I had my eye examination carried out recently at Vision Opticians. Very professional, personal service. Answered all my questions. Had a great selection of frames and found something that suited me at a price I could afford. Also got a discount! The staff were very helpful if helping me select the frames and were not pushing for the most expensive ones but gave me proper advice and even took photographs to show me how I looked. Thoroughly Recommended.
A comprehensive eye test takes approximately half an hour, and in that time your Optician will look closely at all aspects of your vision and eye health. This involves full history taking and thorough examination of both internal and external structures of the eye, including eye muscles.
The ophthalmoscope is used to examine the retina at the back of your eye. This will determine the condition of the blood vessels and the head of the optic nerve, and can also detect any changes in the health of this area that may indicate underlying diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure or macular degeneration.
Another way of examining your retina is by using a slit lamp bio-microscope and volk lens, which your Optician uses in combination to see a magnified image of your retina.
The tonometer measures the pressure inside your eyes, known as intraocular pressure. A puff of air is directed into the eye, measuring intraocular pressure based on the eye's resistance to the air. It only takes a couple of seconds to perform and can give your Optician valuable information about the health of your eye and any indicators of more serious eye conditions. Caught early, these can easily be corrected and treated.
The visual field screener is used to determine your field of vision and locate any 'blind spots' within that field. During the test, you will be asked to look at a spot in the centre of the machine and respond lights flashing around this central target. This test is repeated several times in both eyes.
The test chart is probably the most familiar piece of equipment used by your Optician to check your eyesight. The most common chart is the Snellen chart, which is a series of letters of differing sizes, ranging from the largest at the top to the smallest at the bottom. During an eye test, you will be asked to read from the chart to determine the visual acuity of your sight. If you have good eyesight, you should be able to read near the bottom line clearly without any corrective lenses. If you cannot read these lines, corrective lenses may be required.
This determines if your eyes are working well together and how much correction may be needed to balance your eyesight.You will be asked to look at a panel and say whether the bars appear to be in line both horizontally and vertically. If they appear out of line Your Optician will decide whether or not this needs correction with a prism in the lenses of your glasses.
Another tool which is used to help determine your final prescription is the retinoscope. It measures the refractive error of your eye to determine the proper prescription for any corrective lenses that might be needed. By observing how the eye processes a beam of light, your optician can determine if you suffer from myopia (nearsightedness) or hypermetropia (farsightedness) or if you have an astigmatism.The test is only takes a few seconds, and is a precursor to further testing to determine the exact prescription you may need to correct your sight.
Most people who have trouble focusing on either near or distant objects can have their eyesight easily corrected by prescription lenses. To find out if you need corrective lenses, your Optician will test your ability to focus on both close-up and distant objects.You are asked to focus on an object at a set distance. By placing various strength lenses in front of each eye, we can tell from your response if the lens makes the object appear more or less in focus. The correct prescription for each eye can then be determined.