Everything You Need to Know About Eye Exams

What is a Regular Eye Exam?

A regular eye exam is an important part of overall health care, helping to check and assess the condition of your eyes even when there are no abnormal signs. This check-up not only helps detect vision problems early but can also identify dangerous conditions such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or macular degeneration before they cause serious effects.

Many people still believe that only when their eyes have problems such as blurred vision, tearing, or pain do they need to see an eye doctor. However, in reality, many eye diseases develop silently without obvious symptoms. By the time patients notice vision loss, the condition has become serious and treatment will be much more complicated. Therefore, regular eye exams not only help protect vision but also contribute to improving quality of life.

Why Should You Have Regular Eye Exams?

Regular eye exams offer many important benefits for your eye health and quality of life. Here are some key benefits:

Early Detection of Eye Diseases:

Eye diseases often have no obvious symptoms in the early stages. Regular eye exams help detect diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy early.
Early detection increases the chance of successful treatment and prevents serious complications, even blindness.

Checking and Correcting Vision:

Regular eye exams help check vision and detect refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
Helps you get the right glasses or contact lenses, ensuring the best vision.
Especially important for children, helping to detect and correct vision problems early, avoiding impact on learning and development.

Assessing Overall Health:

The eyes can reflect the overall health of the body. Regular eye exams can help detect diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and thyroid disease.
Helps you take timely preventive and treatment measures for other diseases.

Protecting Eyes from Harmful Factors:

Doctors can advise you on how to protect your eyes from harmful factors such as blue light from electronic devices, UV rays from sunlight, and dust.
Helps you maintain healthy eyes and reduce the risk of eye diseases.

What happens during an eye exam?

An eye exam is not simply a vision check but includes a series of in-depth evaluation steps to ensure the eyes are comprehensively monitored.

Medical History: The doctor will start by asking you about your medical history, current eye condition, medications you are taking, and family history related to eye diseases.
Visual Acuity Test: You will read letters or numbers from an eye chart to determine your level of clear vision at different distances. This test helps assess vision and decide if you need glasses.
Refraction Measurement: If your vision is not satisfactory, the doctor will perform a refraction test to determine the exact lens power, helping to correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.
Eye Movement and Alignment Test: The doctor checks the coordination and movement of your eyes to detect problems such as strabismus (crossed eyes) or amblyopia (lazy eye).
Anterior Segment Examination: The doctor uses a slit lamp to examine the front structures of the eye such as the cornea, iris, and lens, helping to detect conditions such as cataracts, corneal abrasions, or conjunctivitis.
Retinal Examination: In some cases, the doctor may instill eye drops to dilate the pupils and examine the fundus. This helps detect conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, or diabetic retinopathy.
Tonometry: Checks the pressure inside the eye to detect glaucoma, a condition that can damage the optic nerve.
Color Vision Test (If Necessary): Assesses your ability to distinguish colors and detects problems such as color blindness.
Prescribing Glasses or Medication: After completing the examination, the doctor will prescribe glasses or medication, and provide necessary medical advice.
In-depth examinations with experienced European ophthalmologists.

Who Needs to Pay Special Attention to Eye Health and Have More Frequent Eye Exams?

Not everyone needs the same regular eye exam schedule. There are certain groups who need to pay more attention to their eye health and have more frequent eye exams than normal people. First, the elderly, especially after 60, need to have regular eye exams to detect conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma early.

Diabetic patients also need to pay special attention, as they are at high risk of diabetic retinopathy, a dangerous complication that can lead to blindness. In addition, people with a family history of hereditary eye diseases should also have more frequent check-ups.

Children are no exception; regular eye exams help detect vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and amblyopia early, thereby taking timely intervention measures. In addition, people who regularly work with computers or in environments harmful to the eyes should also pay attention to regular eye exams.

How Often Should You Have an Eye Exam?

Regular eye exams help protect vision and detect eye problems early. The appropriate frequency of eye exams depends on age and health status:

Children

Under 5 years old: Eye exams should be included in each regular health check-up. If there are risks such as strabismus, amblyopia, or congenital nearsightedness, more frequent monitoring is needed.
6–17 years old: 1–2 exams/year. If the child has refractive errors, glasses should be measured every 6 months to adjust the appropriate power.

Adults

18–39 years old: If there are no eye problems, 2–4 years/exam. If there are refractive errors or a family history of eye diseases, annual exams are recommended.
40–64 years old: 1–2 years/exam, as vision changes a lot in this age group.
Over 65 years old: Annual exams, due to the increased risk of diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

People at high risk (need an eye exam once a year or as directed by the doctor)

Have diabetes, high blood pressure.
Have a family history of eye diseases.
Use contact lenses regularly.
Work in an environment exposed to blue light, dust, or chemicals.

