Patient Interview
Before actually examining your eyes, your doctor will ask you questions about your general health, medical conditions, and prior eye problems. It is important to provide accurate
information as well as a listing of all medications (both tablets and eye drops) that you are using.
Visual Acuity
The first step in the eye examination is to assess your vision. Your ability to see sharply at a distance or up close for reading is referred to as visual acuity. Your visual acuity is measured by having you read an eye chart (Figure 1). If you have glasses to see better at a distance, your vision is usually checked with you wearing them. A patient with 6/6 vision is one who can see objects at 6 meters that a healthy individual also sees at 6 meters. If your visual acuity is less than 6/6, you then will be checked to determine whether it can be improved with a new pair of glasses. This process is called refraction (Figure 2). During refraction, different sets of lenses are placed in front of each eye to determine which ones give you the best vision. The entire process is performed twice, once for each eye. Also, it may be done again to improve your reading vision.
Glaucoma decreases your visual acuity only when it is moderately advanced. In addition to glaucoma, decreased visual acuity may result from other conditions such as macular degeneration, diabetes, cataracts, or certain eye drops used to treat glaucoma, such as pilocarpine.
