A routine eye exam can detect nearsightedness (myopia) and other vision problems and diseases that can affect the eyes. A complete exam takes 30 to 60 minutes.

A routine eye exam includes:

• Questions about your medical history and a physical eye exam.
• Vision tests, which include tests for visual acuity, visual fields, and refraction.
• A slit lamp exam, which is an exam of the eye using a microscope.
• Tonometry, which measures the pressure inside your eye.
• Ophthalmoscopy, which allows a doctor to see inside the back of the eye.

Early Detection

Routine testing of the ability to see details and shapes clearly is usually a part of every general physical exam during childhood. Children younger than age 5 should have screening for the eye diseases amblyopia and strabismus and defects in visual acuity.³ See information about when to schedule eye exams with an eye care specialist for:

• Children and infants.
• Teenagers.
• Adults.