Our Doctors at College Optical Express always strive to provide each patient with a thorough and educational experience while assessing overall ocular health of our patients. Our comprehensive exams include the following:
First, we need to gather your medical history about your eyes and your past health. It is important for us to know the status of your health because many systemic diseases have associated eye problems. Second, it is important for you to tell us about any medications that you use including over the counter medications because many medications effect the eye. It is also important for us to learn something about your life style. We want to prescribe glasses, contact lenses, and therapy on the basis of your visual needs. Remember, each of us are unique.
On all of our patients, we measure visual acuity, which means to measure how well you can see. We determine your eye-glass prescription at distance and near; evaluate your eye muscle coordination; check to see if you have any color deficiencies; assess the front of the eye with a microscope; perform a glaucoma test screening test; and dilate the eyes to properly evaluate the retina. Patients often ask do you have to dilate the eyes? To properly assess the retina (the back of the eye), we use to routinely dilate everyones eyes. Looking at the retina through an un-dilated eye is like looking through the keyhole of your closet to see what is inside. Its easier and better if you open the door, put your head in and look around. That’s what the drops do and the instrument that we put on our head allows us to do.