Eye Exams and Eye Doctors: What to Expect

Here are some comments about Eye Exams and Eye Doctors that pertain to patient visits at our office in West Los Angeles, Westwood Village, California.


Patients can be very apprehensive about their eyes when they visit their eye doctor. It is important to choose an eye doctor that takes the time to listen to your symptoms and prescribes the best mode of vision correction for the individual patient. If the visit is for a yearly eye examination this visit is really like a physical for your eyes. Eye health is tested frequently via a dilation of the eyes. Eye muscle coordination is tested as well. The eye is looked at from the front all the way to the back. The eyes are tested for glaucoma and evaluated for dryness and signs of allergies. A prescription is determined by a process known as a refraction. It is important that the doctor is as accurate in determining the prescription as is possible. Once all the information is gathered, the doctor will make recommendations as to the best way to treat the patient's individual vision problem. The recommendations can be anything from a single vision lens for either distance or near to a multifocal correction. Often the doctor will recommend sunglasses to block out the sun's harmful rays. In addition, reflection free coatings are often prescribed to help allow more light get into the eye and provide the clearest vision possible. At times the solution will involve eye exercises instead of eyeglasses. The correction can also include contact lenses. If contact lenses are desired it is best to choose an eye doctor that has a great deal of experience in contact lens fitting. This will provide the patient with the most favorable outcome.

The above description relates to routine yearly eye exams. Of course, there are urgency and emergency visits as well. Here the visits are confined to a problem solving situation, depending upon the problem that the patient faces. Eye infections are treated with the necessary medications. It is important for the doctor to determine the exact cause of the problem and prescribe the correct therapy. Eye allergies can often be treated with anti-histamine eye drops. Dry eyes can present a perplexing problem. The cause of the dry eyes must be determined. In addition, there can be issues with tear quality that can often compromise eye comfort. The doctor must not only deal with the dry eye issues but must make sure that the tear film is as normal as possible. Again, it is best to choose a doctor that has lots of experience with these issues.