For most people, there is not a lot of dread leading up to an eye exam. After all, you do not expect to receive any injections or to experience any invasive procedures during a routine appointment. This gives these visits a less stressful feeling than when going to your dentist or other doctors. In fact, your routine eye health appointment is easy to prepare for and get through. Below are some tips on what to expect at the eye doctor’s office so that you can feel relaxed and ready for your next exam.
Why do I need to visit my eye doctor regularly?
Many people wonder, “If I can see okay, why do I need to go to the eye doctor regularly?” The answer is simple. That is, these visits are important for early detection of many health problems, including both eye-related diseases and conditions that affect your whole body.
As an adult, you also need a comprehensive eye exam every year to two years to ensure you see clearly. Children need these appointments to start at age six months and occur again when they begin school and every year to two years after that.
Basics of Eye Health Appointments
Seeing the eye doctor is critical for determining your eye health and visual acuity. Every time you go to the optometrist or ophthalmologist for an appointment, they look for early signs of infections, eye conditions and other health problems. In fact, they can detect signs of diseases for which you do not yet experience any symptoms. These visits take place under the care of an eye doctor.
Key health care professionals you can encounter during your eye appointment include:
- Ophthalmologist, a medical doctor, specializing in eye health care, vision correction and eye surgery
- Optometrist, an eye doctor who prescribes vision correction and medications, but does not perform surgery
- Optician, an eye care professional who fits, adjusts and repairs your glasses
How to Prepare for Your Exam
Before your eye care appointment, you can make things go smoother by preparing some materials in advance. Start by creating a list of all of the prescription medications you take, as well as non-prescription drugs. Some medicines cause vision changes or problems that your eye doctor must consider. Also, bring your current eyeglasses or contact lenses with you to your appointment.
For your visit, you need to have your medical or vision insurance card available. You can also call the office in advance to find out the expected exam costs and what insurance they accept. You can also inquire about the types of payment methods accepted by the office. Finally, if you have questions about your vision or eye health, make a note of those to ask the doctor during your visit.
Tests Conducted During Your Exam
Your eye health exam consists of several tests performed over the course of about an hour. These tests give the doctor a clear image of your eye health and vision correction needs, including:
- Near and far vision sharpness
- Colour blindness
- Lazy eye
- Depth perception
- Eyeglass and contact lens prescription
- Glaucoma
- Eye structure health
- Eye interior health
- Blind spots
- Eye movement and following moving objects
What happens after the exam?
After your eye exam, you can check out the available eyeglass frames and lenses in the clinic’s optical space. The optician helps you find glasses that match your personal taste and style, as well as your vision correction needs. If you prefer to wear contacts or choose these as another option with glasses, you will also go through lens fitting for your contact prescription.
You will likely walk away with a set of contacts to see clearly after your appointment if you wear that type of lens. Then, when your glasses prescription is ready for pickup, you will return for a fitting. If you do not need vision correction, you do not go through these steps after your vision exam.
It is very important to continue seeing your eye doctor every year to two years. Through these eye health appointments, you maintain a healthy vision, and the eye doctor finds health problems early.
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