eye test

[Hgrove]

This morning I went for an eye test in a well known chain of opticians.  They said I had to have a "pre-test" which involved blowing air into my eyes.  I found it not perhaps painful, just this side of painful, but I could not help blinking, my eyes were very sore.  She did it twice on the same eye and she said because I blinked, the machine had not taken the measurement.  I said I was not going to do it again so she rather sourly said "alright" and walked off without the courtesy of saying good bye or offering me another appointment when my eyes are not so sore.  I have made an apt. at another optician's now.  Quite apart from the girl's rudeness, does anyone know, do you have to have this pre-test at the start now?  Does that mean if I can't help blinking I will never be able to have my eyesight tested again?

[gypsy]

unfortunately they all do that blowing air in eye test .its to test for glaucoma and they can see how much pressure the eye can take..its horridble.i tend to pull my head back to avoid it and am allways glad when its done..i also have to get new reading glasses and the first thing that i thought about was that awfull test..i think they have to do it in cvase if you have an eye disease and they didnt spot it they may bea case of neglect on their behalf..next time just grin and bear it as its soon over..you have all my sympathy  ..gypsy 

[Marvin84]

Gypsy is right.... I had to grin and bear it... just try to relax (hard to do I know) if you get it done on the first go... it makes life much easier....

 

(and maybe take some eyedrops with you for after the event!)

 

Good luck!

[andy hughes]

It is unpleasant, but try and relax. One of the reflex actions from tension is to blink, which negates the test. take some deep breaths, and it'll be over in a few seconds. It's a shame your optician was so unprofessional, hopefully the next one will be more sympathetic.

[Clanad]

Actually, by the time you react and blink, the test is completed.  You may ask for another form of the test.  In this method, the eye is "sedated" with drops that dilate the pupil.  Then, while you are laying on your back, a tonometer (a device with a smooth end) is placed on the eyeball and the pressure measured. It takes several hours for the dilation to reverse itself. The "air-puff" method is the quickest and least uncomfortable.  The test is very imprtant, so be sure to have it completed...Luck!

[Octavius]

Yes the blow test is quite normal now.  The only thing it made me do was jump out of my skin.  I don't remember it hurting - I think it's just the unexpected puff that makes you jump.

 

 

[honkytonkman]

I always had the method where they sedate the eyes with drops and then press against the eye. This isn't painful at all, just a weird sensation, but you do get this 'bug-eye' feeling, like your eyes are popping out of your head. If this sounds prefeable to you I'd ask your optician for this instead of the 'puff of air' test.

[mrs.pudding]

My optician says it's quite normal to  blink when this test is being done and it doesn't negate the results at all - the reading should happen in the split second before the blink!

[Hgrove]

Thank you for the replies.  The sourly girl was not even an optician but I think a receptionist who was going to hand me over to the optician after she had done this test.  I have had this test done a no. of times but always by an optician and towards the end of the test - never at the beginning.  This may have made a difference (my eyes were tired from the daylight).  The appointment I have made elsewhere is for 2.30 pm.  I hope my eyes will be less sore then.

[montyy]

i had my eyes tested recently in optical express and didnt have to have this pre-test done.

[Tiga]

I've been wearing glasses for 15 years, and I haven't even heard of this test before!

[kalise25]

This is a routine part of an eye examination carried out normally on anyone over 40 years of age (in some practices over 30 years of age).It is part of a series of tests for an eye disease called glaucoma, which is a leading cause of blindness in the western world.

The test you had done measures the pressure by blowing a puff of air at your eyeball and using the relative displacement of your tear film by the air to work out the eye pressure.

Depending on the practice you attend, it can be carried out by a person who has only received the training necessary to operate the machine; or it could be carried out by the optometrist themselves.Some large multiple/chainstore practices will do this as a 'pre-test' so the optometrist will have all possible info before seeing the patient. In smaller independent practices, the optometrist tends to do all these things themselves. It's not because the other staff can't operate the machinery - it's simply to save the optometrist's time. It's like the practice nurse measuring your blood pressure, rather than your GP.

If you actually have a serious phobia of the puff of air test, there is an alternative - to have a local anaesthetic in the eye and a measuring device pressed aginst your cornea.In that case there is a greater risk of harm - if you move, or blink (or your practitioner has a shaky hand!) your cornea will be scratched; and when that anaesthetic wears off, will you know all about it!

I am an optometrist (as some of you may have guessed...) and I have to say I would much rather the puff of air. Faster, no risk of scratching the eye, over in a split second.......no contest.

And I have worked for two highly well known large national chains, as well as two independent practices - no bias intended in this reply.

 

Hope this helps, Hgrove.