Here's Why Your Eye Exam Might Include Eye Dilation
While not every eye examination will require it, eye doctors often dilate a patient's eyes prior to starting their examination. If you're wondering why you need to go through this process and what it will entail, keep reading to find out why it's such an essential tool for your eye doctor to use and how it can help to protect your health.
How the Pupil Works
Dilating the eye means making the pupil of the eye expand, meaning the dark center gets wider and the colored part gets smaller. This actually allows your eye doctor to look into the inside of your eye.
The eye is naturally designed to allow light in through the pupil, since this is how you are able to see things. This same mechanism allows the eye doctor to use a bright light and specialized equipment to peer through that same opening to take a look at the inner surfaces of the eye.
Looking at the Retina
One of the most important parts of an eye dilation test is taking a look at the retina inside the eye. This is deeply set far back in the eye, but it's an integral part to you being able to see clearly. It's up to the retina to translate the image that's received when light enters through your pupil. That signal then gets passed on to other parts of the eye and brain, and that's how you see.
The retina isn't normally visible from outside the eye, and can only be partially seen if the pupil isn't dilated. So making the pupil as wide as possible lets your eye doctor take a closer look without the need for anesthesia.
Internal Structures
Dilating your eyes also gives your doctor a better view of the walls of the eye. This can not only help them to look for signs of damage, scarring, and any other abnormalities, but it can be useful for finding abnormal blood vessels.
Getting your eyes checked may or may not involve having them dilated. Rest assured that if they are dilated, the painless procedure will only require a few eyedrops and a careful look from your eye doctor. After that, you can head home straight away so long as you wear sunglasses during the daytime. Not to worry; if you don't bring any, ask your eye doctor and they'll be sure to give you a disposable pair.
