More Than Meets the Eye: Why a Comprehensive Annual Eye Exam is Essential for Your Health

For many people with perfect vision, a comprehensive eye exam is an unnecessary inconvenience they would rather avoid. However, many eye doctors would beg to differ with that opinion, firstly because vision changes, and secondly, the eyes are windows to the body. Eye exams are a perfect way to keep track of your eye health and watch out for systemic conditions. 

What Tests Happen in a Comprehensive Eye Exam? 

• Preliminary Tests

These basic tests assist the eye doctor in evaluating various visual abilities. They assess pupil responses to light, peripheral vision, depth perception, and eye muscle movements, among other things.
 

• Visual Acuity

This test assesses your vision's accuracy, particularly in identifying texts and images at different distances. The test employs the well-known Snellen chart, usually representing visual acuity as 20/X. If you have good eyesight, your score is usually 20/20, but some people with excellent eyesight score even better.
 

• Retinal Digital Image

This diagnostic tool captures an elaborate digital photo of the retina to examine and evaluate the structures. These photographs are essential for the present eye exam and future retinal photographs.
 

• Eye Pressure Examination

They use a device that forces air into the eye to measure pressure. They may use a one-of-a-kind device that lights up blue when gently touched to the eye's surface. Eye pressure measurements are crucial in diagnosing glaucoma and other ocular diseases.
 

• Slit-lamp

This critical exam allows the eye doctor to study and evaluate the structure of the eye surface and inside it. They usually focus on the iris, pupil, tear ducts, eye lens, and retina. They may also examine the structures around the eye, like the preorbital skin and the eyelids. 

What Conditions Can Be Detected Through a Comprehensive Eye Exam?

• High Blood Pressure

Better and more gravely known as the silent killer, high blood pressure usually develops silently and only manifests once it is severe. However, an eye doctor can detect high blood pressure by analyzing the blood vessels in the retina. High blood pressure causes blood vessels to become inflamed or to break or leak fluids into the eye. The eye doctor uses the slit-lamp test to look through the pupil and evaluate changes. 
 

• Diabetes

Diabetes also affects the health of the blood vessels in the eye and can lead to loss of sight. It usually causes two main conditions—diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema, the latter being more common. 
 

• Glaucoma

This is a series of conditions that impact the optic nerve in the back of the eye through intraocular pressure. The conditions cause the intraocular pressure to increase, damaging the optic nerve irreversibly. It usually has no symptoms until it is in the advanced stages, which can be too late. A comprehensive eye exam is the only way to detect this condition early. 
 

• Lyme Disease

This is an infection transmitted through parasites like ticks. It causes inflammation all over the body. It can impact the optic nerve, causing inflammation before it spreads to the rest of the body.

For more on why a comprehensive annual eye exam is essential for your health, visit Brandon Eyes at our office in Middleton or Madison, Wisconsin. Please call (608) 833-7256​​​​​​​ or (608) 833-0301 to discuss any questions with our team of experts or to schedule your eye appointment today.