- Next, this light passes through the lens of your eye. The lens and the cornea work together to focus light correctly on the retina, where turn the light into electrical signals.
- These electrical signals travel to the optic nerve and then to the brain, where the signals turn into the images you see.
If there is an issue with any of these steps, you may have trouble seeing correctly. A specific lens tailored to your needs can help correct your vision.
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Wear Your Existing Contact Lenses Or Glasses
Be sure to come to your appointment wearing your contact lenses or glasses that are of your current prescription. Its important for your eye doctor to see if your current prescription is working for you and how it can be improved from there. Plus, if your glasses are able to be made same-day , many optometry centers will accept your old frames as a donation.
What Should I Expect After An Eye Examination
If youve had your eyes dilated, your vision will be blurry for several hours after the exam. Your eyes will also be more sensitive to light. For a few hours after an eye dilation, you should avoid driving, reading and looking at screens. Make sure to wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun as your pupils shrink back to normal. If you dont need dilation, you can get back to your usual activities right away.
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Are My Eyes At Risk
If you have a health condition like high blood pressure, work in a job that requires you to use your eyes a lot, or take drugs that can affect eyesight, you may need more frequent exams.
If you have type 1 diabetes, get your eyes checked within 5 years of your diagnosis and every year after that.
Youâll need an exam ASAP if youâre diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Have your eyes checked every year after that.
Relax During Your Exam
If youre feeling stressed or anxious, take a deep breath and relax before your appointment stress can impede vision test results. At Spectrum Eye Care, we want you to be as relaxed as possible during your eye exam. If you feel nervous, let us know and we will do everything we can to relax you. Our optometrists understand that some people experience anxiety about going to an eye exam, so please tell us if this is the case for you!
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How Should I Prepare And What Should I Bring
Similar to any other doctor visit, you should be prepared to answer questions about your medical history, and come with a list of any medications or supplements youre currently taking. Its also a good idea to come with questions youd like to ask your eye doctor.
Your eye doctor will ask you questions about your vision history and want to hear about any problems. He or she will also be interested in knowing if you have a family history of eye problems and other disorders or diseases that affect eye health, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
What To Bring To Your Eye Exam
Besides those lists of your recent vision issues, family history and current medications, bring your current eyeglasses, sunglasses and/or contact lenses.
Youll also need your vision insurance card , and youll need the contact information for your primary care doctor.
If your eyes are dilated for your exam, you may need to bring a friend to drive you home. Thats because dilation with drops can make you light-sensitive and blur your vision for several hours, past the point of comfortably and safely driving home.
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How To Take An Eye Exam
Clover left eye with your left hand, ensure to avoid applying pressure to the eyelid. Read the letters on the screen beginning at the top. Once completed, repeat with the right eye. If you were able to read as easily with both the left and right eye, chances are you have a strong central visual acuity.
Be Sure You Are Rested
At Spectrum Eye Care, our optometrists want to give you the best eye exam possible, so be sure that your eyes are well-rested before arriving for your appointment. Be sure that you get a good nights sleep, avoid excess caffeine beforehand, avoid nicotine use and also avoid straining your eyes too much by looking at electronic screens, for example. This all will help ensure that the results of your eye exam are as accurate as possible.
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Summary: Things To Avoid Before Your Eye Appointment
Theres no secret way on how to pass an eye exam, but if you do your best and follow these tips on what not to do before an eye exam, your results should be reliable.
- Dont put excess pressure on your eyes. Rest your eyes beforehand, and avoid screen time if you can.
- Stay away from caffeine the morning of your appointment. Stick to decaf.
Make sure you also dont forget your insurance at home, since that can prolong your eye appointment.
Are you ready to get your eyes checked? Our team is excited to meet with you.
Reading Your Contacts Prescription
The main difference between your eyeglass prescription and your contact lens prescription is that for contacts you have two additional measurements: base curve and diameter.
Base curve is the number that indicates your contact lens curvature, while diameter shows what size your contacts lenses must be to cover your cornea properly.
In addition to these measurements, your contact lens prescription may include:
- Recommended brand
- Corrective power which is the actual power needed in your lenses
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I Have Good Vision Do I Still Need An Eye Exam
Even though you have good vision, you should still have your eyes checked once every one to two years. During an eye exam your eye doctor is not just checking how well you see, but your risk for eye diseases, like glaucoma and cataracts. If you have medical conditions of any kind, these could also impact your vision and eye health making a routine eye exam an important part of your health and wellness.
Getting routine eye exams can help maintain your eye health. Be sure to talk to your eye doctor if you currently have glasses or contact lenses or are experiencing any vision problems.
