About Your Eye Test
Eye Tests & Eye Examinations
At Whitby & Co, our London optometry practice, you’ll receive the best level of care for your eye test. Our optometrists are highly experienced and will quickly put you at ease.
An eye examination or eye test at Whitby & Co is taken by a qualified optometrist to assess the quality of your vision, look for eye problems and general health issues affecting your eyes. Ideally, everyone should have an eye examination annually or more frequently if recommended by your optometrist. An eye examination at Whitby & Co takes about 30 minutes, as a comprehensive screening of your eye health.
Your medical history
Our optometrists will review your relevant medical history. They will also ask about any concerns or symptoms you may be experiencing.
Our optometrists will ask about the nature of your work, your lifestyle and hobbies to form a complete picture of your eye health and optical requirements. They will also ask about any previous glasses or contact lenses prescribed.
Eye Examination and Testing
Some of the instruments and tests your optometrist will use:
- Auto-refractor: This gives an electronic measurement of your approximate prescription. If we do not have a record of your current prescription, we may also use an instrument called a focimeter to read this from your glasses, to be compared with the results of your eye examination.
- Non- Contact Tonometer: Our optometrist will use a machine that will blow a few puffs of air into your eye; when the air refracts back to the machine it gives a reading of the pressure in each eye. High eye pressure can be an indicator of early-stage glaucoma, so it is important to test for this regularly.
- Ophthalmoscope: Our optometrist uses an ophthalmoscope to examine the retina, blood vessels and front of the optic nerve of the eye. This instrument uses an intensely bright light, which can briefly leave shadows in your vision.
- The test chart: You will be asked to read a chart to get a baseline assessment of your vision without any prescription lens assistance. You will then be asked to look through different lenses flipping in front of each eye, repeating the test; this allows fine-tuning of your prescription, based on your responses. Both eyes are tested together at the end of the examination, to ensure you have clear vision.
- Oxo Box: Red and green coloured lines are used to test if your eyes are balanced, coordinated, and working together. This is vital for comfortable vision.
- Visual Fields Test: This tests for any blind spots in your vision, using random dots or lights flashing against a black background.
- Slit Lamp: This is a powerful microscope that allows our optometrist to examine the cornea, iris and lens of the eye, as well as look for any scratches or abnormalities on its surface.
- Focus: Our optometrist will test your ability to focus at different reading distances, to assess whether you need different prescriptions for distance versus reading.
Contact Lens Appointment
A contact lens appointment can be arranged separately, or you can book a longer appointment to include both an eye examination and a contact lens check.
HOW TO BOOK AN EYE TEST WITH WHITBY & CO OPTICIANS
For further details and appointments, call us today on 0207 353 4455 , email us at info@whitbyonline.com or request an appointment online.
Fleet Street Clinic is a multi-disciplinary practice offering a full range of medical services. If you’d like to use one of our many other services (from seeing a private GP to having an eye test), please contact us , or book online.