Here's how to find out the most accurate eye minus or not

Eye health is one of the important things that you must take care of. To ensure that your vision is always normal and functioning properly, it's a good idea to have regular eye exams.

When should I have an eye exam?

When you start to feel something is wrong with your vision, the only way is to check with an eye doctor to find out the health condition of your eyes.

The symptoms that often appear in the eye are so extensive that the only accurate way to find out what the problem is is to undergo a comprehensive examination test or a thorough examination to an ophthalmologist.

Here are some common symptoms that can indicate that your eye is starting to have problems:

• Blurry or blurry eyes
• It's hard to see at night
• Difficult to get used to vision from dark to light conditions
• Blurry eyes when looking at a computer screen
• Eyestrain
• Persistent dizziness
• Shadowed vision
• Wavy vision
• See a halo
• Sore eyes
• There is pressure on the eye

The symptoms above could indicate a disturbance in your vision, ranging from minus (myopia), plus (hypermetropy), cylinder (astigmatism) eyes, to more serious eye problems such as cataracts and glaucoma.

Having no symptoms, you should check your eyes regularly

As it turns out, a comprehensive eye test is not only done when you already experience symptoms. The reason is, some eye health problems may already exist, but you haven't felt any symptoms.

Therefore, regardless of the presence of symptoms or not, it is highly recommended to undergo regular eye health checks. According to the Mayo Clinic, here's when to get an eye exam based on your age:

• Toddlers: before 3 years of age, and 3-5 years of age for follow-up examinations
• Children and adolescents: before entering grade 1 SD, and once every 1-2 years for routine checks
• Ages 20-30: once every 5-10 years
• Age 40-54: once every 2-4 years
• Age 55-64: once every 1-3 years
• Age 65 years and over: once every 1-2 years

Routine eye exams are also mandatory if you have any of the risk factors below, even if you don't feel any of the following serious visual disturbances:

• Wearing glasses or contact lenses
• There is a history of eye disease or vision loss in your family
• Suffering from chronic diseases that are at risk of triggering eye problems, such as diabetes
• Take drugs that have the risk of causing side effects in the eyes

The medical personnel behind the eye exam

Generally, there are 3 different types of medical personnel handling eye exam tests. Here's the explanation:

Ophthalmology

An ophthalmologist is the name for an ophthalmologist. At this level, specialist doctors are able to provide comprehensive eye care and management, starting from a complete eye examination, prescribing eyeglass lenses, diagnosing and treating serious eye diseases, and performing eye surgery.

Optometric

Optometrist is a term for experts in the field of optometry, such as eye examinations, prescribing eyeglass lenses, and diagnosing more common eye diseases. If you have a more serious eye problem or need eye surgery, the optometrist will refer you to an ophthalmologist.

Optimist

Opticians or optometrists play a role in the process of making glasses or preparing contact lenses with a prescription given by an ophthalmologist. Unlike the experts already mentioned, opticians cannot perform eye examinations or diagnoses.

What are the different types of eye exams?

Before undergoing an eye exam, the doctor will first ask about your medical history and family, the medications you are currently taking, and the glasses or contact lenses you are currently wearing. After that, you will undergo a series of examinations that usually take about 45-90 minutes.

Eye tests generally won't cause any discomfort or pain. In certain types of tests, you may be given an anesthetic, so you don't feel the equipment the doctor uses for the examination.

Here are some of the most common types of eye tests:

1. Physical examination of the eye

This is the most basic examination to find out what complaints or symptoms are in your eye. The doctor will perform an examination using slit lamp or a microscope light.

With this tool, the doctor can clearly check the front of your eye, starting from the lids, lashes, cornea, iris, sclera, and the lens of your eye.

Now, if the deeper part of the eye needs to be examined, the doctor will perform an ophthalmoscopy or funduscopy, which is an examination of the retina of your eye. With an ophthalmoscope, the doctor can see the retina of the eye, the nerve center of the eye, and the choroid (the lining of the blood vessels in the retina).

Usually, the doctor will administer eye drops before the ophthalmoscopy process. These drops work to enlarge the pupil of your eye.

2. Visual acuity test

A visual acuity test or eye refraction is done to check the acuity of your eyes in seeing. This test is also called an eye vision test or more commonly known as a minus eye test.

Generally, visual disturbances such as minus and plus eyes can be detected by this test. Your doctor or medical team will check your visual acuity using a Snellen or Snellen card chart . The card consists of letters and numbers of various sizes. This minus eye test is widely available in various eye clinics and optical supply stores.

Usually, with an eye test using a Snellen card and special glasses, the doctor can determine whether your eye is minus or not. After doing this eye test, the doctor will then prescribe glasses or contact lenses according to your needs.

3. Eye muscle movement test

This test is usually done to check the muscles that control the movement of your eyeball. In this test, the doctor will check eye movements with a pen or small flashlight, then see how your eyes follow the object.

Through this examination, the doctor can find out if there is a condition of muscle weakness or poor muscle coordination in your eyes.

4. Field inspection

The field of view or perimetry test aims to find out how wide your line of sight is, without the need to move the eyeball. By doing this test, you can find out if any side of your eye is experiencing visual impairment.

This test is usually done when the doctor asks you to close one eye and you have to focus on looking at one point. After that, the doctor will move the object or hand to various sides. You should tell your doctor if you notice any movement of his hand. During the exam, you are not allowed to move your head or eyeballs.

5. Color blindness test

Sometimes, a person does not realize that he has color blindness. Therefore, this test is needed to find out whether you can see a certain color or not.

There are various types of color blindness test, but the most common is the Ishihara test, which uses an image consisting of dots of various colors. In this test, the doctor will ask you to read a number or a picture between the dots of color.

6. Test eye pressure examination

This test, called tonometry, measures the pressure on your eyeball. Usually, this test is done as part of the examination for glaucoma. Tonometry can be done in 2 ways, namely applied and non-contact tonometry.

In the application method, the doctor uses a device called a tonometer that will gently touch the surface of your cornea. You will not feel pain because usually you are given an anesthetic first.

Meanwhile, the non-contact method is carried out by giving a breath of air to measure the pressure in the eye. This type of tonometry test does not require any tools to touch the eye, so you do not need to be given an anesthetic.

So, there are various types of examinations to check the health of your eyes. Make sure you check your eyes regularly to prevent unwanted eye disorders or diseases.