During an eye exam, your eye doctor can view the structures on the front of the eye with a microscope called a slit lamp. The structures in the back part of the eye are more challenging to view. In order to view the structures further back in the eye your doctor needs to look through the pupil. The pupil is the hole in the middle of the colored part of the eye called the iris. When the pupil constricts in response to the bright light of the slit lamp, the structures behind the iris become more difficult to see.
Your doctor can use dilating eye drops to dilate the pupil and keep it dilated during the eye exam. With dilation, your doctor gets a better view of the crystalline lens inside the eye as well as the retina and the optic nerve. Glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration can be more easily detected when the eye is dilated. The peripheral retina can then be visualized to look for retinal tears or detachments.
In addition to dilating the pupil, the dilating drops your eye doctor uses will likely have the additional effect of relaxing your accommodation, which is your ability to focus. Relaxing accommodation can aid in the measurement of the refractive error, or prescription, of a patient. Near objects, and possibly distant objects, will most likely become blurry. This effect can last for several hours or more depending on the type of drops used. Sunglasses are recommended following a dilated eye exam due to temporary light sensitivity.
For more information or to schedule an eye examination at D’Ambrosio Eye Care call us at 800-325-3937, visit D’Ambrosio Eye Care or facebook.com/dambrosioeyecare.
Staffed by a team of Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, Opticians, technical and administrative staff who provide eye examinations for adults and children, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implants (IOL), laser vision correction such as LASIK, diagnosis and treatment of cornea disease including cornea transplants, care for diseases of the retina including diabetes and age related macular degeneration and diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma as well as contact lenses, eyeglasses, eyewear and optical services.
D'Ambrosio Eye Care is a leading eye and LASIK care practice serving the greater Boston and central Massachusetts area including Acton, Athol, Berlin, Bolton, Boylston, Boxborough, Chelmsford, Clinton, Concord, Fitchburg, Gardner, Greenfield, Groton, Harvard, Hudson, Lancaster, Leominster, Lexington, Littleton, Lowell, Lunenburg, Marlborough, Milford, Shelburne Falls, Shirley, Sterling, Stow, Sudbury, Templeton, Westminster, Westborough, Winchendon and Worcester, Massachusetts.
