Comprehensive Eye Exam
At Oviedo and Port St John Eye Care, our doctor’s focus is yours. We understand life is a visual experience that shouldn’t be missed because of blurry vision or ocular diseases. Our doctors are dedicated to helping you see the world as best you can. As eye care professionals, we know the best way to preserve your vision is to have comprehensive eye exams at regular intervals. Many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms and, as a result, individuals are often unaware that a problem exists. Periodic eye and vision examinations are an important part of preventive health care.
Early diagnosis and treatment of eye and vision problems are important for maintaining good vision and eye health, and when possible, preventing vision loss. For healthy adults and school-aged children, the AOA recommends comprehensive eye exams every two years. At-risk adults (for example, those with underlying health conditions such as diabetes), contact lens wearers, adults over the age of 60 and children who wear glasses should have their eyes examined annually or as recommended by their doctor.
Oviedo and Port St John Eye Care’s doctors feel that exams are so much more than just checking to see if you need glasses or evaluate your contact lens’ prescription — your annual eye exams are essential to the overall evaluation of your ocular health and we never want you to feel rushed. We schedule you with ample time to answer your questions and check your eyes, inside and out. Your comprehensive eye exam will usually include the following:
Patient History
A complete and thorough patient history is a vital diagnostic tool designed to help your doctor understand your current and past health concerns. It helps to determine any symptoms the patient is experiencing, when they began, the presence of any general health problems, medications taken and occupational or environmental conditions that may be affecting your and your vision. The doctors will ask about any eye or vision problems you may be experiencing along with gerneral questions about your overall health. They will also ask about any previous eye or health conditions about you or your family members.
Preliminary Testing
Your doctor, or optometric tech, will conduct some preliminary testing to evaluate your eyes. This may include evaluation of visual function and eye health such as depth perception, color vision, eye muscle movements, peripheral or side vision and the way your pupils respond to light. This testing usually includes keratometry, which measures the curvature of the cornea. This test is particularly important for contact lens wearers.
Visual Acuity and Refraction
Visual acuity measurements evaluate how clearly each eye is seeing. As part of the testing, you will be asked to read letters on a chart in the distance — the results of this test are written in a fraction form, with 20/20 being termed ‘perfect vision.’ Using an instrument called a phoropter, your optometrist places a series of lenses in front of your eyes and determines the lens’ power that allow the clearest vision. This testing may be done with or without the use of eye drops to determine how the eyes respond under normal seeing conditions. In some cases, such as for patients who can’t respond verbally or when some of the eyes focusing power may be hidden, eye drops are used. The drops temporarily keep the eyes from changing focus while testing is done.
Eye Focusing and Health Evaluation
Assessment of accommodation, ocular motility and binocular vision all determine how well the eyes focus, move and work together. Your doctor will look for problems that keep your eyes from focusing effectively or make using both eyes together difficult.
One of the most vital parts of your comprehensive eye exam is the eye health evaluation. Your doctor will examine both the exterior and interior of your eyes. These overall health examinations help the doctors check for and identify issues such as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration as well as systemic issues such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Through the use of bright lights and magnification, they will examine the exterior structures such as the cornea, eyelids and conjunctiva. Your optometrist will also (usually) dilate your pupils to get a better view of the interior of your eyes. This dilation allows them to view the internal structures such as the lens, retina and posterior section more clearly. The ‘puff of air’ test will be performed to measure the pressure within the eye (tonometry). Measuring the pressure gives the doctor a vital diagnostic tool, as anyone with high eye pressure is at an increased risk of developing certain eye health issues such as glaucoma.
Supplemental Testing
Once your exam is finished, you may find that additional testing is needed. These tests help the doctor confirm or rule out possible problems, clarify uncertain findings or to provide a more in-depth assessment.
At the completion, your optometrist will assess and evaluate the results of the testing to determine a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan. He will discuss with you the nature of any visual or eye health problems found and explain available treatment options. In some cases, referral for consultation with, or treatment by, another health care provider may be indicated.
If you ever have questions regarding any eye or vision conditions diagnosed, or treatments recommended, don’t hesitate to ask for additional information or explanations from your doctor. At Oviedo and Port St John Eye Care, our doctors are always willing to take extra time to ensure you leave empowered with knowledge instead of burdened with questions.
LASIK Referrals and Co-Management
Our doctors can provide you with information and counseling regarding whether LASIK is a right fit for you — deciding whether or not to have refractive surgery is a major decision and we can provide you with objective facts to help you make the best choice. We work with top LASIK surgeons throughout the Central Florida area to ensure that you have the best experience possible. Our optometrists can provide the pre-op exam as well as all the post-operative care and treatment needed .
Ocular Disease Evaluation, Management, and Treatment
Our doctors are licensed to diagnose and treat diseases of the eye. These include, but aren’t limited to:
Glaucoma — Evaluation and Management
Cataract — Referrals and Co-Management
Diabetic Retinopathy — Evaluation and Management
Retinal diseases and eye infections such as conjunctivitis or pink eye
Embedded Foreign Object Removal
We are trained to remove foreign bodies, such as metal, rust, wood, glass or ingrown eyelashes. If you believe you have something embedded in your eye, please contact us immediately. As always, we recommend everyone wear protective eyewear when working in hazardous conditions, such as with hot metal or when performing lawn care or maintenance, to minimize the risk of a serious eye injury.
Emergency Care
Symptoms of emergency eye problems can include (but aren’t limited to): pain, foreign objects in the eye, flashes of light, loss of vision, “floaters” (little black specks floating across your vision), or injury (chemical splashes, blunt force trauma, etc). If you experience these symptoms, or any other that concern you, please contact our office as soon as possible. We will do our best to schedule you the same day. If you experience these when our offices are closed, at night or on the weekend, we have emergency care available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please call the office and follow the phone instructions. If you are calling about a true medical emergency, please call 911 immediately.
