- Our Doctors
- Patient Resources
- Order Contact Lenses
- Request Appointment
- Online Registration
To maintain good vision and to keep your eyes healthy, it is important to have routine eye exams. For those with stable vision and without any eye disease having routine eye exams every two years is important. At this exam your eyes will be dilated so the doctor can see into your retina, your vision will be checked and you will be screened for eye diseases or disorders. If further testing is required a more comprehensive exam and possible testing will be scheduled.
If you experience any changes in your vision between regularly scheduled visits with your eye specialist, you should schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Early detection of problems and treatment of problems can be the key to preventing loss of vision.
Preparing for Your Eye Exam
When a person calls to make an eye appointment, he or she should be prepared to describe any current vision problems. In addition, patients should ask if the eye examination will affect their vision temporarily and if they will need someone to drive them home. They may also want to ask about the cost of the exam, if their insurance plan will cover any of the cost, and how payment is handled. Before going to the appointment, patients should gather the following information to help answer questions the eye care professional may ask:
Patients should also take the following items with them to their eye appointment:
Signs that You May Need an Eye Exam:
The following symptoms are indications of serious medical problems that require immediate attention:
Routine Eye ExamsSt Charles and Elgin, Illinois.:
Visual acuity tests measure the smallest object each eye can see at a certain distance. Normally, each eye will be done individually by covering one eye at a time. It may be necessary to tape a patch over a child's eye to keep him from peeking. The use of the Snellen chart is the most common way to test visual acuity. This chart letters and numbers that decrease in size. When taking the test, the distance between the patient and the chart is 20 feet.
20/20 vision is normal. If a person has 20/40 vision, they see at twenty feet what a normal eye sees at forty feet. If a person has 20/200 vision, they are legally blind. They only see at twenty feet what a normal eye sees at two hundred feet. If they have 20/15 vision, they see better than normal. They see at twenty feet what the normal eye would have to bring in to fifteen feet to see.
For children that do not know letters and numbers, they can be tested with the Tumbling E chart. To take this test, the child points his/her finger in the same direction as the E is pointing. Children who are younger than four may have trouble with this test so there are several different test used to obtain a child's accurate visual acuity.
Comprehensive eye exams for adults include the following: