What to Expect When Getting Your Eyes Dilated

Why Get Your Eyes Dilated?

During an eye exam, your doctor may recommend that you get your eyes dilated. By dilating your eyes, your doctor is able to thoroughly examine the health of your retina. This is important because it can help your doctor spot early signs of serious eye conditions such as glaucoma and retinal detachment. An exam of the retina can even give doctors clues that you may be suffering from a non-eye-related condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Chances are that you will not have to have your eyes dilated every time you get an eye exam. Factors such as your age and overall health will determine whether or not your doctor requests the procedure. Although these procedures are typically done on adults, there are some cases where an eye doctor may recommend an eye dilation for a child. The process of dilating eyes is the same for both adult and child patients and takes just a few hours.

The Process

Getting your eyes dilated is a simple procedure, and there is no pain involved at all. To dilate your eyes, your doctor will put special dilating eye drops into each one of your eyes. After some time, typically under thirty minutes, you will begin to notice your vision becoming blurry. Once your eyes are fully dilated, your doctor can complete their exam of your retina.

The effects of the dilation drops can last for several hours. During that time, you will not be able to drive, so it’s important that you arrange for a ride home from your exam ahead of time. After your procedure, you simply need to rest and your vision should return to normal later that same day. Try to avoid bright sunlight while your eyes are dilated. Your doctor may give you a special sun shield to wear on the way home.

The Importance of Preventive Eye Care

Your vision is so important to your everyday life, so you want to do everything in your power to make sure that your eyes are healthy. One of the best things you can do for your eyes is to have them regularly examined by a trusted optometrist. Eye exams are important, not only to your vision but to your overall health as well. Your eyes can give your doctor insight into the health of many other areas of your body. Regular eye exams can help you catch certain conditions before they develop into serious medical problems.

If you are over the age of forty, or if you have a family history of certain conditions such as diabetes and glaucoma, it’s even more important that you see your eye doctor at least one or twice per year. If it’s been a while since your last eye exam, or if you’re experiencing a change in your vision, contact our office today to schedule an appointment. Our staff of highly-trained medical professionals are the area’s utmost experts on everything from vision care to complex laser eye surgery.