What Optometrists Do to Help People

An optometrist in Fulton treats vision problems in women, men and children. Optometrists are graduates of a four year college of optometry and are licensed optometric physicians. They're not medical doctors like ophthalmologists who specialize in eye care, but they can help people in several ways.

Eye Examinations

The first thing these specialists do when a patient comes to see them is to give eye examinations by having them read specific charts. These charts are used to determine both close up and distance vision testing. The doctor asks the patient to cover each eye and asks what are the smallest letters they can read. He also gives other examinations that include the use of sophisticated magnifying equipment that has many different lenses in them to closely examine the interior of the eye. He examines the inside to search for any diseases, infections, inflammations or injuries using a special hand held lighted ophthalmoscope. Sometimes he'll darken the examining room to help see better.

Eye Drops

Drops are often given during these tests to either dilate the pupil or to allow the optometrist to use a special piece of equipment to lightly touch the surface to test the pressure to test for a condition called glaucoma. Such drops numb the area so that its not sensitive to the pressure of the device being used against it. Drops are also often given for use at home by patients when they're experiencing certain conditions such as blurriness, cloudiness, haziness, glare, streaks, or loss of clarity in that anatomical part of the body above the nose and below the forehead. Different drops are put in up to several times a day by different patients depending on how severe their vision condition is. An optometrist isn't trained to perform surgery so he has to utilize other helpful methods to heal his patients.

Eye Exercises and Glasses

Exercises are often used to help develop the muscles of the visual area. These can include putting a patch over one of the areas and using the other area to try to strengthen it's ability to both read up close or see better at a distance. Many of these exercises provide immense value to contributing to better overall vision and improved visual health. They can usually be performed in five to fifteen minute periods of time depending on what the exact type of exercise is, but they've been used by optometrists for decades now so there's absolutely no doubt they can work for much improved vision as an alternative to some types of surgical procedures. Eyeglasses and contact lenses are also extensively used by optometrists to help patients see better.

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