During a comprehensive eye test in Singapore, your doctor examines your eyes closely and conducts several exams. Some vision evaluations determine whether or not you need spectacles or contacts. Other tests evaluate your eye health and look for signs of eye disease. A physical examination can help doctors evaluate your overall health.
Your provider will use specialised equipment, instruments, and lighting to examine your eyes. These examinations typically do not cause pain but may be slightly unpleasant. Regular eye exams allow your doctor to monitor changes in your vision, detect eye problems, and assist you in maintaining healthy eyes.
How frequently should I have my eyes examined?
Most children and adults should receive a thorough eye exam every one to two years. People with a higher risk of eye disease or vision problems may require more frequent eye examinations. You may require more frequent eye examinations if you represent any of the following:
- Are over age 60.
- Carry excess weight or suffer from obesity.
- Eye surgery, eye injury, or stroke-related eye impairment.
- Have a history of ocular disease in your family.
- Have a condition, such as diabetes, that can cause ocular problems.
- Wear glasses or contact lenses.
What are eye exams for?
Comprehensive eye exams provide information about your vision to your doctor. In addition, they inform eye physicians of your need for corrective lenses and prescriptions. During an eye exam, your doctor will also check for the following eye-related issues:
- Refractive errors.
- Variations in vision.
- Issues with the muscles that support the eyes.
- Eye tumours and eye cancer (intraocular malignancy).
In addition to eye-related conditions, diseases, and disorders, your doctor will also screen for various non-ocular conditions, diseases, and disorders. Eye problems or alterations may indicate a number of conditions, including:
- Autoimmune disorders.
- Diabetes.
- Hypertension.
What tests can I anticipate during my eye exam?
After inquiring about your health and family history, your healthcare provider will conduct a series of tests. Some examinations evaluate vision. Other tests evaluate the health of your eyes, including the muscles and blood vessels surrounding them.
During an eye exam, your doctor will cast a bright light on your pupil to determine how it dilates. The pupil is the narrow aperture in the centre of the iris (the coloured portion of the eye). Your provider will also evaluate how your eyes move, focus, and coordinate with one another. Among the few standard procedures performed during an eye exam are:
- Visual acuity: Your doctor instructs you to discern letters from a distance on an eye chart (Snellen chart). One eye will be covered at a time. Next, your provider may ask you to read the letters through a phoropter, a device with multiple lenses designed to improve vision. This procedure, known as refraction, allows your doctor to determine if you need spectacles and to determine the corrective lens prescription.
- Automatic refraction: Providers use an autorefractor to determine the visual acuity of young infants and individuals with communication difficulties. An autorefractor projects light into the eye and measure the response of the eye. Automatic refraction allows providers to determine the corrective lens prescription.
- Visual field: To test your peripheral (side) vision, your doctor will progressively transfer a finger or an object from one side of your face to the other. Your provider may raise and lower the object and move it closer to your eyes. Only your eyeballs will move, not your entire head. Many doctor’s facilities conduct this examination using a computer programme. This test informs providers of your complete visual field.
- Colour vision test: To check this, your healthcare provider will display a series of images with coloured specks. Variously coloured numerals are concealed among the marks. Those with colour blindness may be unable to see the numerals.
- Corneal topography: Your provider uses a computer to create a “map” of your cornea. You gaze at an object while the computer takes thousands of corneal measurements. This test can detect corneal curvature (astigmatism). It is utilised for fitting contact lenses and preparing for corneal transplants and other eye surgeries.
