Medical Eye Exams Specialist

What is the difference between a routine eye exam and a medical eye exam?

Routine eye exams are performed on a regular basis to assess overall eye health and vision every one to three years in adults and children. These exams ensure patients are seeing clearly and do not have special vision needs or other issues that need to be further evaluated or treated. Routine eye exams are akin to the routine annual physical exams performed by family doctors and used to assess the general health of the rest of the body. A medical eye exam is used to evaluate eye diseases and vision disorders, including assessing existing and previously-diagnosed issues, and determining if an undiagnosed issue is present based on the specific symptoms of the patient.

What happens during a medical eye exam?

A medical eye exam will often include the same type of exams used in a routine eye exam.  In addition, a medical eye exam will also include additional testing to evaluate existing issues or to determine the cause of symptoms, like eye pain, problems affecting the visual field including central and peripheral vision, excessive numbers of floaters, or other vision-related problems. A dilated exam may also be performed using special drops to widen the pupil so the retina, optic nerve, and other internal structures can be assessed, and a special staining agent may be used to evaluate the tear film in the eye. Other evaluations may also be performed depending on the symptoms the patient has, the age or medical history of the patient, and other factors.

What kinds of eye diseases can a medical exam help diagnose and manage?

Eye doctors are skilled in an array of medical eye exam assessments to evaluate diseases like glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, macular dystrophy, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, eye infections, corneal ulcers and tears, traumatic damage, dry eye and more. Plus, they can identify risk factors and subtle signs that indicate a disease in its earliest stages.