How frequently you need an eye exam depends on several factors, including your age, health and risk of developing eye problems. The American Academy of Ophthalmology makes the following recommendations.
Children and adolescents
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| How Often To Have Eye Exam |
Children should have their vision tested and be screened for eye disease by a pediatrician, an ophthalmologist or other trained screener. The exams should be done at the following intervals:
- Between birth to 3 months
- Between 6 months and 1 year
- At about 3 years
- At about 5 years
Adults
If you wear glasses or contacts, have your eyes checked every year. If you don't wear glasses or contacts, experience no symptoms of eye trouble, and are at a low risk of developing eye disease, have a comprehensive eye exam by an ophthalmologist at the following intervals:
- At least once between ages 20 and 39
- Every 2 to 4 years between ages 40 and 64
- Every year or two beginning at age 65
If you notice any problems with your vision, schedule an appointment with your eye doctor as soon as possible, even if you've recently had an eye exam. Blurred vision, for example, may suggest you need a prescription change. A sudden increase in the number of floaters could suggest vision-threatening changes to the retina.
If you have certain other health problems or a family history of eye disease, you should probably have more frequent eye examinations. Check with your doctor about how often you should be examined if you have any of these risk factors:
- A personal or family history of eye disease.
- A previous eye injury.
- A disease that affects the whole body, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
- You were born premature.
- You're black (this increases your risk of developing glaucoma).
When you have a complete eye examination, you undergo a series of tests. The eye doctor will use strange-looking instruments. Bright lights are aimed directly at your eyes. You'll look through a seemingly endless array of lenses. Your eyes may be dilated. Rest assured, each test is necessary and allows your doctor to examine a different aspect of your vision. These aspects include visual acuity, peripheral vision, depth perception, color vision and the ability to focus on close objects. The exam also allows your eye doctor to identify any eye disorders and assess whether damage has occurred.
Visual acuity test
Acuity refers to the sharpness of your vision or how clearly you see an object. Your eye doctor will check how well you read letters from across the room. Your eyes will be tested one at a time, while the other eye is covered. Using the standard Snellen chart, your doctor will determine if you have 20/20 vision.
Your eye doctor may also test how well you read letters close-up by determining the smallest letter you can read on a card held 14 to 16 inches away from your eyes.
Refraction assessment
Refraction refers to how lightwaves are bent as they pass through your cornea and lens. Conditions have to be just right for the light to focus properly on your retina. A refraction assessment helps your doctor determine a corrective lens prescription that will give you the sharpest vision.
Your doctor may use a computerized refractor to measure your eyes and estimate the prescription you need to correct a refractive error. Or he or she may use a technique called retinoscopy. In this procedure the doctor shines a light into your eye and measures the refractive error by evaluating the movement of light that is reflected by your retina.
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| How Often To Have Eye Exam |
The eye doctor fine-tunes this refraction assessment by asking you to look through a Phoroptor, a masklike device that contains wheels of different lenses. You'll look at the Snellen chart through various lenses and judge which combination gives you the sharpest vision. By repeating this step several times, your doctor finds the lenses that give you the greatest possible acuity.
Just because the doctor finds lenses that provide you with sharper vision doesn't mean you have to use them. If your uncorrected vision isn't bothering you, there's no need to buy glasses or contacts. Going without glasses or contacts won't make your eyes worse. So don't let any fears about corrective lenses prevent you from getting regular eye exams. To find out more, you can check out How Often To Have Eye Exam.