Routine And Comprehensive Eye Exams: What's The Difference?

Healthy eyes are important for us to see clearly and maintain an active life. Eye doctors, like ophthalmologists, perform eye exams to diagnose and treat eye conditions and diseases. Ophthalmologists also prescribe glasses, fit eyewear, and perform eye surgery.

When patients have issues with their vision or eyes, ophthalmologists help by routine or comprehensive eye exams. There is a difference between the two types of exams.

Routine Eye Exam

A routine eye exam is a vision screening to assess your vision. This exam involves a few tests to help the eye doctor determine if a patient requires prescription glasses or an updated prescription for those who already have glasses.

Some tests patients can expect during a routine exam include:

• Visual acuity test
• Refraction test
• Glaucoma test

A routine exam takes less than 30 minutes to complete. The doctor asks about general health during the exam to decide if a more comprehensive eye exam is necessary.

Comprehensive Eye Exam

The comprehensive eye exam includes tests for a complete eye health evaluation along with the vision. The tests done can vary by the ophthalmologist eye care office doing the exam, but there are several tests commonly done during the visit.

The doctor asks about your health history. This allows the ophthalmologist to determine if you have any conditions requiring close monitoring. This history includes questions about family history and environmental factors that can affect your overall eye health.

Like the routine exams, the doctor will do a visual acuity and refraction test, but other tests are also done that allow the ophthalmologist to better assess your eye health.

• Retinoscopy
• Eye focusing
• Slit-lamp tests
• Tonometry
• Pupil dilation

A comprehensive exam takes longer than a routine exam. The pupil dilation drops take up to 30 minutes to work, so expect the exam to last up to an hour.

Both routine and comprehensive eye exams are important to a person's overall general health and maintenance. It's important to schedule these tests as advised by your ophthalmologist.

There are conditions eye doctors can "see" during a comprehensive exam. Diabetes and high blood pressure are two conditions that a person may not know they have that may be discovered during a comprehensive eye exam.  

Other health problems detected during eye comprehensive eye exams include:

• High cholesterol
• Certain types of cancer
• Autoimmune diseases

Your eyes are a complex organ and regular exams with an ophthalmologist can help keep your eyes healthy and detect other health issues.

For more information, contact an ophthalmology eye care center in your area.