During the exam

An eye exam usually involves these steps:

• You'll be asked about your medical history and any vision problems you might be experiencing.
• Your eye doctor measures your visual acuity to see if you need glasses or contact lenses to improve your vision.
• You'll be given a numbing drop in your eyes. Then your eye pressure is measured. To make it easier for your doctor to examine the inside of your eye, he or she will likely dilate your eyes with eyedrops.
• After waiting for the dilating drops to take effect, your eye doctor checks the health of your eyes, possibly using several lights to evaluate the front of the eye and the inside of each eye.

Several different tests may be performed during the eye exam. The tests are designed to check your vision and to examine the appearance and function of all parts of your eyes.