Eye exam
in Warrior, AL

Eye exams help assess your vision and check for any eye diseases you might have. The test is performed using a few different instruments and a bright light pointed at your eyes. You'll likely have to look through a few lenses and be asked to read from an eye chart. You'll go through several different tests to check different parts of your eye. Your eye exam will most likely check for vision sharpness, color blindness, eye alignment, eye movements, depth perception, eye pressure (which helps diagnose glaucoma), and tests to determine your eyeglass prescription. Your eye doctor might also test your eye structure using a slit lamp exam.

Eye exams are important for detecting early signs of eye problems and preventing those problems from getting too severe. It's easier to treat eye problems at the earliest stages so getting regular eye exams is essential to your eye and vision health. Children three years and younger should have eye exams whenever the pediatrician recommends it, but they're typically performed at some of the required well visits. Your child should also have an eye exam before they start first grade.

Adults should have their eyes checked every 5 to 10 years in their 20s and 30s, every two to four years from ages 40 to 54, every one to three years from ages 55 to 64, and every one to two years after age 65. If you wear contacts or glasses, take medications that have serious eye side effects, have a family history of loss of vision or eye disease, or you have a chronic disease that increases your risk of eye disease (like diabetes), you should have your eyes checked more often.

More Details about Warrior Eye Exams

An eye exam is a set of examinations conducted by an eye doctor to evaluate your vision and eye health. Understanding the different types of eye exams will help you prepare for your appointment.

What to expect during a comprehensive eye exam

When you first come in for your eye exam, your eye doctor (also known as an optometrist) will inquire if you have any specific visual impairments or symptoms in your eyes. According to the National Library of Medicine, your eye doctor will look over your history with eyeglasses or contact lenses, as well as your overall health, including any drugs you're taking (NLM).

Your optometrist will do one or more eye tests and a full examination of your eyes, depending on your symptoms and the reason for your visit. These tests may include a visual acuity test, a color blindness test, or a depth perception test, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Schedule an exam

The CDC recommends contacting an optometrist if you experience eye or vision problems such as discomfort, double vision, or floaters. Solv is the simplest and most convenient way to schedule an appointment with an eye doctor. You may use Solv to find top-rated eye doctors in your area and schedule same-day or next-day eye exams.

Visual acuity tests

A visual acuity test evaluates your ability to read letters on a chart from a distance of 20 feet. The Snellen chart is a graph that shows various letter sizes. According to the National Library of Medicine, the visual acuity test is a typical part of any eye exam and helps your optometrist determine if you have a vision problem or have had a vision change.

Color blindness test

A color blindness test, also known as a color vision exam, assesses your ability to distinguish colors from one another, according to the National Library of Medicine. Ishihara plates, which are cards with colored dots that form numbers or symbols, are the most common color blindness test. During this test, you will be asked to identify the symbols.

Cover test

Color blindness is diagnosed by closing one eye and identifying symbols on cards held 14 inches away from your face. The cover test typically requires you to estimate the strength of a color, such as the brightness of a red hue, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Ocular motility testing (eye movements)

Ocular motility testing determines the function of your eye muscles. According to the National Library of Medicine, the most common ocular motility test requires you to sit or stand and look straight ahead at an object held about 16 inches away from your face. Your eye doctor will then move the object in a variety of directions while you follow it with your eyes exclusively, without moving your head.

Stereopsis test (depth perception)

A stereopsis exam, also known as a depth perception test, is used to determine if you can see in three dimensions and how well you can judge the distance between objects. According to the University of Iowa and the Ohio Department of Health, most stereopsis tests necessitate the use of stereo or polarized glasses. Your optometrist will then lay a series of cards in front of you to assess your ability to judge distances and see dimensions.

Retinoscopy

Retinoscopy is an eye doctor test that evaluates refractive problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, according to the University of Michigan. Your doctor may use eye medications to dilate your pupils before the procedure to prevent them from changing size during the exam. After that, the doctor will use a retinoscope to shine light into your eyes to see if you need eyeglasses to correct refractive errors.

Refraction

Refraction is the bending of light rays as they pass through one object and into another, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the text, the cornea and lens refract light rays to focus them on the retina in your eye. According to the National Institutes of Health, refraction changes as the shape of your eye changes, resulting in blurry vision, which is a symptom of nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia.

Autorefractors and aberrometers

Your eye doctor may use autorefractors and aberrometers to assess refractive flaws, according to the National Institutes of Health. These devices, like a retinoscope, detect nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia by measuring light rays traveling through your eyes.

Slit lamp exam

A slit lamp exam, according to the National Library of Medicine, is an eye exam that allows you to see the front parts of your eye, such as the eyelids, cornea, conjunctiva, sclera, and iris. For this check, your eye doctor will use eye drops to dilate your pupils. A low-powered microscope with a high-intensity light will then be used to examine your eyes. According to the National Library of Medicine, a retinal exam can help your doctor diagnose vision problems such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment.

The glaucoma test

Glaucoma is a group of eye illnesses that affect the optic nerve, according to the National Library of Medicine. To diagnose glaucoma, a glaucoma test, also known as tonometry, analyzes the pressure inside your eyes. According to the National Library of Medicine, tonometry can be used as a pupil dilation test or a visual field exam.

Pupil dilation

During the pupil dilation test, your optometrist will usually ask you to focus straight ahead, then move a slit lamp toward your eyes until the tip of an instrument called a tonometer just brushes your cornea. Then, according to the National Library of Medicine, your doctor will use the slit lamp's lens to check your eye pressure.

Visual field test

During the visual field test, your optometrist will ask you to rest your chin on a device that sends a tiny beam of light into your eyes. Your cornea will reflect this light onto a detector. According to the National Library of Medicine, the apparatus will then shoot a puff of air into your eye to flatten the cornea, allowing your doctor to calculate eye pressure.

Other eye tests

During a thorough eye exam, your optometrist may do additional tests. According to the National Library of Medicine, these tests may include a peripheral vision test and a penlight test to evaluate pupil constriction. Your eye doctor can provide you with further information about the types of eye tests that will be done during your eye exam.