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Annual eye exams are recommended as a part of preventative health care. Individuals can be unaware of problems because there are often no obvious signs or symptoms. It is important to detect and treat vision problems early in order to maintain good vision and eye health.

Many Optometrists evaluate a patient?s vision by finding the combination of lenses that offer ?20/20? vision. However, there is much more involved in determining the best prescription for ?perfect vision.?  A proper prescription should be based not only on the parameters that offer clear eyesight but also on a formula that gives the patient the greatest visual efficiency and allows the patient to process visual information seamlessly. This approach will result in glasses or contact lenses that provide the best eyesight, the greatest productivity and, most importantly, the greatest comfort.

 

Eye exams may include:

  • Patient History ? Lists your general health, medication usage, family history and symptoms, as well as lifestyle visual needs,  etc.

  • Preliminary Tests ? Evaluates specific aspects of visual function and eye health.

  • Visual Acuity ? Evaluates how clearly each eye is seeing with and without visual aids.  This tests distance and near vision separately using a variety of exams and examination methods, specially adapted to the age of the patient. Normal distance visual acuity is 6/6 (metric system) or 20/20. This is only an indication of visual clarity and other skills that contribute to overall vision.

  • Keratometry ? Measures the curvature of the cornea, the clear outer surface of the eye. This is important for determining the ?base curve? of the contact lenses.

  • Refraction ? Determines the appropriate lens power to compensate for nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.

  • Binocular vision exam ? Measures eye focusing, eye teaming, and eye movement testing ? Assesses accommodation, ocular motility and binocular vision to determine how well the eyes function individually and together.

  • Eye Coordination ? Ability of both eyes to work together. The brain fuses the images each eye sees in order to create a single clear picture. Eye coordination is a developed skill and done properly, keeps the eyes in proper alignment. Poor eye coordination is often successfully treated with spectacles or other correction of eye conditions, such as nearsightedness and farsightedness.

  • Eye Health Evaluation ? Examines the external parts of the eye, including the cornea, eyelids, conjunctiva and surrounding eye tissue. In addition, the patient?s pupils may be dilated to evaluate the internal parts of the eye, including the lens, retina and posterior section. We will also measure the pressure within the eye to detect glaucoma.

  • Supplemental Testing ? Additional testing to confirm or rule out possible problems, and to provide clarification or further assessment.

 

Vision Conditions

The following are vision conditions that regularly scheduled eye exams can prevent or allow for early detection and treatment.

  • Myopia (Nearsightedness) ? Near objects are seen clearly, but distant ones are out of focus. This occurs if the eyeball is too long or the cornea has too much curvature. Nearsightedness is very common. Spectacles or contact lenses can correct nearsightedness and may be necessary for certain activities, including watching a movie or TV screen.

  • Hyperopia (Farsightedness) ? Distant objects are seen clearly, but close ones are out of focus. This occurs if the eyeball is too short or if the cornea does not have enough curvature. Symptoms include difficulty concentrating and maintaining focus on close objects, eye strain, fatigue and/or headaches, aching or burning eyes, discomfort after long-term concentration. Comprehensive eye exams are necessary to determine farsightedness, as common vision screenings often cannot detect the problem.

  • Astigmatism ? Causes blurred vision due to the irregular shape of the cornea or the curvature of the lens inside the eye. The irregular shape prevents light from centering on the retina and creates blurred vision at any distance. This is a very common condition and often occurs with other vision conditions, such as nearsightedness and farsightedness. Astigmatism can easily be treated with spectacles, contact lenses, orthokeratology (treatment to reshape the cornea), and/or laser and other refractive surgery procedures.

  • Presbyopia ? Age-related loss of flexibility in your eyes? crystalline lens, causing difficulty focusing on close objects. This is a natural part of aging, typically occurring in the early to mid-40?s. Signs include reading at arm?s length, blurred vision and eye fatigue. Presbyopia is not a disease and cannot be prevented.

  • Strabismus (Squint) ? Occurs when one or both of the eyes turns in, out, up or down. This is often caused by poor eye muscle control. Treatments include spectacles,  prisms, vision therapy, and sometimes, surgery. If detected early, it can often be corrected.

  • Amblyopia /Lazy Eye ? Loss or lack of development in one eye. Often associated with childhood strabismus or large differences in degrees of nearsightedness and farsightedness between the two eyes. Amblyopia cannot be corrected with lenses. Treatments include prescription lenses, prisms, vision therapy and eye patching.

  • Spots and Floaters ? Small cloudy specks or particles within the vitreous (clear fluid that fills the inside of the eyes), caused during formation of the eyes before birth, deterioration of the vitreous fluid from aging, or some eye diseases or injuries. This condition rarely has an effect on vision and typically found to be harmless.

Disclaimer: These are guidelines only and by no means serve as a medical explanation. Your annual appointment will determine if any vision correction is needed.  Any issues that arise during the examination will be explained in detail.



 
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