Last week I experienced another first in my life – My First Eye Exam. After a much prolonged and postponed appointment, I got to visit the eye doctor. I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about this new experience – Feelings of fear, turbulence, self-pity and also of course a shred of excitement but as always I plucked some courage and got down to it. Recently I was finding difficulty reading very fine print and reading messages on my mobile in the dark.
Courtesy of Vision Opticians, I visited the Fgura outlet to meet Mr Danny Theron who checked my eyes and made this experience very pleasant! I did take this event very seriously, I and although I’m smiling in the photos I was very focused and taking notes to learn and to share the knowledge with you especially for people who have never had an eye test before like me.
Several tests were performed during the eye exam. These tests were designed to check my vision and to examine the appearance and function of all parts of my eyes.
We began with a history, with Mr Theron asking about my health in general and my lifestyle and if I was on any medication. Then he measured the pupillary distance as this is important for lens centration.
We then checked my distance prescription and then my near prescription (for ‘old’ eyes or short arm syndrome). I am a little far sighted, meaning I have hyperopia on the right eye and I am Astigmatic on the left. I also have presbyopia. This is the fading near vision because of natural aging. It is common for persons of 40 years plus.
Visual acuity test
This test measures how clearly you see. Mr Theron asked me to identify different letters of the alphabet printed on a chart and also on a screen positioned some few metres away. The lines of type got smaller as I moved down the chart which was held at reading distance. Each eye was tested separately, using a card with letters similar to the distant eye.
Eye muscle test
This test evaluates the muscles that control eye movement. Mr Thoron watched my eye movements as I followed a moving pen with my eyes. Here he was looking for muscle weakness, poor control or poor coordination. All was fine here.
Refraction assessment
Light waves are bent as they pass through our cornea and lens. If light rays don’t focus perfectly on the back of your eye, you would have a “refractive error.” Having a refractive error may mean you need some form of correction, such as glasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery, to see as clearly as possible. Assessment of your refractive error helps your doctor determine a lens prescription that will give you the sharpest, most comfortable vision. The assessment may also determine that you don’t need corrective lenses.
Your doctor may use a computerised refractor to estimate your prescription for glasses or contact lenses. technique called retinoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor shines a light into your eye and measures the refractive error by evaluating the movement of the light reflected by your retina back through your pupil.
My eye doctor fine-tuned this refraction assessment by having me look through a mask-like device that contains wheels of different lenses (phoropter) and with it he asked me to judge which combination of lenses gave me the sharpest vision.
Retinal examination
Indirect ophthalmoscopy
A retinal examination — sometimes called ophthalmoscopy or funduscopy — allows your doctor to evaluate the back of your eye, including the retina, the optic disk and the underlying layer of blood vessels that nourish the retina (choroid). Usually before your doctor can see these structures, your pupils must be dilated with eyedrops that keep the pupil from getting smaller when your doctor shines light into the eye.
After administering eyedrops and giving them time to work, your eye doctor may use one or more of these techniques to view the back of your eye:
•Direct exam. Your eye doctor uses an ophthalmoscope to shine a beam of light through your pupil to see the back of the eye. Sometimes eyedrops aren’t necessary to dilate your eyes before this exam.
•Indirect exam. During this exam, you might lie down, recline in a chair or sit up. Your eye doctor examines the inside of the eye with the aid of a condensing lens and a bright light mounted on his or her forehead. This exam lets your doctor see the retina and other structures inside your eye in great detail and in three dimensions.
All was good in my case. The doctor ensured that my intra ocular pressures were checked. (This is a test for glaucoma) and all was OK in my case.
Discussion of Lens Types
Following that we discussed lens types and what would suit my visual needs in work and everyday tasks. Progressive lenses and reading lenses were discussed and I decided on going for reading lenses. Mr Thoron suggested an anti-reflective coating to cut down on the unwanted reflections from overhead lights and the computer and phone screens. The DuraVision Platinum coating by Zeiss optical was suggested because of the superior properties.
Frame Choice
Then came the part I was obviously looking forward to the most. When life sends you lemons, you make awesome lemon juice right? So I thought I would enjoy the fashion aspect of this new chapter in my life and go for a couple of trendy frames to get started and to wear as another gorgeous accessory. At Vision Opticians there are hundreds of frames to choose from, ones to suit every face shape, every budget in any colour scheme you ever dream about. My eyes kept darting at the designer frames!! Dolce e Gabbana, Versace , Prada and Miu Miu sections so I ended up trying all the ones I liked as you can see here in the pictures and I ended up choosing not 1 but 2 pairs…To see which ones, you will have to wait in one of my upcoming posts!!!
I would like to thank Mr Danny Theron and to the team at Vision Opticians for this Eye Exam. I highly recommend their services and if you need your eyes checked, well every time is a good time to do it!
Xxx
Grazielle
I was wearing:
Clothing: River Island @ The Point
Bag: River Island @ The Point
Makeup: Daniela Ebejer @ Melita Health & Beauty
Photography: Ron Kerr Imagery
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