May 8, 2018 - Cataracts
I speak often about the importance of getting regular eye exams. Not only can eye exams non-invasively detect early-stage Alzheimer’s and identify if you’re at an increased risk of stroke, it’s been estimated that 50% of Americans with glaucoma, which is known as the “silent thief” because it can progress rapidly and lead to total blindness, are unaware they have the condition. According to the CDC, nearly 50% of those at risk for serious vision loss got an eye exam in the last 12 months. This amounts to more than 30 million Americans.
With this in mind, I wanted to share some recommendations on how to get most out of your eye exam.
- Take a friend or family member with you so that they can take notes or audio record the appointment. You may be stressed when talking to the doctor and forget what they said during the exam. Having an advocate in the exam room can help you understand and remember what your doctor is saying.
- Remember to relax during the visual acuity eye chart test because stress has an impact on our vision. Blink and breath while reading the letters. If you are nervous and it is a bit blurry, take a minute to do the tongue-clock-palm eye exercise. Do this 3 times and it can relax your eyes and improve your ability to see the chart.
- If you have a prescription that feels comfortable on your eyes, bring your glasses, contacts, and/or written prescriptions and tell the doctor you would like a prescription similar to what you are using.
What tests should you expect?
- The glaucoma test can be done in a couple of ways. One screening technique uses a non-contact tonometry (NCT) which is what you may refer to as the “air puff” test. Other doctors prefer the applanation tonometry test. For this test, your eye doctor will put yellow eye drops into your eye to numb it. Your eyes will feel slightly heavy when the drops start working. This is not a dilating drop – it is a numbing agent combined with a yellow dye that glows under a blue light. Then the doctor will have you stare straight ahead into the slit lamp while he or she gently touches the surface of your eye with the tonometer to measure your intraocular pressure (IOP). Like NCT, applanation tonometry is painless. At most, you may feel the tonometer probe tickle your eyelashes. The whole test takes just a few seconds and is important to get at least once every 2 years.
- A depth perception test and refraction test will determine the exact strength of corrective lens needed to correct your visual acuity to 20/20.
- Eye Movement exercises will help your doctor measure how accurately you can following a moving object.
- A color vision test helps measure for color blindness.
- Pupil dilation is a test that allows the doctor to get a better view into the back of the eye. These drops take 20-30 minutes to dilate your pupils. You won’t be able to read for several hours and you will be more sensitive to light. I recommend bringing someone to the appointment to drive you, and you should wear your sunglasses home after the exam. The drops last 4-8 hours. Here is a video on whether or not you need eye drops, as well as some alternatives.
- A visual fields test measures peripheral vision and can be used to diagnose glaucoma and other retinopathies. Again, if you do the tongue-clock-palm exercise before the test, your visual field can be better and more open.
How do you choose a prescription strength?
Although you want to correct your visual acuity to 20/20, you don’t have to get a prescription so strong that it gives you a headache. If during the exam, the doctor is changing lenses quickly while asking which is clearer, 1 or 2, and you don’t know, ask them to slow down so that you can really feel your eyes and body while looking through the lens. When you include your body in the equation, you can choose a lens that is clear but also relaxing for your vision.
In any lens prescriptions, I would recommend talking to your doctor about alternatives to progressive lenses. Maybe get a distance prescription and a computer prescription in single vision only. If you are concerned about blue light pollution from digital devices, discuss the possibility of blue-blocking lenses. I would also discourage monovision for contacts, where one eye is corrected for distance and one is corrected for near. This lens option splits the brain and reduces depth perception.
In any recommendations, talk it over with your family before you proceed with any treatment. While there are many pharmaceutical and surgical options available, many conditions may be prevented and even reversed through holistic dietary and lifestyle practices. Even in situations in which a pharmaceutical drug or surgery is necessary, living a holistic and healthy lifestyle can complement these allopathic treatments and slow damage that may be occurring in the eye.