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Dilated Pupillary Exam
The doctor uses special drops to expand your eye’s pupil (they’ll call this dilate). That lets them check your retina for signs of disease.
Refraction
This is what the doctor uses to get your eyeglasses prescription. You look at a chart, usually 20 feet away, or in a mirror that makes things look like they’re 20 feet away. You’ll look through a tool called a phoropter. It lets the doctor move lenses of different strengths in front of your eyes. You can tell them if things look clear or blurry. Your answers give them your prescription for your glasses or contact lenses. The test will also help them spot presbyopia, hyperopia, myopia, and astigmatism.
Slit-Lamp Exam
The doctor uses this microscope to shine a beam of light shaped like a small slit on your eye. They may also dilate your pupils during the test. It can help diagnose cataracts, glaucoma, detached retina, macular degeneration, cornea injuries, and dry eye disease.
Non-Contact Tonometry
This test helps diagnose glaucoma. The doctor will use a tool called a tonometer that blows a tiny puff of air, measuring eye pressure indirectly by the eye’s resistance to the puff.
Applanation instruments can also measure pressure. They are the most accurate, but you’ll need local anesthetic.
Retinal Tomography
This computerized test can give a remarkably detailed image of the retina and all of its layers. You might get it if you have a serious retina condition, like age-related macular degeneration or retinal detachment.