Your Eye Exam Consists of These Tests

Young Lady Reading Eye Chart
Visual Acuity

Visual Acuity (“VA”) is measuring your ability to see clearly. It’s the 20/20, 20/40, etc. in your report.

For Example, 20/40 means what most people see at 40 feet you have to have at 20 feet. Or, since 20×2=40, you need a letter twice as large.

Diagram of Human Eye
Anatomy of Your Eye
Slit-Lamp-Exam-Older-Man
Slit Lamp Microscope Exam

The Slit Lamp is a microscope is for examining the front part of your eyes, the cornea, lids, and lens.

Slit lamps are particularly useful for checking for complications from contact lens wear.

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Slit Lamp Microscope Exam
Photo of Retina
A Normal Retina

 Your retina is where light rays are changed into nerve impulses. These are then sent to your brain for vision.

Diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, and macular degeneration cause damage to your retina.

Diabetic-Retinopathy-Photo-1
Diabetic Retinopathy
iCare-Tonometry-SS
ICare Tonometer

Measuring the pressure in your eyes is the starting point of a glaucoma evaluation. Increased pressure can cause damage to your optic nerve and a gradual loss of sight.

A comprehensive glaucoma evaluation also involves optic nerve evaluation, visual fields, and more.

Goldmann Tonometre
Goldmann Tonometer
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Refraction for Glasses Prescription

A “refraction” is the test where we ask you, “Which is better, 1 or 2?” This, combined with some automated tests, is how we determine your glasses prescription.

Some people mistake this as “the eye exam”, but there is much more that goes into a routine eye exam.

Girl-Phoroptor
Refraction for Glasses Prescription
Lady with Crossed Eyes
Esotropia - Eyes Turning In

You can suffer headaches, eyestrain, or blurred vision if your eyes are out of alignment. Sometimes the eyes are constantly misaligned, sometimes occasionally. A comprehensive eye exam includes assessing how your eyes line up.

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Exotropia - Eyes Turning Out

We may recommend additional testing if you have one the following health conditions. Some can be done in our office. For others we will refer you to a medical eye specialist.

Diabetes     High Blood Pressure     High Cholesterol     Glaucoma     Dry Eyes     Macular Degeneration       

Dilation

Your pupil normally gets smaller with bright lights. Dilation keeps your pupil large so we can more thoroughly examine the inside of your eyes.

Dilated Pupil
A Dilated Pupil

Computer Eye Strain

Hours on a digital device can cause eyestrain, headaches, and dry eyes. Wearing the correct RX will help relieve these symptoms.

Woman with Eyestrain at a Computer
Computer Eyestrain