What To Expect During Your Eye Specialist Consultation

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regular eye exams are necessary because they enable early detection of visual medical conditions such as, glaucoma, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration.
With that in mind, here's what to expect during your eye specialist consultation:

Medical History

Firstly, optometrists/opticians evaluate the overall medical history of their patients to ensure they make the right diagnosis and rule out unrelated underlying factors. It is worth noting that this process takes place irrespective of whether a patient is attending a routine check-up or has booked an appointment for a specific reason.

Physical Eye Exam

After taking a medical history, an eye specialist will physically examine a patient’s eyes to assess their health. At this stage, the doctor may use an ophthalmoscope to study the internal eye structure in detail.

Eye Tests

In most cases, eye doctors require their patients to undergo specialized eye tests. Such tests include- refraction, acuity, retinoscopy, pupillary reaction, cover, eye muscle movement, corneal pachymetry, keratomy, IOL Master, and pupil dilation; as well as, visual field and corneal topography tests. Results from one or several of these tests help doctors narrow down to a specific diagnosis.

Treatment/intervention

At this point, the doctor will have a good understanding of a patient’s eye health and will be able to prescribe the right treatment or recommend interventions that could improve overall vision. Possible prescriptions include contact lenses or glasses, eye surgery, and medications to treat vision problems or ease intraocular pressure. In addition, the eye specialist will recommend returning at some point in the future to evaluate the effectiveness of the vision treatment/intervention.

Conclusion

If you are planning to book an appointment to see an eye specialist, expect to undergo a thorough medical history evaluation, physical eye exam, specialized eye tests, and prescription of suitable treatment/intervention. People under the age of 60 should undergo an eye examination at least once every two years, whereas seniors should do so at least once every year.