A family history of eye problems and certain health conditions may lead to more frequent visits, but its important to be checked regularly even if you arent at risk.
Before making any visit to the eye doctor, review the details of your vision plan so you know whats covered. Depending on your health insurance, a routine eye exam may be covered.
How Long Does It Take For An Eye Exam
A comprehensive eye exam will take about an hour, so trying to squeeze it in during lunch may not work. If the exam involves drops to dilate your pupils, it could take longer because the drops need time to take effect.
An eye exam for contact lenses typically lasts longer than an eye exam to get glasses.
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Tell Your Healthcare Provider About Vision Changes
Tell your healthcare provider if you notice any changes in your vision, like dark spots, blurriness, or “holes” in your eyesight. The earlier your healthcare provider knows about or detects changes, the more they can do to help prevent or minimize damage.
If you see any of the following, make an appointment to see your optometrist right away, as these may indicate that the blood vessels in your eyes are leaking, which can lead to vision loss or blindness:
- Black lines or spots that dont go away
- Red spots or red fogginess
- Any sudden changes in the clarity of your vision
- Slow adjustment seeing in the dark
How Do You Prepare For An Eye Exam
Yes, there is a little homework to do before your eye exam. Make the effort, and it will give you a better experience, additional information and more for your time, money and effort. Preparation for an eye exam mainly involves making some lists:
Vision issues: Think about whether youve noticed anything different about your vision. Any blurry vision or double vision? Flashes? Trouble seeing at night? Write down your visual issues.
Family history: Think about your familys health history. Have your parents or grandparents had glaucoma, cataracts or other eye problems? Make a note of that.
Medications list: Think about your health history. Any recent illnesses, injuries, medical procedures or other health issues you should share with your eye doctor? What medications, supplements or herbal remedies are you taking, and what are the doses? Take a list to your eye doctor.
Bring your questions: Before your eye exam, think about what you want to know. If something about your vision has you worried, or if you are interested in a certain form of vision correction, what questions do you have? Jot down your questions so you dont forget to ask your eye doctor.
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Cost Of An Online Eye Exam
In the age of the internet, everything has been so easy as connectivity works super faster and easier. Surely people use smartphones or computers with internet access which has helped people in numerous ways. In the same way, people are seen going online for eye exams to make sure they can save money. People are supposed to go to the doctors point and need to use transport which also adds to eye exam costs.
The most complicated problem needs a doctors attention in person but some people dont need that. They may need only a prescription for glasses and lenses. In this case, it is possible to go for an eye exam and the cost is also limited. This cost may come by $20 to $50 based on the services providers guidelines.
Eye Focusing Eye Teaming And Eye Movement Testing
To see a clear, single image, the eyes must effectively change focus, move and work in unison. An assessment of accommodation, ocular motility, and binocular vision determines how well your eyes focus, move and work together. This testing will look for problems that keep eyes from focusing effectively or make using both eyes together difficult.
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The Pupil Dilation Test
A dilated eye exam can help identify if you have, or are at risk for, developing common eye diseases that have no symptoms. Dilating eye drops allow your eye doctor to thoroughly examine the health of your eyes. The drops cause your pupils to become larger, allowing more light into the eye. Once your eyes have fully dilated, your eye doctor will look inside your eyes using special lenses. Additionally, more modern retinal imaging devices allow eye doctors to capture a high-resolution, wide-angle photograph of a patients retina without needing to use dilating drops.
Free Online Eye Exam Without Previous Prescription
So we are going to discuss some online eye exam service providers and the specialty is that you may get a cheap and free online eye exam. These service providers highly deal with eyeglasses and lenses and other services. You may be sure and keep trust in these companies as the reports are reviewed by the certified ophthalmologist and make a prescription.
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Wear Your Existing Contacts Or Glasses
If you can, bring your current eyewear to your appointment. That will help your eye doctor to learn more about your prescription and make adjustments if needed. The optometrist may ask you questions, such as:
- Do you prefer contact lenses or glasses?
- Have you been having any issues with your current eyewear?
- Have you noticed any changes in vision?
- How long have you worn prescription eyewear?
- What makes you think you need a new prescription?
How Often Do I Need To Get A Dilated Eye Exam
How often you need a dilated eye exam depends on your risk for eye disease. Talk to your doctor about whats right for you.
Get a dilated eye exam every 1 to 2 years if you:
- Are over age 60
- Are African American and over age 40
- Have a family history of glaucoma
If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, ask your doctor how often you need an exam. Most people with diabetes or high blood pressure need to get a dilated eye exam at least once a year.
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