04/29/2026
What to expect at your Comprehensive Eye Exam
Is it time for your annual comprehensive eye exam? Most adults have experienced an annual eye exam, and understand that the exam accomplishes more than just checking for 20/20 vision: Regular eye exams help protect your overall eye health. Knowing what to expect makes the experience easier.
Eye exams — which are comfortable and non-invasive — provide your eye doctor with two important types of information:
How well you are seeing and whether you need vision correction (or a change in your prescription)
Patient Visual and Medical History. We’ll ask about any vision changes or any changes in your general health, medications, and work or environmental conditions that may affect your vision. Your family medical history is important. Discuss with your doctor any personal and family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, autoimmune disease, thyroid, or other systemic disease.
Visual Acuity. This test uses the Snellen Eye Chart — that cool-looking chart with the big E at the top and rows of letters that gradually get smaller below it. We use it to measure your visual acuity, meaning how clearly you see both at a distance and up close. Your visual acuity is based on the smallest row of Snellen Eye Chart letters that you can read clearly from 20 feet away. We’ll also test your up-close vision with a small card held about 14 inches away from your eyes.
Visual Refraction. An instrument called a phoropter helps determine the exact prescription lens power you need to achieve 20/20 vision. The phoropter incorporates various lenses and lens power combinations. We will change these combinations to pinpoint the exact prescription correction to compensate for your nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or any combination of the three. During refraction, we may ask, “Which is better: 1 or 2? 3 or 4?” The test incorporates your input to determine which lenses give you the clearest, most comfortable vision. This is not covered by your medical insurance, it is an out of pocket expense.
Eye Muscle and Alignment Tests. We will check for eye focusing, and binocular vision abilities. This measures how effectively your eyes can focus, move, and work together in unison to help you perceive the world around you.
Dilation. Eye drops that enlarge your pupils to gain a better view into the back of the eye to examine its critical structures. Dilation can help diagnose retinal tears, retinal detachments, tumors, and other signs of systemic disease. Dilation can last for several hours. Dilation can cause light sensitivity, trouble focusing, or blurry vision in some patients, so plan accordingly.
You may need a Visual Field Test (Perimetry). We will measure your central and peripheral vision to detect any blind spots that could be linked to glaucoma, stroke, diabetes, or optic nerve-related conditions.
Slit Lamp Examination. The slit lamp is a microscope with a bright light. It allows your optometrist to examine your eyelids, eyelashes, and other external tissues, as well as the sclera (the whites of your eye), conjunctiva, cornea, iris, pupil, and lens. A slit lamp exam helps the doctor assess your overall visual system health and assists in detecting cataracts, dry eye, and corneal disease, among other conditions.
Imaging Tests. A picture is worth a thousand words and can help save your vision. Depending on your age and health issues, we may take photos of your visual system. These may include:
Retinal imaging: A detailed picture of the back of the eye using a special camera. This photo captures details of your retina, optic nerve, and blood vessels to assist in detecting visual changes related to diabetes, hypertension, and macular degeneration.
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT): This imaging device uses light waves to create a cross-section of the retina that can allow your doctor to see early signs of diseases, including glaucoma, macular degeneration, or retinal swelling.
While your eye doctor may add other tests depending on your age and stage of life, these nine tests are typical during a comprehensive eye exam to measure and evaluate overall eye health and visual acuity. Each individual test provides details about a specific facet of your eye health. Depending on your eye health, age, and medical history, your Ophthalmologist may or may not administer all of these tests every year.
Early detection and treatment of vision challenges help prevent vision loss. That’s why it’s so important to have an annual comprehensive eye exam.
Call our office today to schedule your exam and let us check out your “windows on the world” to ensure you’re seeing your best.
