As per a report by the Vision Council, at least 164 million individuals in the US wear glasses. Do you need glasses? Eye exams are a way to know that.
Once you know whether you’re near-sightedness or far-sightedness, you’re good to go choose the right eyewear brand for yourself.
A lot of free eye exams online are available on the Internet. These allow you to check your eyes without any cost. All you need to do is sit at the comfort of your home and get your eyes checked. With the growing technology, eye checkups have become easy. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of free eye exams online.
What Do Online Eyes Tell You?
Online testing of eyes is a convenient and safe option for patients. The online tests come in small print with a caveat. These are designed to provide you with an idea of how bad or good your eyesight is. It can only direct you to seek help from your eye doctor. You can get your color vision and contrast sensitivity checked with online testing. These free eye exams are as efficient as the optometrist. However, these tests can’t offer you everything like checking your eye pressure, evaluating the retina, etc. Rest is up to you whether you want to go for the offline tests or the online eye tests. The free online eye exams are not a substitute for a comprehensive eye examination. It must be conducted at least every two years or as you’ve been advised.
Pitfalls of Online Eye Tests
If the free online eye exam results note that you have poor vision, it means you’ll have to proceed with a general eye checkup. This is important for your eye care and you’ll have to find a solution with your eye doctor. Such false negative situations can have grave clinical implications. There are many eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, retinal holes, etc.
Under all such conditions, a cursory test of vision cannot pick up the diseases. This might be sight-threatening for you. And, a false negative online test result may lull you into a false sense of security.
What’s Included in a General Eye Examination?
A general eye checkup is a lot more than checking your vision, near and distance. Most clinics have a two-step approach to eye evaluation. It consists of the following steps –
1st Step
- Discussion about the history of your eye health and general health.
- Evaluation of refractive eye, power glasses, contact lenses.
- Checking uncorrected vision for near and distance.
- Measuring intraocular pressure and eye pressure.
- Assessing the alignment of eyes and eye muscles.
- Evaluating the best-corrected vision along with the prescription of glass contact lens.
2nd Step
As per the approach, the second Step includes the following points –
- Discussion on your eye health, concerns regarding vision correction.
- Slit-lamp evaluation, complete eye-checkup including cornea, lids, and others.
- Dilated evaluation model by instilling eye drops to dilate your eyes.
- 90D or 66D eye evaluation
The general eye checkup and health findings are meant to guide you clearly. Hope you’ve found this information useful and good luck with your online eye check.
