What to Expect at an Annual Eye Exam
Caring for your eyes is important for your overall health. Aside from forming good eyecare habits on your own, you should also make time to get an annual eye exam. Experts at the American Academy of Ophthalmology say that children and adults should have regular eye tests. Every age group has a specific set of eye and vision health needs. If you have already scheduled your first eye checkup for you and your family, here’s what you can expect at an annual eye exam.
The Consultation
During your first visit to your eye doctor, expect to answer questions about your medical history. Tell your eye specialist all the medications you take, any corrective eyewear you use, and all the health conditions you have, if there are any. Also mention any eye, head, or facial injuries you might have had months ago or just recently. It will also be helpful to tell your eye doctor about any travels you or your family might have had recently.
The Tests
Expect your eye doctor to go through the necessary eye tests. Below are some of them:
Color blindness test.
A common eye problem among males is color blindness. This is a vision deficiency that the mother passes on to her male children. The mother is just a carrier of the gene for color blindness. The son inherits the gene and manifests it. A comprehensive eye exam can also help spot other eye issues that affect your ability to see color.
Glaucoma test.
Tests for glaucoma, such as “non-contact tonometry” (NCT) or “puff-of-air” test, aim to compute your intraocular pressure (IOP). Elevated eye pressure may be an indication that you either have glaucoma or that you are at risk of having this eye condition.
Visual acuity test.
This eye test aims to determine your vision’s level of sharpness. It requires a large eye chart to measure your visual acuity for far vision and a small acuity chart for near vision. This will give your eye doctor an estimate of your eyeglass prescription.
Ocular motility test.
Your doctor will assess your eye movements with this test. It determines how your eye follows a moving object. Any problems detected here would affect your reading ability and your eye performance in other activities.
Stereopsis test.
During your annual eye exam, your eye specialist will also measure your depth perception through the stereopsis test. This eye test requires you to look at a set of patterns using 3D glasses. All you need to do is to choose which circle appears closer to you. If you choose the right circle each time, then you have excellent depth perception.
Your annual eye exam can help you and your family have better vision care, eye health, and overall wellness. At TMS Eyecare, we can evaluate your ocular health and make recommendations on how to improve it. You can visit our clinics in Wichita and Arkansas City, Kansas, for a one-on-one consultation. Please call us at 316-669-4760 (Oak Creek), 316-686-7212 (21st and Estelle), or 620-442-2577 (Arkansas City). That way, we can help schedule an appointment for you or answer your questions about our annual eye exams.
