A visual acuity test is a done to determine the sharpness of your vision. It is done by standing in front an eye chart with several lines of the alphabet. Each line has different sized letters. The largest letters on top and the smallest on the bottom. This examination will test your near vision by determining the smallest line you can read comfortably without strain. Screening for hereditary color blindness is part of the exam as well. Perform a cover test. This test will determine how well your eyes work together. The doctor will have you focus on a small object with one eye, and cover the other one. The purpose of doing this allows the doctor to determine if the uncovered eye has to re-focus to see the object. If the eye does have to re-focus to see the object, this could indicate extreme eye strain which would cause a “lazy eye”. Examine the health of your eyes. To determine the health of your eye, your doctor will perform a slit light test. Your chin will be placed in a chin rest that is connected to a slit light. This test is used to examine the front part of the eye, (cornea, lids, and iris) as well as the inside of the eye (retina, optic nerves).
Dilating the eyes usually last a few hours. Bring a pair of shades after the exam, as bright sunlight could be harmful to dilated pupils. The actual dilating of the eyes does not hurt, but it may be uncomfortable.
There are many options you can choose from, for example some contacts are daily wear (one time use), others are designed to last longer. Some contacts come in different colors and are designed for specific types of eyes. Consult your healthcare provider for the appropriate selection to meet your needs.
In some cases surgery is suggested because contacts and eyeglasses are not effective enough to improve vision. In other cases corrective surgery is suggested as an option to wearing long term glasses or contacts. LASIK is formally known as laser in-situ keratomileusis. This surgery is used to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. This surgery replaces the need to have contacts or eyeglasses. The FDA has approved LASIK eye surgery to be done on patients 18 years or older with an eye prescription of at least one year. Despite this, most physicians will recommend waiting until the mid-20’s because they eye are still changing. [16] X Research source PRK is formally referred to as photorefractive keratectomy. It is similar to Lasik in that it also treats nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. The age requirement for PRK is the same as LASIK. [17] X Research source
