Most of us are guilty of taking our vision for granted. The sense that we predominantly rely on to connect with the world around us, our eyesight is in use from the moment we get up until we go to sleep. It helps us to work, take part in activities and even keeps us safe from danger. Even when we use our other senses, we often rely upon our sight to confirm what we can hear, smell, feel or taste. Nevertheless, our eyes are just as likely to be affected by problems as any other part of our body. This means that in order to keep them healthy and working properly, we need to give them special care.

Comprehensive eye exams are the most effective way of monitoring the health of your eyes and your overall visual acuity. These appointments, which are recommended to take place at least once every two years – more often if you have issues with the health of your eyes or your eyesight – are carried out by trained and experienced professionals who know how to detect problems, and more importantly, how to treat them.

We are delighted to be able to offer comprehensive eye exams, here at Quality Eye Care in Florida.

What Problems Can Comprehensive Eye Exams Detect?

There is a wide range of eye diseases and visual problems that can occur, and a comprehensive eye exam is the best way of detecting them all. Early diagnosis is crucial since some of these diseases can lead to blindness if not treated. Some of the conditions that can be identified during your eye exam could include (but is not limited to) the following:

- Refractive eye errors affecting your vision, including myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism.

- Presbyopia, another refractive eye error that occurs due to advancing age.

- Cataracts, which is the natural clouding of the lens of the eye.

- Glaucoma, which is where damage occurs to the blood vessels serving the eye as a result of an increase in intraocular pressure.

- Macular degeneration, the natural degeneration of a part of the eye called the macula.

- Diabetic retinopathy, which is a complication of diabetes that affects your vision.

- Dry eye disease, a very common condition caused by a lack of tear film or tear film that evaporates too quickly.

- Keratoconus, a condition characterized by a corneal abnormality.

- Conjunctivitis, a highly contagious eye infection.

- Retinal detachment, which occurs when the retina pulls away from the eye and prevents signals from being passed from the eye to the brain.

What To Expect From A Comprehensive Eye Exam

There are several different elements to a comprehensive eye exam. These may vary slightly depending on your individual needs, but typically you can expect the following:

Consultation

This conversation enables us to find out a bit more about you and how you feel your eyes are working for you at the moment. You can bring up any concerns that you may have about anything relating to your eyesight, and we may ask you for information about your general health or family history.

Eye Health Evaluations

This comprises of a series of different tests that are designed to tell us how healthy your eyes are. This will include looking at how well your eyes work together, how well you can see different colors, what the pressure is inside your eyes, whether there are any visible abnormalities, how well your eyes respond to light and the extent of your peripheral vision. Most of these tests are completely non-invasive with there being no need for anesthetic. Intraocular pressure testing may involve a puff of air being directed into your eyes and then the pressure reading is taken, but this involves an instrument touching your eye and not hurting it in any way.

Visual Acuity Testing

This is where our team will determine how clearly you can see at different distances without any prescription eyewear. It is this test that will tell us if you would benefit from wearing glasses or contact lenses. Once your prescription is stable, you may also be able to consider laser vision correction to permanently correct your vision. In the meantime, if you choose to wear contact lenses, you will need an additional evaluation to determine which contact lens is right for you.

If you would like to schedule your comprehensive eye exam, don’t delay. Contact our Jacksonville and Gainesville, FL offices to speak to our team.