Retinal examinations

Eye exams can include many different vision tests that measure the health and functioning of your eyes. One of these tests is a retinal examination, which looks at the retina, optic disk, and blood vessels in the back of your eye. According to the Mayo Clinic, eye doctors may use one of three techniques to look at the back of your eye. First, however, he will likely need to dilate your pupils with eye drops that may give you a slight stinging sensation. After the drops are in place, he may conduct a direct examination, an indirect examination, or a slit-lamp examination.

In a direct examination, a beam of light is shined through the pupil so that the doctor can view the back of the eye with an ophthalmoscope. This exam may cause you to temporarily see afterimages once the light is gone. For an indirect examination, the patient usually lies down on a chair while the doctor shines a light strapped to his head into the patient’s eye. This technique allows the doctor to see the eye in three dimensions and is also likely to result in temporary afterimages. Finally, the slit-lamp examination has the ability to show the doctor the most detail about the back of the eye.

In this exam, the doctor uses the slit lamp as well as a condensing or contact lens. Each of these three exams takes only about five to 10 minutes, but depending on the use of eye drops, your vision will likely be blurry for several hours. Before your appointment at your True Dental Discounts vision plan doctor, ask someone to drive you home and make any necessary arrangements at work.

Reading problems linked to poor vision

Does your child have trouble reading at school? If so, he or she may have undiagnosed problems with their vision. Even if a child has passed the vision screening at school, he or she may still have complications that go unnoticed during routine scans. According to the American Optometric Association, the eye chart test given in schools checks only for visual acuity – just one of seven skills needed to read properly. This results in many children “passing” the vision test who still need further testing and correction. Experts recommend children undergo a comprehensive optometric exam that tests not only for visual acuity, but also:

• Visual fixation – the ability to aim the eyes accurately, whether it’s on a stationary photo in a history textbook or on a moving line of text in a PowerPoint presentation.
• Accommodation – the ability to adjust eyes’ focus as the distance of an object in a person’s line of sight changes. This is especially important in school, where students often have to shift their focus from their textbooks to the chalkboard across the room.
• Binocular fusion – the ability to unify information gathered from each individual eye. If a child’s vision is not aligned correctly, the brain will begin to compensate by favoring one eye over the other, causing a lazy eye.
• Convergence – the ability to look at a nearby object by turning the eyes inward. This skill is important when children focus on doing homework or reading a book.
• Field of vision – the complete area able to be seen by a person’s eyes. Children must be tested for the appropriate levels of peripheral and central vision to ensure they can see and read well in the classroom.
• Perception -- the ability to process and recognize objects in a person’s field of vision. Proper vision skills are required for children to be able to consistently recognize shapes and other repeated images, like letters or numbers.

Once a child’s vision has been thoroughly tested, he or she will be given corrective lenses that address any diagnosed problems. This often removes a huge hurdle in the reading process and makes any additional reading therapies more effective. For more information about comprehensive visual exams for students, talk to an optometrist on your True Care Advantage vision plan. You can get significant savings on an exam that will set your child up for success in school, and in life.