Over time, your eyesight may decline to the point where using eyeglasses and similar vision correction options is not enough to improve your vision. This is referred to as low vision, which may keep you from doing your everyday tasks with ease, affecting your overall quality of life.
While it’s considered part of the aging cycle, undergoing an eye exam may help to prevent further deterioration. Your trusted eye doctor from Northern Virginia Doctors of Optometry explains what happens during one.
Health History Review
Low vision is usually a complication of other age-related eye problems like cataracts, macular degeneration or glaucoma. This is why we may ask about any illnesses that you’ve had that may affect your current eye health. We will also ask questions about your diet, exercise and lifestyle.
We would also like to know when you first started noticing changes in your eyesight. If you had undergone low vision therapy or have had previous eye exams, we encourage to bring the results of these with you.
Diagnostic Procedures
We’ll then prepare a series of tests to determine if you’re suffering from low vision issues. We’ll assess your pupil size and reflexes. We may also evaluate your different ocular functions and check your retina and other internal eye structures for any irregularities. The results serve as our basis as we work towards a diagnosis and create an appropriate treatment plan.
Our Suggested Management
Upon confirming low vision, we’ll create a program that can halt its progression. Our goal is to help you regain independence over your daily tasks and improve your quality of life. This may include wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses with high-refractive powers. We may also teach you a set of eye exercises that you’ll perform for a specific time period. Using prisms, visual aids and other optical modalities are commonly used as part of a low-vision therapy regimen as well.
For more information about low vision, call us at one of our locations. You may also fill out our form to request a consultation. We see families in Reston, Falls Church, Crystal City, Clarendon, and Alexandria VA.