Once or twice a year, we would make visits to the medical centre to get a full-body checkup. But there aren’t many of us in Singapore who would go for a comprehensive eye check. That’s probably because such comprehensive eye examinations are conducted at eye specialist centres and each visit can be very costly.
And most of us would think that a visit to the regular optical shop for a basic eye check (vision screening) is deemed sufficient. But in reality, such eye checks are not very thorough and certain eye conditions and diseases can only be detected using special equipment, like the ones innovated by Essilor.
Essilor
Essilor, an international leading ophthalmic optics company, has partnered up with vision care boutique, Videre Singapore, in providing eye care and in reviewing the benchmark for better eye performance. With Essilor’s state-of-the-art equipment, Videre is able to provide its clients with fully digitalized, comprehensive eye examinations. Essilor’s instruments not only provide faster, more accurate readings but also includes key indicators of eye health.
A couple of days ago, I made a trip to Videre at Forum Shopping Mall for a comprehensive eye examination. I went through a series of eye examinations that day and thankfully, my eyes are healthy.
Eye Examinations by Age Group
After filling up my personal particulars, I was given this chart showing the types of eye examinations offered. It’s great that they have a list of recommended eye exams for each age group. Because we are prone to various eye diseases and conditions as we start to age.
I personally fall in the Millennial category. Since I’m constantly working on the computer, I concern whether my eyes are in the pink of health. As I’m also myopic, I try not to overstrain my eyes and practise good eye care habits.
These are the tests I went for – Digital Eye Fatigue, Colour Deficiency, Glaucoma screening and Keratoconus detection.
Discovering about my Eye Health in 90 seconds
Essilor’s Wave Analyser Medica 700+ is an effective equipment which is able to perform all the 7 eye tests in 90 seconds. These eye checks usually take up to an hour with the use of multiple machines in the past. But now, all it takes is just 3 minutes for the eye results to be churned out.
During the process, it can be quite tiring for the eye. However, thankfully, the check lasted only for about three minutes or so. It was only slightly unbearable especially the part where a burst of air was shot into my eyes. The quick burst of air allows the machine to measure the pressure in my eyes.
All these data shown above may not make sense at this point but during the consultation, the eye therapists will take time to explain which each figure meant.
How does the back of my eye looks like?
Have you wondered how the back of your eyeball look like? The back of my eyes strangely looks like a chicken embryo.
Jokes aside, this Retina 550 Fundus Camera by Essilor is one special digital camera which can capture the image of your retina. Previously, when I went for a comprehensive eye check, they had to apply some eye drops into my eye before going for the retina scan. With Essilor’s innovative device, you no longer have to put eye drops before the scan.
From the results, practitioners are able to tell if you are facing any eye abnormalities. Thankfully, my retina is looking healthy.
The Final Check
Last but not least, the eye practitioner brought me to this station for the last couple of tests. This is where the practitioner will carry out the refraction test on my eyes to see if I can see clearly with the prescripted lenses. With their latest device – Essilor’s Vision-RTM 800 phoropter, I find that this procedure is carried out a lot faster than usual. Lesser eye fatigue is experienced during the test as the procedure is now shorter. It’s pretty cool actually. I do wish that more optical shops and centres would use such hi-tech instruments.
Before all the eye examinations were done, I had to do a cornea health check using their Essilor’s Cornea 550 Topographer machine. This device maps out the curvature of the Cornea and provides precise evaluation of the corneal surface. Since I’m a frequent contact lens wearer, it is important to get my cornea checked.
The whole process took about 30 to 45 minutes – depending on whether you have questions to ask and clarify in during the eye examinations. Once I had my comprehensive eye test results, I can then proceed to make a pair of new glasses! My degree didn’t differ much but my degrees for astigmatism went up.
Have you gone for a thorough eye check before? Maybe it’s time to do a thorough eye health check especially if you are already in your 30s and 40s.
