Focus on the 12 Point Eye Exam

on the 12 Point Eye Exam

Our FOCUS on Vision Health Program begins with a Complete Vision assessment and a 12-Point Eye Health Examination. We use this initial assessment to tailor our vision help program to address your individual vision and eye health needs.

• Your continuing Vision Health Program may include additional testing, medications, glasses, contact lenses, specific nutrition, and cooperative care with other eye specialists.
• An important part of our Vision Health Program is making sure you fully understand your health and vision status and any lenses or treatment program that Dr. Berman and Dr. Esperon prescribe to address your visual needs. We, along with our well-trained staff, will do our best to fully educate you and answer any questions that you might have.
• We will do our best to maximize your Vision Health Program using your vision and your medical benefits to make your Vision Health Program more affordable.
• In addition, we will work with your primary care physician and specialists to provide complete care for your eyes and visual system as they relate to your overall health.
• We believe that vision goes beyond 20/20, so our Initial vision assessment aims to address every way that you use your vision throughout your day, and how subtle imperfections in your visual system may be causing eyestrain, headaches, or other symptoms that you may not have thought were related to your eyes.
• We examine your complete visual function to see if your visual needs may be filled with specific occupational spectacle lenses, specialty contacts, or visual therapy.

Our 12-Point Focus on Eye Health and Blindness Prevention Examination includes:

EOM (extra-ocular muscle) Evaluation. The muscles that move your eyes are controlled by nerves that travel through your brain. Any problems with eye movement may be due to deeper neural problems or systemic disease. This test can sometimes find even strokes and brain tumors!

Pupil Reaction Check. A simple test of the way the pupil behaves to light gives a lot of clues to the function of the eye as a whole, and may be used to discover glaucoma, retinal tears, inflammation behind the eye, and even problems in the brain.

Tear film Evaluation. The tear film covering the surface of the eye actually a complex system. A basic evaluation of the health and integrity of this surface will help to diagnose corneal conditions such as dry eye.

Basic Eye Allergy Evaluation. Many people suffer from seasonal allergies that can be remedied with medical treatment. A basic allergy check will allow us to find the right course of treatment to relieve chronic redness, tearing, and itching.

Eye Alignment Assessment. Checking whether one eye or both eyes tend to drift in and out may not be as obvious as a strabismus, or a lazy eye. A slight tendency of the eyes drift out of alignment can cause headaches, eyestrain, double vision, or difficulty reading or using the computer.

Slit Lamp Biomicroscopy. This allows a general assessment of the outside structures of the eyes, and allows us to find corneal conditions such as keratoconus, eye injuries, mild infections, or problems of the inner structures of the eyes, like cataracts.

Dilated Retinal Exam or Optomap Retina Scan. Dilating the pupil allows us to see much more of the retina; it opens up a larger window to see the inside of the eye. There are many conditions of the retina, such as retina tears and detachments, which can only be seen through a dilated pupil. A newer technology, called the Optomap, uses a diagnostic laser to take a scan of the retina, and lets us see the inside of the eye without dilating. The retinal exam is important to detect and treat conditions such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and retinal tears and detachments.

Dry eye/Allergy Screening. Many people suffer from chronic dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca) or allergic conjunctivitis and attribute the symptoms of blurry or fluctuating vision, redness, blur, pain, itching, and tearing to other conditions. These problems are not always simple to treat, but therapies are constantly improving, and we have methods available now for treating both.

Systemic Disease Consultation. Through different parts of the exam, we are able to see if any systemic conditions that you are being treated for may be causing problems in the eyes, such as dry eye or retinal damage. We will review your list of medications to determine if there are any ocular or visual side effects, and treat those side effects, if necessary. We also may be able to uncover problems like diabetes and elevated cholesterol that were not previously diagnosed. We will work with your primary care physician to properly manage the eye condition and the systemic condition that it is linked to.

3-Part Glaucoma Screening
• An initial screening for early signs of glaucoma will let us determine if it is necessary to conduct further testing, and possibly treatment for glaucoma.
• Glaucoma is a very subtle disease that has no noticeable symptoms until later stages of the disease. It causes you to slowly lose vision beginning from the outside in.
• By the time you notice changes in your vision, it is too late.
• Once vision is lost from glaucoma, it cannot be restored. With new technology, we are able to see early signs of glaucoma before any vision is lost.

10.

Inter Ocular Pressure. This is the classic sign of glaucoma: high pressure inside the eye. New research has found that this is no longer the only way to detect glaucoma, and that glaucoma may be present even with low eye pressure.

11.

Optic Nerve Head Evaluation. The optic nerve is where the eye connects to the brain. In an eye with glaucoma, the optic nerve takes on a certain shape as damage is done to the nerve tissue inside the eye.

12.

GDx Nerve Fiber Analysis. The GDx is a new instrument that uses a laser to scan the thickness of the nerve fibers inside the eye. It analyzes the area of the eye that is the first part affected by glaucoma, and allows us to see signs of glaucoma up to six years before any other signs are present.