Eye Check up and Dilation

A thorough, dilated eye examination helps doctor get a clear view of the inside of the eye. To facilitate this, doctor first administers you with numbing eye drops, puts two other dilating eye drops to enlarge your pupils and then closely examines all part of your eyes. If he sees any untoward changes that suggest your optic nerve, retina or blood vessels to be other than normal, he signals caution.

What exactly happens during eye dilation and how do I feel later?
The effects of the dilating drops remain with you for 3-4 hours, depending upon the strength of the eye drops that were used. The exact time would differ, depending upon your visual makeup. Light-eyed people (like blue, green, light grey or hazel) display a greater sensitivity to dilating drops and generally get prepped up faster compared to people who have dark-hued eyes (like different shades from brown to near black).

Your dilated pupils will take time to shrink back to their original size, and thus you will struggle to focus on the nearby objects. In addition, you will also experience difficulty in doing near-vision tasks, such as reading, sewing, and knitting.

Why is a dilated eye exam necessary?
The National Eye Institute recommends that every person over the age of 60 along with people suffering from conditions like diabetes, where visual health is vulnerable, should get a thorough dilated eye examination conducted on an annual basis. And if you do not fit into either of these categories but are still experiencing some problems with your eyes - like watering, redness, swelling, poor vision, and ache - then also you should visit an eye care professional without fail.

Your visual health, apart from itself, is also a valuable indicator to a host of other health problems that include high blood pressure, diabetes and chronic kidney disease among others.

What are the precautions that you need to take before, during and after such an exam?
First and the most important thing is if you wear lenses, do not wear them for at least 48 hours before an eye dilation exam. If you can skip lenses for about a week and use spectacles instead, that would be better.

During and after dilated eye examination, you may face two problems: heightened sensitivity to light due to widened pupils and poor near vision due to temporary loss of near focus. To take care of the former, you should carry along dark sunglasses and wear them immediately after the completion of eye check-up. If you encounter blurry vision for an uncertain length of time here are some things that you can do:
- Ask someone to drive you home.
- Sleep for a while instead of indulging in activities like watching television, reading a book, surfing the Web, or chatting. more