What to Expect from a Home Eye Examination

If you've never had an eye test at home before, you might wonder how it all works. Perhaps you're used to high street opticians with their large equipment and testing rooms, and you're unsure whether a thorough examination is really possible in your living room. Rest assured, a home eye test is every bit as comprehensive.

Our optometrists arrive with everything needed to conduct a comprehensive examination. The equipment is specially designed to be portable while maintaining excellent clinical standards. We can test in most rooms and adapt to different situations, whether you're most comfortable in your armchair or need to be examined in bed.

The examination typically takes around an hour, though this varies depending on individual needs. We'll start by discussing your general health, any medications you take, and any concerns you have about your vision or eyes. This information helps guide the examination.

Vision testing comes next. We'll assess how well you see at different distances and determine whether a new glasses prescription might help. For those who already wear spectacles, we'll check whether your current prescription is still right for you. The process involves looking at letters and symbols of different sizes, just as you might have experienced before. We combine this with objective checks that both reinforce a person’s answers, or help for people who find responding to an examination more difficult.

Eye health checks form a crucial part of the examination. We measure the pressure inside your eyes, which helps screen for glaucoma. Using specialist instruments, we examine the front surfaces of your eyes, including your eyelids and the quality of your tears. Then we look inside each eye to assess the health of the retina, optic nerve, and other internal structures.

To get the best possible view of the back of your eyes, we often dilate your pupils using eye drops. This causes temporary blurring that usually lasts a few hours but allows a much more detailed examination. We'll always discuss this with you first.

If a new spectacle prescription would benefit you, we offer a complete dispensing service. We bring a selection of frames to your home, help you choose something suitable, and handle everything from ordering to fitting.

At Atlantic Home Eyecare, we've spent over a decade refining how we deliver professional eyecare in home settings. Our team genuinely enjoys this work and takes pride in making the experience comfortable and thorough.