Services
Eye Examinations
Key Benefits
- Comprehensive vision and eye health testing
- Pediatric and Geriatric care
- Medical Management of eye disease
- Laser vision consultation including post op care
- Computerized glaucoma testing
- Cataract evaluation and referral
The importance of Eye Exams
Remember, an eye exam is an essential part of your overall health routine.
A lot of people make the assumption that good vision means healthy eyes. Whether you have good vision or not, this is not always a good indication of when to have an eye exam. Vision and ocular health conditions are not always accompanied by obvious symptoms.
Through routine eye examinations your eyecare practitioner can detect early stages of such diseases as diabetes, high blood pressure, glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal problems. Your eyes change over time. Some of these changes may be quite noticeable while others can go unnoticed. Your optometrist will review your personal health and family health history and will then conduct various tests to check the status of your eyes. Remember, an eye exam is an essential part of your overall health routine. Regular visits help to ensure a lifetime of clear vision and healthy eyes.
Here is what you can expect during your eye exam:
Your optometrist will review your personal health and family health history, any visual problems that you are experiencing, current medications, as well as specific visual demands of your occupation and hobbies.
Using a Snellen letter chart (or picture chart for children), your optometrist will assess your ability to see small detail clearly at both near and far distances.
This sophisticated computerized instrument allows us to capture an image of your retina and accurately establish a baseline of your eyes to detect small gradual changes that will allow us to see problems related to high blood pressure, diabetes, age changes, blood vessel problems, pigment changes, macular degeneration, tumours, optic nerve problems, and more. In the examination room, we will show you this photo right on the computer screen and discuss it with you. At each visit, we will compare photos from previous years to monitor any changes taking place in your eyes over time.
By using an instrument called a phoroptor, your optometrist can check for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, and advise if corrective eyewear is necessary.
Using a series of different tests, it is determined how well your eyes align or coordinate when working together and individually.
Your eyecare practitioner will use handheld targets or a visual field perimeter to measure how well you see objects that are not directly in front of you. This can help to detect such conditions as glaucoma, certain neurological problems, and diseases of the retina.
By shining a light in your eyes and watching the pupil's reaction, your optometrist can detect possible neurological problems..
Your optometrist will ask you to describe figures in a series of illustrations made up of numerous coloured dots or circles. This tests your ability to differentiate colours.
This is part of the examination that checks the health of the internal and external structures of the eye. An instrument called a slit-lamp is used to assess the health of the external structures of the eye. Your optometrist will use an instrument called an ophthalmoscope to see the retina and optic nerve at the back of the eye. This is where clues to many diseases specific to the eye, as well as to the entire body such as diabetes and hypertension, first appear. Special drops are often used to dilate your pupils to allow a better view of the back of the eyes.
As a reminder Alberta Health Care still covers the fees for examinations on children under 19 years and seniors over 65 years.
Deer Valley Vision Center accepts Alberta Health Care, Alberta Blue Cross and Great West Life insurance plans and, as part of our service, helps you maximize your insurance benefits. We can do this while you are in the office. We’ll go to your insurance company’s website to check eligibility for you and help fill out any paperwork required. In most cases, all you have to do is supply your information. It's really that simple