7 Eye Exam Tips for Better Vision, Glasses and Overall Experience - YouTube

in this video i'm going to be  sharing with you seven eye exam  

tips and whether you are preparing for  your first ever eye exam or your 90th  

these tips should help you have a better  experience visiting your eye doctor  

and maybe even help you get a more accurate  glasses prescription let's take a look.  

hey what's up everyone dr allen here from the dr  eye health show helping you learn all about the  

eyes vision finding the best vision products tip  number one is try to relax and not stress about  

it i know some people get really worked up about  their vision test they don't want to get things  

wrong and end up with a high glasses prescription  but if you try to squint during the exam or try  

to lean forward and sort of cheat then you're  really just making things harder for yourself  

think of it if you squint while doing an eye  exam there's a good chance you're going to end  

up squinting with your glasses i went to school  for eight years plus residency fellowship and  

board certification so trust us we know what  we're doing tip number two is on that same  

note try not to stress out about the refraction  also known as the better one or two tests that's  

where you look through this device and we ask you  if something looks better one or better two one

two just pick one whichever is clearer to you  if you happen to have a tie that's good in fact  

that's great because that means the lenses you're  looking through are just about perfect for your  

glasses prescription and an extra pro tip is  that if you're somebody who's very perceptive  

and you notice suddenly the letters  look smaller and darker with each lens  

let whoever is doing the refraction know that  you're seeing that because that could mean they're  

giving you too much power and sometimes you don't  want more power in your glasses in fact a lot of  

people need less so keep an eye out for that one  let's go on to tip number three and that's to try  

not to hold your breath or tense up during the  eye pressure check your doctor is going to need  

to check your eye pressure to make sure you don't  get glaucoma a potentially blinding eye disease  

and whether your doctor is checking that with the  Goldman tonometer which is the cool blue light I  

have here or the eye care tonometer my personal  favorite or using the ever famous air puff test  

if you are to hold your breath and tense up  during this check it may artificially spike  

your eye pressure and your doctor is then  going to want to do it again to verify it  

and nobody really likes having this test  done so if you can get done on the first try  

that's the best tip number four is to bring along  copies of any vision benefit cards as well as your  

medical insurance because many medical insurance  plans cover eye examination services and you may  

be able to charge the exam portion to your health  insurance leaving more benefits to use towards  

contacts glasses and sunglasses etc tip number  five is that along with your insurance information  

bring along a list of any and all medications that  you may take as a lot of medications can affect  

the eyes causing blurred vision dry eyes and even  some medications can cause corneal and retinal  

damage so it's going to be important for your eye  doctor to know what you're taking but having an  

updated list whether it's on a piece of paper or  on a note on your smartphone that's going to help  

you out for any medical examination tip number six  just to make your exam go easier and smoother if  

you already have prescription eyeglasses bring in  your old prescriptions with you same thing for any  

contact lens boxes or a copy of your contact lens  prescription this helps us know what you've been  

wearing in the past so we can compare and tell if  things have changed or even if they maybe need to  

change or just stay the same oh and if you plan to  get contact lenses updated you don't necessarily  

have to wear your contact lenses into the exam  but at least try to bring some in with you so  

that if you do want to get them updated we can put  them on your eye and see what you've been wearing  

and do the thorough evaluation it'll just make  things go a lot smoother and save both of us time  

tip number seven now my final and in my opinion  probably the most important tip i can give anybody  

is that when you have your eye exam expect  and prepare that your eye doctor is going to  

dilate your eyes that means your doctor is going  to put an eye drop into your eye that's going to  

cause your pupil to get really big and whether  your doctor recommends this every year or every  

other year this is so so very important because  it allows your doctor to better see inside of your  

eye and detect different eye diseases and systemic  diseases that can show themselves in the back of  

the eye because it's not just about getting you  the best eyeglasses or contact lens prescription  

it's about making sure that your whole body and  your eyes are staying healthy because we certainly  

don't want you to go blind or anything like that  and unfortunately most blinding eye diseases don't  

really present themselves until it's too late so  catching it early is always the best option hey  

if this video helped you out smash the like button  for us and let us know in the comments which one  

of these tips is your favorite otherwise help us  out by sharing this with friends and family so  

that they can all have better eye exams as well  and hey if you are a glasses wearer yourself and  

you haven't seen our glasses tips tricks and  hacks video go and click the screen right over  

here so you can check that out otherwise  keep an eye on it see you in the next one