Both children and adults need routine eye exams even without complaints. This is important even if you believe you have good eyesight so that you can protect what you have and detect potential trouble before it occurs. 

Children usually get their eyes and vision checked during routine visits with their pediatrician. The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends children have their eyes examined at 6 months old, three years old, at the start of school, and every two years until age 18. Child screenings can oftentimes miss binocularity disorders and do not address the whole visual system so it is paramount to get children an eye exam as many of these can be corrected if early intervention is undertaken. Here at Integrative Vision we start eye exams at age 5. 

It is beneficial for adults to make the effort to get evaluated more regularly. Reasons to schedule more frequent exams than annual include, but are not limited to: 

Family history of any eye problems (macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy), especially if they are early onset 

Personal history of risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, neurologic disorders 

Occupational hazards or exposures

Digital eyestrain and headaches

Some medications

We recommend annual eye examinations to detect problems early and halt/slow progression.
In addition to conditions we often detect are glaucoma, dry eye, macular degeneration, cataracts, and diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy. In fact, some serious medical conditions are first detected during an eye exam such as high blood pressure and diabetes. The sooner we discover these problems, the easier treating them will be. Early detection also gives us the best chance of slowing or reversing any symptoms, including vision loss.

During an examination, especially if it is your first visit, we go over your history. We also discuss your daily life and any problems you may be having. We will also discuss any medications you are on before we start the examination. Our doctor will perform a thorough examination of your eyes, eyelids, and inner eyes, using magnification and light with photography. 

Visual acuity to assess the sharpness of your vision 

Visual fields test to check for blind spots in your vision 

Retinoscopy to estimate your eyeglass prescription 

Refraction to determine your exact eyeglass prescription 

Slit lamp to check for common eye diseases and conditions 

Retinal photo screenings to test for the health of the back of the eye 

Tonometry to test for glaucoma

Ophthalmoscopy to examine the optic nerve, retina, and blood vessels and retinal tissues