Eye dilation

[BookstoreEscapee]

I went to the eye doctor the other day and he wants me to come back in two weeks for a dilation exam. I've never had it done before, but the last time an eye doctor put some kind of drop in my eye (this was like 10 years ago) I fainted and he didn't end up doing the test. I don't want that to happen again. My eyes have been bothering me lately (dry and whatnot) and I've been really anxious about them (I'm special like that) so I really want to be able to get through this test and make sure that nothing's wrong.

Help? What to expect? Calm me down?

(I know to bring sunglasses and my mom is going to go with me just in case so I don't have to worry about driving.)

[lupo pazzesco]

make sure they provide you with lots of tissues, and it helps to focus on the ceiling above you, rather than watching the bottle. I sort of let my gaze unfocus. (They dilate my pupils every time I have an eye exam for glasses) And when they give you tissues, do not put them directly over your eye, though that will be the initial instinct, you'll just sop up all the drops and they'll have to give you another dose.

Instead, crumple the tissue on the inner corner of your eye near the bridge of your nose and pinch your nose. I've found that helps me. Don't ask me why. It just does.

YOu'll be fine. Good luck.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Why did you faint? Did you have a bad reaction to the chemical they use to dialate your eyes or were you just scared?

It's a pretty simple procedure, they put eyedrops in your eyes and it makes it hard to see because everything looks fuzzy. It doesn't hurt and it wears off fairly quickly.

You have sunglasses and a driver, looks like you have all your bases covered. It's nothing to fret over.

[Amina516]

I admittedly dont know too much about eye dilitation..Do you have low blood pressure or heart rate? Why did you faint? The drops they use may be absorbed but they are still in small small doseages. Lol. Maybe Nerves?

[bean]

I absolutely HATE anything in my eyes.. even eye drops. I will go into full on fight or flight mode if someone gets anything remotely close to my eyes, I can't even handle getting my face wet.

Some eye doctors have a fancy new machine though. You stare into it, and you get the most incredibly blinding green flash you've ever seen. But they get a photo of the inside of your eyes. No dilation needed, best $50 I ever spent. I'll take seeing spots in my vision for 10 minutes over being dilated.

Most insurance doesn't cover it, in my case it was an extra $50.

You'll most likely find this machine at higher end eye clinics. But your insurance should have a negotiated rate with them anyway, if you're using insurance. For me, I pay the same no matter where I go as long as they accept my insurance, so I always go to the high end place nearby. They treat me like royalty there, been going there yearly for 4 years, and their frames are reasonably priced for what they are (they don't carry much cheap stuff, but my insurance covers up to $130 in frames).

[Stormraven]

The Optomap. My eye doctor has it, and I love it - thought it's difficult still to get good pictures of my eyes. For one, it gives a wider picture of the retina than the other methods, and for two, as pointed out, it means we don't have to dilate the eyes as often.

He still wants to occasionally, but not every year. And that's good for me because my eyes are incredibly light sensitive.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Oh, man, me too.

Last time the dude shone the lights in there and my eyes were like Niagra Falls. He was like "man, you aren't kidding about your eyes being sensitive, sheesh!"

That was the bad part, everything else was a cakewalk.

They've always been that way. I have to wear shades and a brimmed hat outside. Kind of sucky.

On the other hand, my night vision is really good.

[Sandman]

My condition (one poster knows what it is) requires me to get a full eye exam EVERY year. I get my eyes dilated and the Dr. who does it is excellent. I hardly know he puts the drops on in and within 15 minutes.. they are dilated and I am back in getting my eyes looked at. Your eyesight will be a little funky (basically you will have problems focusing) for a couple hours... but nothing major.

[sarasquirrel]

i havent had an eye exam in years (i know thats bad...) and every time i would get eye drops for dilation. last time i was there though he had some machine where i would look into a little hole (once for each eye) and this green light laser would swoop across and basically take a photo or xray of the inside of my eye. it was pretty cool, and i didnt have fuzzy vision for the rest of the day.

[Becks]

For the longest time, I never had a problem with getting my eyes dilated. Two of the last times, though...

My damn.

I was miserable!

[Dave1982]

The basic procedure for dilating eye drops is this.

First they put a numbing eye drop in each eye. This will probably sting a bit but it will quickly pass because the numbing agent works really fast. They'll give it a minute or two to fully kick in, then they'll put the actual dilating drops in. This will not hurt at all at this point, though it'll make your eyes feel funny (since they'll be dilated beyond where they would be normally).

And not to make you freak out or anything, but from what I understand, most places now also do a glaucoma test (I don't think they always did that 10 years ago). This is a simple test to check the internal pressure in your eye, but it does involve physical contact with the eye. It doesn't hurt at all, but you need to fight your natural instinct to not let something poke you in the eye.

Sunglasses of course are going to be mandatory (if you forget them they can give you a disposable pair). A designated driver is also a good idea. I'd also suggest avoiding caffeine or anything else that might heighten your nerves prior to going in. Also, even with sunglasses your eyes are going to be super sensitive to bright lights so make a conscious effort to avert your gaze from light fixtures and bright sunny reflections.

[Stormraven]

The Glaucoma test at my doctor - done every year - is a simple puff of air. No direct contact with the eye at all.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Why did you faint? Did you have a bad reaction to the chemical they use to dialate your eyes or were you just scared?

I admittedly dont know too much about eye dilitation..Do you have low blood pressure or heart rate? Why did you faint? The drops they use may be absorbed but they are still in small small doseages. Lol. Maybe Nerves?

I don't actually know why I fainted. I don't even know what it was he put in my eye (he didn't actually tell me what he was doing)...if I remember correctly he used a little stick, not a dropper. My eye started to feel numb, which I wasn't expecting, then I started getting dizzy and next thing I knew I was laying all the way back in the chair. Then he decided that since I was only in my mid-twenties that particular exam wasn't absolutely necessary at the time.

This is a different doctor; I'm going to tell him before he starts what happened last time (I actually mentioned it to the tech during my exam, but it was just in chatting, before I saw the doc and was told to come back).

They do the air puff test for glaucoma. Had that done on Friday with everything else.

Edit: Amina, they took my BP at my exam on Friday (first time I ever had my BP taken at the eye doctor) and it was about 120/80ish, I think. I generally seem to tend toward the low end of normal (when I'm not letting my anxiety get the better of me). My pulse at the time was 108 (but I was a little worked up already that day - I wasn't surprised at that).