WHAT TO EXPECT FROM OUR COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAMINATIONS

An eye exam may vary slightly depending on your age or specific needs, but most commonly include these tests:

• History: We take some time to find how you feel about your eyes and your vision, how you are feeling generally, and your day to day activities at work, home and play. At the eye exam, you can expect our optometrist to take a comprehensive medical history to figure out what we should be looking out for. These questions can range from your family history, past and present medical issues, medications you might be on, injuries, and other factors. It is essential to be as forthcoming and thorough as possible with your answers to ensure that the test covers all likely possibilities.

• Visual Acuity: This is a test to measure the sharpness of your vision.
• Refraction: This is a test to see if your eyes need lenses to achieve the best possible vision.
• Cover Test: This is the simplest and easiest way to test if your eyes work well together.
• Glaucoma: Most glaucoma tests involve testing the pressure in your eye. Most eye exams perform some form of glaucoma test. We use the gentle non-contact non-messy Pulsair Easy Eye tonometer for pressure assessments.
• Slit Lamp Exam and Fundoscopy: This is a specific test we use to examine the structure of your eye under high magnification. This helps detect a wide range of eye conditions and diseases including cataracts, macular degeneration, corneal ulcers and diabetic retinopathy.

Comprehensive eye exams can have many more tests, but these are the most common and cover a wide spectrum of potential eye conditions. Additional tests may include:

• Ocular Motility: This test determines how well your eyes can follow a moving object as well as fixate on different targets. Issues with eye movement can cause eye strain and lead to difficulties in reading.
• Stereopsis: Having two functioning eyes allows us to see in 3D. If we have a lazy eye, our 3D vision, or stereopsis, can be adversely affected.

• Ishihara Test: A screening test to check your colour vision to rule out colour vision deficiency.
• Visual Field Analysis: Our Optopol Automated Perimeter allows quick and reliable of peripheral vision. Our peripheral fields can be affected by certain conditions such as Glaucoma, Stroke, or Head trauma. We can perform a Binocular Drivers Test to see if you pass Vicroads driving standard.
• Dilated Fundus Examination: When bright light hits our eyes, the pupil is designed to constrict to ease the glare burden on our eyes. This can make examination of the interior structures either difficult or impossible. A dilated examination may be necessary in these cases for a detailed view of the eyes.
• Digital Retinal Photography: Our Topcon Digital Retinal Camera allows us to take wonderful images of your eyes for both evaluation of their current health and to allow for comparison of any changes that may occur over time.
• Pattern Glare Assessment: Children and adults experiencing reading or learning difficulties may be suffering from a disorder called Pattern Glare. Pattern Glare causes words to move, letter or number reversals, and difficulty performing routine tasks at home or in the classroom. Special coloured filters can help reduce the effects of Pattern Glare. Our optometrist can advise you if these coloured lenses could be beneficial for either you or your loved ones.