Why Comprehensive Eye Exams are Essential for Everyone

“My vision is fine, so I haven’t been to an eye doctor in years.”
 

 “My child doesn’t complain about her vision so she doesn’t need her eyes checked.”
 

 “My primary care doctor said I am seeing fine.” Or “The school did a screening and they can see well.”
 

These are all things we hear every day. However, a comprehensive eye examination is an important part of overall body health and cannot be assessed just by reading an eye chart at the doctor’s office or school. A comprehensive eye examination not only evaluates you for vision correction needs, but also assesses overall health; seeing well is only part of the equation. Examining the eye can detect many conditions including allergies, inflammation, diabetes, and hypertension to name a few.
 

During a comprehensive eye examination, you will have some general testing such as eye muscle function, pupil movements, and confrontation visual fields (a gross estimate of peripheral vision) will be checked along with visual acuities, or how well you can read the eye chart. Children will sometimes have depth perception and color vision testing as well. (Some require more detailed visual field testing and this is a separate and more in-depth test that is performed as well.)
 

A refraction can be performed also. A refraction is the part of the examination where your eyes will be evaluated for the need for glasses and/or contact lenses. A phoropter is placed in front of your eyes with different lens choices given to get you to see as clearly as possible. (This is the instrument that you look through while the lenses are changed giving you choices of which look better…Yes, this is often the “better 1 or 2” part of the exam.) There are different types of phoropters available and a digital phoropter like we use is a great choice for many patients resulting in an often clearer and more custom lens choice.
 

Your eye pressures (also called “the glaucoma check”) will be performed as well. Many patients remember this as the “air puff” machine. We utilize an iCare tonometer which is a comfortable and non-invasive way of getting an intraocular pressure measurement (without the dreaded air puff being needed at all.) Another way to check pressures is through Goldmann tonometry which uses a numbing eye drop to check the intraocular pressures when needed.
 

Front and back eye health will be evaluated in a biomicroscope, through Optomap digital retinal imaging, and dilation (when needed). The biomicroscope (also known as a slit lamp) uses lights and magnifiers to give a very detailed view of eye structures to the doctor. Allergies, corneal irregularities, cataracts, and tear deficiencies can be seen with the slit lamp and appropriate treatments can be planned with your doctor.
 

Retinal evaluation can be performed through Optomap digital retinal imaging. It gives a dilated view of the retina without the need for drops or blurry vision afterwards. The only area of the body where blood vessels can be viewed uncovered by the skin is in the back of the eye. This makes it an important part of systemic health to check the status of diabetes and blood pressure. Retinal health is viewed with this image as well, making sure the retina has no holes or tears in the peripheral portion of the retina. (In some cases, especially higher risk retinal patients, it is necessary for eye drops to dilate the pupils to get as far in the edges of the retina as possible. Your doctor will tell you if this is a necessary step in your comprehensive examination.)
 

So, you know you need an eye doctor.  Should you see an optometrist or ophthalmologist?
 

An optometrist is known as an eye doctor. An ophthalmologist is also known as an eye doctor. That clears it up right? No wonder everyone is confused!
 

An optometrist is a primary care eye doctor. They can specialize in different areas but generally they check you for vision correction needs like glasses and contacts, as well as diagnose and manage medical eye conditions.
 

An ophthalmologist is an eye surgeon. They also can specialize in different areas but generally are there for interventions like surgical treatments, refractive eye surgery (like LASIK), and more advanced eye problems.
 

Many optometrists and ophthalmologists comanage together so that they can each offer a full scope of comprehensive eye care options for their patients. We comanage with surgeons we have partnered with for years who we trust our own families with. Ultimately which doctor you see truly depends on the level of care that you require. Optometrists are always a great place to start for your comprehensive eye examination. If needed, they can utilize a surgeon they have good experience with for the best possible patient outcomes.