Overview of Eye Exams

What to Expect

It’s important for everyone – young, old and all ages in between – to get a routine eye exam by an ophthalmologist, also known as an eye doctor. Just like any other part of your body and any other disease, early diagnosis and treatment is important.

A series of tests will be performed to assess:
  • Acuity – The sharpness of your vision
  • Refraction – The ability for your eye to refract light that enters in order to form an image on the retina
  • Potential eye disease such as glaucoma, cataracts or other diseases.

Your eye doctor will ask you questions about your medical and eye health history. Be sure to tell them about anything unusual you’ve noticed about your vision, even if you don’t think it’s important – it could tell your doctor a lot about you.

Next he will check your visual acuity – a test that tells the doctor how sharp things look to you. You will be asked to read the letters on an eye chart. The doctor will determine your acuity by the size of the letters you can read on the chart. View a standardized eye chart.

Your eye doctor will also test for refractive errors. A refractive error is an eye disorder that the shape of your eye doesn't allow the light to reflect off your retina correctly. This makes images blurred.

There are four types of refractive errors:
  • Myopia (nearsightedness): Close objects look clear, but distant objects appear blurred.
  • Hyperopia (farsightedness): Where distant objects will look clear but close objects are blurry
  • Astigmatism: Vision is blurred for both near and far objects.
  • Presbyopia: The eyes gradually lose the ability to change focus from distance to near.
Many people will have one or more of these refractive errors.

To correct a refractive error, your doctor may recommend glasses, contact lenses, or refractive surgery.

Your eye doctor will also exam you to determine:

  • Eyelid health and function
  • Coordination of eye muscles
  • Pupil response to light
  • Your vision to the side of your body, also called peripheral
  • Intraocular pressure, the pressure inside the eye
  • The area in from of the lens, including the cornea and iris
  • The inside and back of the eye, including the retina

After the exam, your eye doctor will discuss the results with you and if there are any concerns that he would like to address.

Frequency of Eye Exams

  • How often you come to see the eye doctor depends on your age, personal health and family history.  
  • For individuals of any age with symptoms of eye disease or those who have an increased risk for eye disease, such as those listed below, should ask their ophthalmologist to how often their eyes should be examined.
    • Family history of eye problems
    • African-American over age 40
    • Diabetes
    • History of eye injury
    • High blood pressure

Before Age 3

 Your pediatrician will likely do a standard vision test around age 3. If there is a family history of vision problems or if your child appears to have any of the following conditions they should be examined by an eye doctor right away:

  • Crossed eyes
  • Lazy eye (both eyes don’t look in the same direction)
  • Drooping upper eyelid.

Your pediatrician will continue to screen your child’s vision periodically during their regular pediatric checkups.


Ages 20 to 39

Most young adults have healthy eyes, but they still need to take care of their vision by wearing protective eyewear when they’re outside, playing sports, working with chemicals or taking part in other activities that could cause an eye injury.

Have your eyes examined by an eye doctor at least once between the ages of 20 and 29 and at least twice between the ages of 30 and 39.

If you experience any of the following, regardless of your age, see your eye doctor as soon as possible:

  • Visual changes or pain
  • Flashes of light
  • Seeing spots or ghost-like images
  • Lines appear distorted or wavy
  • Dry eyes with itching and burning


Ages 40 to 64

Adults with no signs or risk factors for eye disease get a baseline eye disease screening at age 40. This will give your ophthalmologist an idea of where your vision is at. The evaluation creates greater opportunity for early treatment and preservation of vision. Based on the results of the initial screening, your doctor will give you a recommended eye exam schedule.

Several common eye diseases can affect people 40 and older without them knowing there is any problem with their eyes.

Age 65 and Over 

Those who are age 65 and over should have complete eye exams by their eye doctor every 1-2 years to check for cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other eye conditions.

 
 

Resource: The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology