Our eyesight is often thought to be the sense that we rely upon the most and even just a slight problem with the health of our eyes can have a significant impact on the way in which they work. Unfortunately, there are lots of different problems that can affect them, from mild temporary conditions to serious, chronic problems that lead to permanent vision loss if they aren’t detected or treated early on.

Comprehensive eye exams are the best way of protecting your current and future vision, and we are delighted to offer this service here at our El Paso eye care offices.

What Diseases can be Detected During a Comprehensive Eye Exam?

Comprehensive eye exams can be used to detect a range of ocular and even general health diseases and chronic conditions. These include:

• Glaucoma

• Macular degeneration

• Cataracts

• Blepharitis

• Diabetic retinopathy

• Cancers of the eye

• Keratoconus

• Strabismus

• Pterygium

• Color blindness

• Uveitis

• Corneal abrasions

• High blood pressure

• Diabetes

• Stroke

• Thyroid disorders

• Arthritis

• Multiple sclerosis

• Sickle cell disease

We will carefully screen for signs of these conditions during your comprehensive eye exam.

What is a Comprehensive Eye Exam?

Contrary to what many people believe, a comprehensive eye exam is much more than a simple assessment to see how clear and concise your vision is. A comprehensive eye exam is a thorough evaluation of the health of your eyes and includes screening for specific eye diseases that you may be at an increased risk of developing. Some of the key components of a comprehensive eye exam include the following:

Visual acuity testing

This is the part of an eye exam that most people are familiar with and involves reading a series of letters off of a board or screen, both at a distance and close to your face. This test is carried out to determine how well you can see at different distances, which will then tell us whether you have a refractive eye condition and would benefit from prescription lenses. Myopia (nearsightedness) is the most common refractive eye error and this means that patients can see books and other close objects clearly, but those further away appear blurred. However, some patients are found to be long-sighted where the opposite is true.

Visual field test

Peripheral (side) vision is something that can be affected in several different eye diseases. Visual field testing checks to see how good your peripheral vision is.

Cover testing

As the name suggests, this test involves covering one of your eyes at a time to see how well your eyes work together. This is important as some conditions, including strabismus and binocular vision dysfunction (BVD) occur when the eyes are not working in perfect synchronization and alignment.

IOP testing

IOP stands for intraocular pressure. This is the amount of pressure present in your eye. Some eye diseases, such as glaucoma, occur when there is too much pressure in the eyes, and it is causes damage to the optic nerve.

Slit-lamp examination

Our team will want to examine each of the structures inside and outside your eyes to check that they are as healthy as possible. One of the best ways to do this is with a slit lamp, which enables us to look inside the eyeball at areas like the retina and optic nerve. We can then evaluate them to determine if they are healthy or if there is anything that is a cause for concern.

If you are ready to schedule your comprehensive eye exam with our expert team, please contact El Paso EyeCare in El Paso, TX today by calling (915) 800-7991.