Understanding Your Eye Exam: What to Expect & Why It Matters

An eye exam is administered as part of your annual checkup. A comprehensive ophthalmic exam tests the strength of your eyesight and allows the optometrist to check the health of your eyes. The optometrist checks for the prevalence of glaucoma and the normal functioning of the optic nerve. There's no "passing" or "failing" an eye exam, and it's in a person's best interest to be honest during the exam. Do not fear the eye exam, as it is there to help you and ensure the health of your eyes.

Instructions

• 1

  Disclose all information to your optometrist. Tell your optometrist if you wear contacts or glasses and the corresponding prescription strength of your corrective devices. Inform your optometrist about your family history of eye problems. This information will aid your optometrist in the health assessment of your eyes and allow the doctor to correctly administer the test. If you do not know the strength of your corrective glasses, bring them to the eye appointment.

• 2

  Remove all eye wear and contact lenses. Your optometrist will ask you to remove these items for the exam. Do not try to leave in contact lenses in hopes of scoring higher in the eye exam. An optometrist will detect them and promptly ask for them to be removed.

• 3

  Respond honestly to the questions and prompts given by your optometrist. You will be asked to identity an array of shapes, letters and numbers of different sizes. Answer your doctor's inquiries and questions as best as you can. Let your doctor know if you experience eye discomfort during the eye test.