EYe Exams
Get your eyes checked by professionals
Comprehensive Eye Exams in the Edmonton Area
Regular eye exams are a must for maintaining your ocular health. At Optometrists’ Clinic, our team is proud to offer checkups to patients of all ages. Every eye exam we provide is comprehensive and involves scanning for health complications as well as ensuring that your vision is clear. Call us today to book an appointment at one of our five eye care centres. We have clinics in Edmonton, Leduc and Westlock.
What can you expect during an eye exam?
The purpose of a general eye exam is to assess your vision and check for signs of eye disease. Using a variety of instruments, your optometrist will perform a series of tests to evaluate aspects of your ocular health. Here are a few common components of a general eye exam, which usually takes about 20 minutes to complete.
- Visual acuity test. This test is used to assess the sharpness of your vision. Typically, an optometrist will ask you to read the letters on an eye chart to evaluate your ability to discern shapes and details at a certain distance.
- Refraction test. This test is used to determine the type of corrective lenses you need if a visual acuity test indicates that you don’t have 20/20 vision. You’ll look at an eye chart through various lenses to identify the option that offers the clearest vision.
- Colour vision test. This test is used to detect colour blindness, which is an inability to distinguish some or all colours. For this assessment, you will be shown a series of multicoloured dot patterns and asked to identify the symbol within the pattern.
- Slit lamp exam. This test is used to look for structural abnormalities and other signs of eye disease. An optometrist will use a bright light and microscope to examine the cornea, iris, retina, optic nerve and other structures in each eye.
- Visual field test. This test is used to assess your peripheral vision and detect blind spots. You’ll be asked to look into a machine, focus on a dot of light directly in front of you and press a button whenever you see a flash of light in your peripheral vision.
- Eye pressure test. This test is used to measure the pressure created by fluid inside the eye. Typically, a specialized tool is used to send a puff of air into your eye. High intraocular pressure is a warning sign of glaucoma, which damages the optic nerve.
Depending on the results of these tests, as well as your health, age and any risk factors, an optometrist may recommend other, more specialized tests.
Why are regular eye exams important?
It’s a common misconception that you only need to get your eyes checked if you notice a problem with your vision. The reality is that eye exams are a crucial part of ocular care. Vision changes often tend to be gradual and, without regular eye exams, can go unnoticed until the damage is severe and possibly irreversible.
For children, regular pediatric eye exams will help ensure that eye development is normal and that the eyes are healthy. Checkups will also result in identifying vision issues and can consequently help prevent learning difficulties.
Among older adults, eye exams are critical for detecting cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma.
In addition to identifying ocular issues, routine eye exams can reveal serious underlying health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and brain tumours. They can also be used to check for allergies, infections and more.
How often should you get your eyes checked?
Regular eye exams are essential to the early detection and effective treatment of various eye conditions and diseases. While several factors can influence the frequency of these checkups, here are some general guidelines that our Edmonton clinic recommends:
- Infants should have their first eye exam between the ages of six and nine months.
- Children should have at least one comprehensive eye exam by the age of three.
- School-age children and teenagers should have their eyes examined annually.
- Healthy adults under the age of 65 should have an eye exam every two years.
- Seniors (aged 65 years or older) should have their eyes examined every year.
Since these are just guidelines, we advise that you speak with your optometrist to create an eye exam schedule that suits your specific ocular health needs.
What conditions can an eye exam detect?
An eye exam is used to diagnose a wide range of eye conditions, injuries and diseases that can impair your vision. Here are a few common ocular health issues an optometrist can identify with the help of an eye exam.
- Refractive errors (which include myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and presbyopia)
- Retinal detachments (which needs to be treated quickly to avoid permanent damage)
- Amblyopia (which is the most common cause of vision impairment in children)
- Glaucoma (which is a group of diseases that severely damage the optic nerve)
- Age-related macular degeneration (which causes blurry vision and vision loss)
- Cataracts (which clouds the eye’s lens and is the leading cause of blindness)
- Diabetic retinopathy (which is a common complication of diabetes)
The results of your eye exam will allow your optometrist to prescribe an effective treatment to improve your vision or minimize (and possibly reverse) the damage caused by an eye disease.
Visit us today for clearer vision and healthier eyes
Optometrists’ Clinic offers general, pediatric and diabetic eye exams at five convenient locations in Edmonton, Leduc and Westlock. We also provide a wide range of eye care solutions including prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, sunglasses, eye drops and more. To schedule your next eye exam, contact us today.
