Everyone needs to go for an eye exam regularly regardless of whether you use glasses or not. This is recommended after two years. Improvement in technology allows faster and accurate eye testing with online booking. When you schedule an eye test, a professional eye doctor will perform various tests through painless and invasive methods. Read on to get an in-depth analysis of what happens during an eye test.
Visual acuity test
The purpose of this eye test is to determine how well you see details of letters and images from particular distances. Expect a doctor to make you view a chart on the wall at a distance. This focuses on seeing how far you can read down the page. Alternatively, you might be made to look into a viewfinder for the same purpose. This is the basic test when you go for an eye exam.
Retinoscopy
This is another basic test where you are to focus on a larger letter on a chart. The lights are dimmed for the optician to shine light in your eye. Meanwhile, the doctor flips lenses in front of your eyes. Doing this allows determining the appropriate lens strength required to correct your vision. Keep in mind that this depends on how light is reflecting from your eye.
Refraction test
When you go to see the best eye doctors in Nairobi, expect a refraction test to determine your precise eyeglass prescription. The doctor will give you a phoropter to view through various lenses. This allows determining which one is clearer. The process is quite simple and you keep checking the lenses until the optician nails your prescription. This process reveals your level of myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia, and astigmatism.
Glaucoma test
The dentist might also recommend testing your eyes for glaucoma. This puff-of-air test is completely painless and requires no contact. It involves the optician puffing a small burst of air into your eye. The optician uses a tonometer to measure the pressure inside your eyes. High pressure in your eye is a sign of having glaucoma or at high risk of the condition. This illness has no warning signs but has the possibility of causing blindness.
Color blindness test
Another test to check for eye disease is one for color blindness. There is a possibility of having color vision deficiency while living a normal life. It is better to know whether you have hereditary color blindness by having this eye test. This also allows for detecting various underlying health issues that might be affecting your eyes. These might escalate to affect your eyesight significantly when undetected or ignored.
Cover test
The eyes work better as a pair. So, the cover test ensures this. The optician will ask you to focus on something in the room. Afterward, the doctor will close one of your eyes at a time while staring at the target. The test is repeated while looking at an object nearby. After evaluating if the uncovered eye moves to pick up the item, the optician determines issues that might cause amblyopia or eye strain.
Pupil dilation test
This test involves the doctor placing droplets of medicated fluid to your pupils. The process is painless and allows noticing whether the pupils dilate in about 20 to 30 minutes. This gives the optician a better view of the inside of your eye. You are advised to carry sunglasses when going for this test.
In the end, your eyes are likely to let in more light than usual. So, you might face difficulty focusing on nearby items until the effect goes away. A modern method to carry out this test involves taking an ultra-high-definition photo of the inside of your eye. This process doesn’t involve any pupil dilation.
Ocular motility test
This test is like a mini-workout for the eyes. Expect the optician to ask that you hold your head still with the eyes following a light in slow movement. The ocular motility test evaluates smooth movements in your eyes. When testing for quick eye movements, the doctor will ask you to quickly look back and forth between two points a distance apart. This allows detecting anomalies that might cause eye strain or affect reading comfortably in the future.
Slit-lamp test
This test allows the optician to take a deeper look into your eyes. It involves using a biomicroscope to evaluate your eye structure. You place the chin in a support with the head held still. The optician looks for regular form and function of various eye parts including:
•Cornea
•Eyelids
•Lens
•Iris
•Conjunctiva
The doctor might use a handheld glass for studying your optic nerve and retina. This allows detecting eye diseases including diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and cataracts.
Bottom line
Taking good care of your eyes is very important. This requires going for regular eye tests to detect any issues before they escalate leading to blindness. Equally important is having an idea of what to expect throughout the exam.