Most of the time, we rely on our vision more than any of our other senses. We also often fall back on our vision to confirm exactly what our other senses are telling us. This makes it invaluable to our day to day lives. Unsurprisingly, this means that your eyes are something that you shouldn’t take for granted, and one of the best ways to make sure that you don’t is to attend regular comprehensive eye exams. Ideally, everyone should have a comprehensive eye exam at least every two years. If you haven’t had the health of your eyes or your vision checked in at least 18 months, our team would be delighted to help. We can offer comprehensive eye exams carried out by our skilled and experienced eye care associates here at our offices in West New York, NJ. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about what to expect from a comprehensive eye exam.
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Why are Comprehensive Eye Exams Important?

Many people think that eye exams are carried out with one goal – to check how clearly you can see and whether or not you need glasses or contact lenses to view the world around you more clearly. Whilst visual acuity most definitely forms part of a comprehensive eye exam, it is far from the only element that is evaluated.

In order for your eyes to function properly, you need them to be healthy. Unfortunately, there are a variety of conditions that can affect the health of your eyes. If you experience any of these, you could quickly find that your vision becomes compromised – sometimes permanently. Therefore, one of the key goals of a comprehensive eye exam is to make sure that your eyes are as healthy as possible.

Eye Diseases Detected During Routine Comprehensive Eye Exams

By regularly attending your comprehensive eye exams, we could potentially detect a variety of eye diseases, some of which can have permanent consequences for the health of your eyes and your vision. These include:

• Cataracts

• Glaucoma

• Macular degeneration

• Diabetic retinopathy

• Retinal detachment

• Dry eye disease

When we detect eye disease early in its development, we are much more likely to be able to treat it before it has a significant impact on your vision.

Eye health may be one of the most important elements of comprehensive eye exams, but it isn’t the only one. Other important reasons to attend your regularly scheduled eye exam appointments include:

• The detection of refractive eye errors means that you would benefit from glasses or contact lenses to correct your vision.

• Monitoring your visual prescription requirements and tracking changes, which could tell us if your eyesight is improving, stable or worsening.

• The detection of mild eye diseases that have unpleasant or debilitating symptoms such as dry eyes, binocular vision dysfunction (BVD) and more.
  
  

Elements of a Comprehensive Eye Exam

There are numerous different elements of a comprehensive eye exam. Not all patients will need every assessment and evaluation. In fact, most eye exams are tailored to your specific needs. However, some of the things that may happen during your appointment could include the following:

• A discussion about how you feel your vision is working for you currently, how your general health is (as this can impact your visual health) and asking you if you have any concerns about your eyesight or the health of your eyes.

• Initial evaluations. These include the standard health checks that are given to your eyes that will tell our knowledgeable team if there is a significant risk that the health of your eyes is or could soon be compromised. Some of the elements that we look at include the way in which your eyes move and work together, your color vision, how well your eyes respond to light, your depth perception and your peripheral vision.

• Visual acuity assessment. By far the most well-known aspect of an eye exam, this assessment looks at your ability to clearly identify different letters at different distances. This is the assessment that decides if you are near or far-sighted and if you need glasses or contact lenses. If you choose contact lenses, you will need an additional evaluation to determine which is the best type of contact lens for your needs.
  
  

If you would like more information about comprehensive eye exams, or if you would like to schedule an eye exam for yourself or a member of your family, please contact Dr. Romeu Eye Associates in West New York, NJ today.

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