YOUR EYE EXAMINATION
What to Expect?
Before your eye exam, a brief medical and vision history will be obtained. Your eye exam will evaluate both your vision and the health of your eyes.
Visual acuity test:
You'll sit in front of an eye chart, with letters that get smaller as you read down each line. You cover each eye in turn and, using the other eye, read aloud, going down the chart, until you can't read the letters anymore.
Please bring your distance glasses to help accurate assessment of your vision with glasses
Slit lamp Examination (Video):
The slit lamp magnifies and lights up the front of your eye. The eye doctor uses it to detect several eye diseases and disorders by examining your cornea, iris, lens, and anterior chamber.
Dilated Fundus (Retinal) Examination (Video):
Using an ophthalmoscope and pupil dilation, the eye doctor examines the back of your eyes: retina, retinal blood vessels, vitreous, and optic nerve head.
It is often
necessary to dilate the pupils using drops to have a complete examination of
the back of the eye. This can result in blurry vision for 4-6 hours and it is recommended
that you don't drive during this time
Humphrey's Visual Field Test (Video):
The visual field test is designed to assess the sensitivity of the eye as well as the extent of the peripheral vision. The visual field test is mainly used to monitor damage to the nerve fibres at the back of the eye caused by glaucoma, though other ocular conditions may also be investigated.
What Happens?
Having placed your chin on a chin-rest, you are presented with a series of flashing lights on a bowl-shaped screen. The lights may vary in brightness and will appear in different positions in your field of view. You are expected to press a button each time you see a flash of light and the machine records what you see. The machine checks each point several times, so if you make a mistake the machine should be able to correct for this.
You need to keep fixating your eye to the central yellow light all the time. You shouldn’t be moving your eyes looking for the flashing lights. You can blink every now and then. You can pause the test if you feel tired
What Preparation Should I Make?
It is very helpful if you could bring you distance, driving or television glasses with you.
How Long Does It Take?
Typically a 24-2 SITA Standard test takes about 7 minutes per eye, however, it may take longer if we have to pause and resume the test
OCT Scan of the Macula or the Optic nerves (Video):
The purpose of the test is to take a cross-sectional image through the retina at the back of the eye. The machine achieves this by scanning the reflections from different layers in the tissue and then building them into a cross-sectional image. This will allow us to see any damage within the layers of the retina or features in the structure of the eye which are not easily visible.
Procedure:
The patient places his/her chin on a chin-rest and looks into the lens of the machine at a green target. We may take several images depending on what information is required. In most cases, the data is compared with a database on the machine to see if it is within the expected values. Progression charts may also be produced showing changes between visits.
How Long Does This Take?
A typical set of scans may take about 5 minutes. This may take longer if there is a poor view of the back of the eye.