November 10, 2011
Why are Eye Exams Important?
Two common fallacies about eye exams are that if you can see fine, you don’t need an exam and that vision screenings are just eye exams by a different name. In fact, in addition to checking your vision, doctors also check for eye and other diseases that have no early symptoms, but should nevertheless be treated early.
Comprehensive Eye Exam Las Vegas
We offer comprehensive eye examinations. We can check your vision for refractive errors (i.e. nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism) as well as for disease. A total eye exam includes:
Extensive medical history
Tests for binocular and color vision
External examination of the eye and lids
Microscope exam to detect cataracts dry eyes and corneal disease
Muscle balance evaluation to determine ocular alignment or the need for prisms
Vitreous examination for floaters
Retinal examination for evaluation of macular degeneration and other retinal diseases.
Pressure check to screen for glaucoma
Testing for More than 20/20
20/20 just means that the person can clearly see a certain letter on the standard eye chart (equivalent to what a person with normal vision should be able to see at 20 feet). There’s so much more to healthy vision than 20/20!
Our comprehensive vision exam goes beyond 20/20 to evaluate many important visual skills, such as:
Visual Acuity at Near
Is vision clear and single at close distances? Clear sight at short distances is critical to reading, writing, close work, computer use, etc.
Eye Teaming Skills
Do the two eyes aim, move, and work as a coordinated team? Weaknesses in binocular (two-eyed) vision and eye teaming skills can cause numerous difficulties, including clumsy children and poor depth perception.
Eye Focusing Skills
Do the eyes maintain clear vision at varying distances? Rapid, automatic eye focus adjustment is critical to learning, reading, writing, sports, etc. Deficiencies can cause visual fatigue, reduced reading comprehension, and/or avoidance of close work or other activities.
Eye Movement Skills
Do eye movements show adequate muscle control, tracking, fixation, etc.? In the classroom, normal eye movements allow rapid and accurate shifting of the eyes along a line of print or from book to desk to board, etc. In sports, efficient eye movements contribute to eye-hand coordination, visual reaction time, and accurate tracking.
Reversal Frequency
Is confusion or reversal of letters or words (b, d; p, q; saw, was; etc.) within the normal ranges for a given age? Past the age of seven, frequent visual and written reversals might indicate a visual perceptual dysfunction.
Above are just a few of the many visual measurements evaluated during our comprehensive vision exam. In addition, the health of your eyes, inside and out, is carefully evaluated for such problems as cataracts, glaucoma, hypertension, diabetes, etc.
Vision Exams for Children Las Vegas
The American Optometric Association recommends that pre-school children receive a complete vision exam at the ages of six months, three years and five years. It is particularly important that a child have a complete evaluation in the summer prior to entry into Kindergarten. While in school, yearly evaluations are recommended.
Vision Exams for Adults Las Vegas
Comprehensive exams are recommended on a regular basis for all adults.