When to see a doctor immediately?

If you experience any of the following abnormal signs, see a doctor immediately, without waiting for a regular exam:

Sudden blurred vision, double vision.
Eye pain, prolonged red eyes.
Temporary vision loss or rapid vision loss.

How to Choose a Reputable Eye Clinic for your eye check – 5 Important Criteria

Choosing a reputable eye clinic helps you ensure accurate diagnosis and receive the best care. Here are the important criteria you should consider:

Doctor’s Expertise

Degrees & certificates: Prioritize doctors with clear practicing certificates, specialized training in ophthalmology.
Experience: Doctors with many years of experience, especially in the field you are interested in (refractive errors, fundus diseases, refractive surgery…).
Reputation: Find out patient reviews through Google Reviews, Facebook, or ask for opinions from relatives.

Equipment & Facilities

Modern machines: A good clinic needs advanced equipment to measure refraction, check the retina, eye pressure… to help with accurate diagnosis.
Clean, professional environment: The clinic needs to ensure hygiene, creating a comfortable feeling for patients.

Service Quality & Professional Process

Professional service attitude, dedicated staff, clear answers to questions.
Fast examination process, without making patients wait long, with detailed instructions after the examination.
Post-examination consultation support, warranty for glasses if any.

Operating License & Reliability

The facility needs to have a legal operating license from the Department of Health.
Meets all standards for personnel, equipment, and quality of medical examination and treatment.

Patient Reviews & Expert Advice

Refer to actual reviews from patients on Google, health forums, or eye groups.
If you have a special condition, you should choose a specialized hospital or clinic with strengths in that field.

Where to Have an Eye Exam in Ho Chi Minh City?

If you are living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, the European Eye Center will be a worthy choice for you to consider. Our clinic provides in-depth eye care services, aiming to maintain sharp vision and optimal eye health. The team of experienced doctors designs personalized examination procedures, meeting the unique needs of each customer. Applying advanced diagnostic technology, the clinic is committed to accurate results and effective treatment regimens. Services span all ages, from young children to the elderly, ensuring attentive care for each individual.

Not only stopping at vision assessment, the clinic also focuses on early detection of abnormal signs of health through specialized ophthalmological tests. The friendly examination environment creates a comfortable and pleasant space, helping customers feel secure throughout the examination process.

Take the initiative to protect your “windows to the soul” today by scheduling an appointment at the European Eye Center. The clinic is proud to be a reliable companion on your journey to preserve your vision.

Expert Tips for Keeping Your Eyes Healthy

1. Proper Nutrition:

Vitamin A is essential for retinal health. You can supplement vitamin A through foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, animal liver, and dark green vegetables.
Increase lutein and zeaxanthin as these two substances help protect the macula. They are abundant in spinach, kale, and egg yolks.
Supplement omega-3 to help reduce the risk of dry eyes and macular degeneration. It is abundant in salmon, mackerel, and flaxseeds.
Drink enough water as water helps maintain moisture for the eyes, preventing dry eyes.

2. Protect Eyes from Blue Light:

Limit the use of phones, computers, and televisions, especially before bed.
Use blue light filtering glasses as these glasses help reduce the harmful effects of blue light on the eyes.
Adjust screen brightness to a level suitable for the surrounding environment.
Apply the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes of working with a computer, look 20 feet (about 6 meters) away for 20 seconds.

3. Protect Eyes from UV Rays:

Choose sunglasses with 100% UV protection when going outdoors in the sun.
Wear a wide-brimmed hat as a hat helps shield the eyes from sunlight.

4. Proper Eye Hygiene:

Wash hands thoroughly before touching your eyes.
Do not rub your eyes as rubbing can cause corneal abrasions and spread bacteria.
Use physiological saline to wash your eyes as physiological saline helps remove dirt and bacteria.

5. Regular Eye Exams:

Have an eye exam every 6 months, especially for people with eye conditions or a family history of eye disease.
See an eye doctor immediately if you have any abnormal signs such as blurred vision, eye pain, red eyes, or excessive tearing.

6. Other Notes:

Get enough sleep as sleep helps the eyes rest and recover.
Exercise regularly to improve blood circulation, which is good for eye health.
Do not smoke as smoking increases the risk of eye diseases.
Use protective glasses when working in hazardous environments such as welding, metal cutting, or working with chemicals.

Regular eye exams not only help protect vision but also support early detection of dangerous diseases. Maintain this habit to ensure your eyes are always in the best condition, contributing to improving your quality of life every day.