Last week we went over the pre-testing of an eye exam, and what the technician does to prepare you for the doctor.  By this time the technician has shared the information with the doctor, and he is fully ready to answer any of your questions and begin the remainder portion of the exam.

This is the part of the exam that determines your actual prescription, and it’s called the “refraction”.  For this, the doctor uses a device called a phoropter; it covers an eye at a time and the doctor asks you which slide you see better with.  This device also checks your binocular vision and makes sure your eyes work well together.

The next step is checking the physical health of your eyes through the use of a biomicroscope.  With this, the doctor is able to have both frontal and retinal views of your eye.  Furthermore, he will use a device called an indirect ophthalmoloscope, which will shine light into your eyes (this procedure is painless and the doctor has you look away from the light); this is a thorough way to check for eye diseases such as dry eye syndrome, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. 

The last test to determine glaucoma measures the pressure in your eyes, and is what most people refer to as the “air-puff machine”.  If there is high pressure found in your eyes, we put eye drops in to lower it. 

At the end of your exam, the doctor will go over your vision correction options, such as glasses, contact lenses and surgery. as well as an easy-to-understand summary of your eye health.

Now you know what exactly goes into an eye exam, and that it’s more than vision care; it’s preventative eye care as well!