FAQs

 

Why are Eye Health Examinations important?

 

Eye health is important even in those who have 20/20 vision. Numerous eye diseases do not have any symptoms and some, like glaucoma, can lead to partial vision loss, or even blindness, if left untreated.

 

In addition to checking the prescription for your eyeglasses and contact lenses, our knowledgeable team of doctors will also thoroughly examine the health of your eyes for common eye diseases. It is imperative to have your eyes checked on a regular basis to prevent damage to your eyes. When eye diseases are detected earlier, the success rate of treatment is much higher. Your eyes can also indicate your overall health condition. During the eye examination, we are able to detect signs of many systemic conditions such as High Blood Pressure and Diabetes.

 

Another important component of the eye examination is evaluation of your eye muscles and if they are working together properly. Our doctors will perform multiple tests to check for signs of lazy eye and eye turn.

 

Eye Health Examinations are especially important for children who may not realize that their problems in school are related to their eyes.

 

Why are Eye Health Examinations important for children? 

 

 

Eye exams for children are extremely important, because 5 to 10 percent of preschoolers and 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems.* Often, there are no signs that a child has a vision problem, making regular eye examinations very important.  Early identification of a child's vision problem can be crucial because children often are more responsive to treatment when problems are diagnosed early. For example, regular eye exams can detect health problems and conditions such as a turned or lazy eye in the early stages. These conditions may be treated successfully if an optometrist diagnoses them early in a child’s life; if they go undetected, they can lead to permanent sight loss.

 

According to the Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO), infants should have their first comprehensive eye exam at 6 months of age. Children then should have additional eye exams at age 3, and just before they enter the first grade — at about age 5 or 6.

 

Early eye exams also are important because children need the following basic skills related to good eyesight for learning:

 

Near vision

Distance vision

Binocular (two eyes) coordination

Eye movement skills

Focusing skills

Peripheral awareness

Hand-eye coordination

 

More than 80%  of learning is done through the eyes. Children with poor vision often find it difficult to focus on their work and may be misdiagnosed as having a learning or behavioural disability. One in six children has a vision problem significant enough to impair their ability to learn.

Make sure your children are prepared to succeed by having their eyes examined before they start school. 

 

 

What should I look out for  between my child’s eye health examinations?

 

In between those yearly eye exams, keep a look out for symptoms of eye problems in your child. Because, like everything else going on with their little bodies, their eyes can change seemingly overnight. Here are some things to watch for:

 

Squinting: The classic symptom of either nearsightedness (not seeing well far away) or farsightedness (not seeing well close-up). Glasses are probably in order.

 

Alignment problems: If one eye keeps “drifting off,” it could be “lazy eye” or amblyopia. Treatment includes a corrective eye patch on the normal eye so it forces the weaker eye to work harder and improve. The younger the child, the better, to avoid a grade-school patch.

 

One eye: If your child closes one eye and it helps him or her see better, there could be a structural problem like astigmatism.

 

Eye rubbing: If your child rubs his or her eyes or you hear complaints of headaches, see the eye doctor. There may be some eyestrain going on that glasses can help.

 

How often should I have my eyes checked?

 

The Canadian Association of Optometrists recommends that children have their vision assessed annually, while adults should be examined every one to two years. Click here to read more(Link to EyeCare Page)

 

What's the Difference Between a Vision Screening and a Complete Eye Exam?

 

A vision screening is a basic test to help identify individuals who may have potential vision problems. These tests are usually performed by a school nurses or by a volunteers. Although vision screenings are helpful to detect major eye anomalies, they do not replace a regular eye examination. In fact, 43% of children with vision problems can pass a basic vision screening test.  Eye Health Examinations are conducted by professionals who have special training to detect eye disorders.

 

A comprehensive eye health examination by an eye care professional is an in-depth evaluation of your visual system and eye health. It is more thorough then simple vision tests by family doctors or pediatricians. After the examination, an individualized treatment plan will be discussed with you and your optometrist. Treatment plans can be as simple as recommending eyeglasses or as serious as a surgical evaluation referral.

 

What are the procedures involve in an Eye Health Examination?

 

Eye Exams

 

A comprehensive eye exam involves a variety of tests to measure peripheral vision, eye health, depth perception, visual acuity, color vision, eye muscles and the ability to focus close up. Our experienced doctors will use different instruments and lenses to assess your vision and eye health.

 

 

Eye Tests

 

Several tests exist to examine both the physical characteristics of the eye itself, as well as aspects of vision. These tests include:

 

Case history - you will be asked about your general health, medications you may be taking, your working environment, hobbies, etc. You will also be asked to describe any vision problems you may have been experiencing.

 

External eye examination - Your optometrist will examine the external area around the eye to ensure that there are no abnormalities.

 

Internal eye examination - Using the slit lamp microscope and an ophthalmoscope, your optometrist will check your eyes for indications of abnormalities, from front to back. Some problems detected during an internal eye examination may indicate possible disease, such as diabetes or hypertension. If your optometrist sees any of these warning signs, you will be referred to a physician for further examination.

 

Tonometry - Tonometry measures the fluid pressure in the eye and is an important test in detecting glaucoma.

 

Vision tests - A number of tests are used to assess your vision:

 

Retinoscopy - The optometrist can determine the strength of your eyes using various lenses and the retinoscope. This is done without feedback from the patient and is therefore an invaluable instrument for assessing the vision problems of children and others who may not be able to read an eye chart.

 

Visual acuity tests - Using the familiar wall chart and hand-held charts, your optometrist will assess your ability to see small detail clearly at both near and far distances. You may sit behind a phoropter, an instrument containing a combination of lenses. Lens choices are systematically changed until clear focus is obtained.

 

Eye movement - Using a number of different tests, the optometrist will evaluate how well your eyes align or coordinate when working together and individually.

 

Peripheral vision - The optometrist may evaluate how well you see targets which are not directly in front of you.  Eye disorders such as macular degeneration or glaucoma can cause characteristic patterns of holes in a patient's visual field, allowing the doctor to diagnose the disorder long before a patient even notices vision loss.

 

Other tests may be undertaken to evaluate your ability to change focus, see colour correctly, or perceive depth correctly.

 

Your optometrist will chose tests which are required to adequately evaluate your visual system.