Eye Exams

A visit to the optometrist should be a common occurrence, whether you have perfect vision or have been living with glasses for years. Eye doctors not only look to see if vision can be improved with contacts or glasses, but they also look at the health of your eye. With a comprehensive eye exam, a doctor can determine if there are diseases present, such as glaucoma. Eye health can also indicate other diseases, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

What Is Being Checked For?

  • Refractive errors, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. These are the most common issues with eye vision.
  • Strabismus, or crossed eyes, is when the eyes are not working together. This leads to depth perception problems and can lead to amblyopia (lazy eye).
  • Amblyopia, or lazy eye, occurs in childhood. This occurs when the signals between the eye and the brain are impaired, and one eye is favored over the other. This leads to reduced vision in one eye, the eyes not working together and poor depth perception.
  • Diseases can be found by looking at the blood vessels in the eye. Abnormalities in the blood vessels in the eye can be a sign of high blood pressure. Swelling in the macula, which is caused when blood vessels bleed, can be a sign of diabetes.
  • Age-related eye conditions, such as cataracts or macular degeneration are also looked at during an eye exam. Finding and treating these issues can prevent future vision loss.

Vision screenings are often given at schools or when getting a driver’s license, but these screenings are not a replacement for comprehensive eye exams. Screenings may give signs of imperfect vision, but an optometrist will perform all necessary tests in order to determine if there are potential diseases or health concerns. Taking a toddler or pre-teen to an eye doctor is especially important in order to find any eye related problems. Contact an optometrist at Vision Care Centre for a comprehensive eye exam.