Comprehensive Eye Examination
Regardless of your general health, it is important to have regular eye examinations every 1-2 years depending on your age, risk factors and physical condition.
Along with determining your prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses, a comprehensive eye examination also checks your overall eye health. Some procedures performed at the eye care center include:
- Microscope examination of the inside and outside of your eye to rule out eye disease (ie: cataracts, macular degeneration, dry eye syndrome)
- Assessment of your pupil and eye muscle function
- Measurement of the pressure inside your eye to test for glaucoma
- Assessment of your peripheral vision and eye alignment
Some common conditions that affect eye health are Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol and Thyroid imbalance.
Retina Photography
During your visit, a digital photograph is captured of the inside of your eye. This is an extremely useful technology that helps the optometrist to screen for, and monitor, many different eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetes.
Visual Field Assessment
With the use of a visual field machine, the eye doctor is able to diagnose a dysfunction in your central or peripheral vision which may be caused by conditions like glaucoma, tumour, stroke or macular degeneration.
Children’s Eye Exams
The Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO) recommends that all children have a comprehensive first eye exam at 6 months of age. The next exam is at the age of 3 years with yearly follow-ups as recommended by an eye care professional. The OAO, Optometrists and other healthcare professionals realize that 80% of learning begins through the eyes.
Senior Eye Exams
Just as our physical strength decreases with age, our eyes also exhibit an age-related decline in performance – particularly as we reach our 60s and beyond. While cataracts can be considered an age-related disease, they are extremely common among seniors and can be readily corrected with cataract surgery. Some of us, however, will experience more serious age-related eye diseases that have greater potential for affecting our quality of life as we grow older. These conditions include glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Because the risk of eye disease continues to increase as we get older, everyone over the age of 60 should be examined annually.
