Comprehensive Eye Examination

Visual acuity testing

We start by measuring how clearly you see at a distance, using a standardised chart viewed from around 20 feet (6 metres). This gives us a precise, repeatable baseline reading for each eye individually.

Eye muscle assessment

We check the muscles that move each eye by asking you to follow a target through several directions of gaze. This picks up any weakness or misalignment that could cause double vision, eye strain, or an uncoordinated appearance between the two eyes.

Why a full exam goes further than a screening

A quick vision screening — the kind offered at a school or a health camp — only checks whether your acuity falls below a rough cutoff. It's a useful first flag, but it stops there, and is usually carried out by a volunteer rather than an eye-care professional.

A comprehensive eye examination goes much further. Conducted by a qualified ophthalmologist, it looks at the complete structure of the eye, front to back, to catch early — often symptomless — signs of conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and retinal detachment. Because the eye's blood vessels are visible and delicate, the same examination can also flag early signs of diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke risk elsewhere in the body.

If a screening has flagged a problem, or you're simply due for a check-up, a full examination is the next step toward a proper diagnosis — and, where needed, the right glasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery.