Each eye doctor has their own routine, but most eye exams follow a similar pattern. First, your doctor will review your personal and family health history as you may be at special risk for eye problems if there is a family history of eye disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or poor vision. Then they will conduct tests to check for:
- Vision – the doctor will check for presybyopia, nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. While you look at an eye chart, the doctor will measure your vision precisely, and, if necessary, determine a prescription for corrective lenses.
- Coordination of eye muscles – the doctor will move a light in a set pattern to test your ability to see sharply and clearly at near and far distances, and to use both eyes together.
- Side (peripheral) vision – the doctor will move an object at the edge of your field of vision to make sure you can see it.
- Pupil response to light – the doctor will shine a light in your eye and watch the pupil's reaction.
- Color testing – the doctor will ask you to describe figures in a series of illustrations made up of numerous colored dots or circles. This tests your ability to differentiate colors.
- Eyelid health and function – the doctor will examine your eyelid, inside and out.
- The interior and back of the eye – after dilating your eyes (by both using a few eye drops and dimming the lights so the pupils will widen), the doctor will use a special instrument called an ophthalmoscope to see through to the retina and optic nerve at the back of the eye. This is where many clues to eye diseases first show up.
- Measurement of fluid pressure – the doctor will release a puff of air onto your eyeball using an instrument called a tonometer. This tests the pressure inside the eyeball, an early indicator of glaucoma and other diseases.
