Eye Exams

Your Comprehensive Eye Exam

A comprehensive eye exam from the EYEWEARHAUS in St. Louis consists of a number of tests and procedures to evaluate both the health of your eyes and the quality of your vision. Common tests you should expect in your eye exam include reading from the eye chart, as well as using a high-powered lens to examine the health of your eye tissues.

Why Are Eye Exams Important?

Regardless of your age or physical health, it is important to have regular eye exams. During a complete eye exam, your eye doctor will not only determine your prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses, but will also check your eyes for common eye diseases, assess how your eyes work together as a team, and evaluate your eyes as an indicator of your overall health.

Who Needs to Have an Eye Exam?

Everyone, from young to old should have regular eye exams as an important part of their overall health maintenance. Annual eye exams are important for adults both to keep their prescriptions current and to check for the early signs of many frequent eye diseases.

In addition, regular eye exams for children are important for the normal development process and academic achievement. Studies have shown that vision is closely linked to the learning process for children. Children who encounter vision problems often tend to have trouble with schoolwork, and because many children do not realize what “normal” vision looks like, they may not complain of vision problems. If your child is experiencing difficulty learning in school, it is important to schedule an eye exam to eliminate the possibility of any visual causes.

For What is the Eye Doctor Looking During an Eye Exam?

During your eye exam at the EYEWEARHAUS, the doctor will check for nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism. In addition, the doctor will also check your eyes for eye diseases and other problems that could lead to vision loss in the future. The following are some common eye problems for which the eye doctor will be checking during an exam:

• Amblyopia: When the eyes are misaligned or when one eye has a much different prescription than the other, the brain may “shut off” the image from the blurry eye. This can stunt visual development in the affected eye if left untreated.
• Strabismus: This condition is defined as crossed or turned eyes, which can lead to amblyopia. During an eye exam, the eye doctor will check your eye’s alignment to confirm they are working together.
• Eye Diseases: Many common eye diseases have no obvious symptoms in the early stages including glaucoma and diabetic eye disease. The eye doctor checks for early signs of these and other common eye diseases during an eye exam. Early treatment of these diseases can help reduce the risk of permanent vision loss.
• Other Diseases: Several common diseases can exhibit early signs in the blood vessels and retina of your eyes. An eye exam can detect early signs of some overall health problems including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or other problems.