What’s involved in the visual exam?
Academy Eye - Professional Eye Exams Healthy eye care starts with regular, routine examinations. Our exams include:
- Getting to know you, our patient, on a personal level
- Taking a thorough examination into your medical and eye health history
- Testing your eyes for glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration
- Check for signs of high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases that can be detected during the eye exam and can cause risks to your general health as well as your vision
- Check your current eyeglass and contact lens prescriptions for the sharpest distance
- Vision tests for reading and computer vision coordination and focusing skills
- Thoroughly explain the results of your eye health and vision tests to you
- Answer all of your questions and prescribe eyeglasses, contact lenses, low vision aids, vision exercises, and medication for your individual needs
Why should I get my eyes checked when I think I see just fine?
A comprehensive eye and vision examination is actually important in the evaluation of your overall health status. Its comprehensive nature lets your optometrist assess not only your eye and vision care needs, but also related health care status. The prevalence of eye health and vision problems in adults makes the services provided during the eye exam more valuable than most people realize.
Patients usually come in for eye exams to maintain or restore clear, comfortable vision. However, optometrists provide important disease prevention and health promotion information through regular eye exams – relating not only to your eyes but to your health care in general. Conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and atherosclerosis can cause changes in your eyes. As primary eye care providers, optometrists have the expertise to examine, diagnose, treat, and manage a wide variety of eye and vision problems. For many patients who are found to need other related health care services, it is often their optometrist who serves as the point of entry into the health care system.
Ocular Disease Management – “More than just a vision test”
Academy Eye Associates doctors are not only experts in vision correction, but they also manage many eye health disorders. We care for patients with ocular complications from diseases including diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and MS. Our continuing training keeps us current in the treatment of corneal injuries, eye and eyelid infections, dry eye, glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and many retinal and internal ocular conditions. We maintain close referral relationships with expert surgeons and specialists throughout the Triangle and we routinely make referrals, schedule appointments and provide post-surgical follow-up care for our patients.
How often do I need to come? In fact, when should you see my kids?
The National Institutes of Health have established guidelines for routine vision care. These are general recommendations. Your own doctor may make alternate recommendations based upon your personal conditions and family history. The suggested schedule for eye exams:
- Birth to 24 Months: By 6 Months of Age
- 2 to 5 Years: At 3 Years of Age
- 6 to 18 Years: Before 1st Grade and Every 2 Years Thereafter
- 18 to 40 Years: Every 2 to 3 Years
- 41 to 60 Years: Every 2 Years
- 61 and Older: Yearly
