Dr examining  female eyes.Regular Eye Exams Support Your Vision Health L Mensah

March 7th to 13th is Glucoma Awareness Week

There is a difference between a vision screenings and an eye examination. Detailed eye examinations are critical to diagnosing eye disease and halting vision loss.

Vision screenings are general eye tests that are meant to help identify if you're at risk for vision problems. A vision screening can indicate that you need to get a thorough eye exam. It does not serve as a substitute for a comprehensive eye exam.

Many eye diseases, such as glaucoma and diabetic eye disease, have no obvious symptoms in their early stages. For example, diabetes can cause a small blood vessel to leak or bleed into the eye, as well as swelling of the macula.

A comprehensive eye examination involves careful testing of all aspects of your vision.

There are a variety of eye examinations used to provide for a more comprehensive evaluation of your eyes.

  • Visual acuity is the most important indicator of ocular health and visual acuity tests measure the sharpness of your vision. A visual field test can detect central and peripheral vision problems caused by glaucoma, stroke and other eye or brain problems.
  • The visual field test is ordered in some cases if your eye doctor wants to check for the possible presence of blind spots in your peripheral or side vision.
  • These types of blind spots can originate from eye diseases such as glaucoma. As well, an analysis of blind spots also may help identify specific areas of brain damage caused by a stroke or a tumour.
  • Likewise, a tonometer measures your intraocular pressure (IOP). If you have high eye pressure, you may be at risk for or already have glaucoma. Such eye exams are essential to rule out early signs of glaucoma and protect your eyesight.
  • Aberrometer wavefront eye examinations can identify very obscure vision errors that may be corrected through, eyeglasses, or artificial lenses or LASIK.
  • The slit lamp, known as a biomicroscope this examines the structures and give a highly magnified view of your eye including the front of your eye, the lids, cornea, conjunctiva, iris and more.
  • A wide range of eye conditions and diseases can be detected with the slit-lamp examination, including cataracts, macular degeneration, corneal ulcers or diabetic retinopathy
  • Pupil dilation is very important for anyone with risk factors for eye disease. It allows for the most thorough evaluation of the health of the inside of your eyes; with dilation, a better view of the eye's internal structures can be obtained.

Make comprehensive eye examinations  an important part of your eye health maintenance.