Why do they dilate my eyes?
Many people see getting their eyes dilated as an annoying part of visiting the eye doctor. Though it doesn’t cause pain, it can still affect your activities and the rest of your day. An annual eye exam is extremely important, so if you need one, you can click here to find a location near you.
Dilating drops are important because when a doctor shines a light on your eye; the pupil becomes smaller, which makes it difficult to see inside the eye.
How Dilating Drops Work
– Stimulate the iris muscle that opens the pupil
– Prevent the action of the iris that closes the pupil
The dilating drops allow your eye doctor to get a much better view of your retina, optic nerve, and the back of the eye. This is important with regular eye care and also if there is a specific concern. The eye doctor can gather a lot more thorough information by using dilating drops to dilate your eyes, which means you get a much better idea of your general eye health. Some diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are discovered first in eye exams.
Sometimes dilating the eyes can help with the “younger” eyes of children and young adults as well. A lens is naturally able to adjust the eye’s focus until around the age of 40, so with younger people the ability to do this can prevent the doctor from accurately measuring for glasses. So they may dilate the eyes in that case in order to ensure you or your child gets the proper prescription.
How to Prepare For Eye Dilation:
– Make sure you don’t plan any activities or tasks afterwards that require you to have crisp vision.
– Bring along a pair of dark sunglasses for your trip home from the eye doctor. If you forget yours, they have disposable ones available (though these are not fashionable, they’ll protect your eyes from bright light).
– Plan to only read books or things with larger print. It will be harder for you to focus on small print and will cause frustration.
These are just some tips for you so you know why they dilate your eyes and how you can prepare for it. Your eye doctor can answer any questions you have on specifics based on your situation. If you haven’t had an eye exam in the last year, you should find a location near you today.
