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Visiting Your Eye Care Professional

eye doctor and patientWhether you or a loved one are having a first eye exam, a repeat eye exam, or are seeing a new eye doctor for the first time, there are a number of routine questions you can expect. But your answers to these questions during eye exams are anything but routine for your eye doctor.

That’s because there are any number of factors in your medical history that can contribute to current or potential vision problems. Understanding your lifestyle and describing any visual problems you’re having helps to point your eye exam in the right direction. And there are medical conditions, medications and circumstances that can put you or a family member at a higher risk for certain eye diseases.

Though the processes and procedures involved in an eye doctor visit and exam are similar for everyone—your exam is unique to you and you alone. That’s because the process of examining your visual acuity (sharpness), visual ability, and then using different machines and procedures to examine your eyes, is as individual as a fingerprint.

Over time, your vision and overall health changes. That, more than anything, is why there’s a general procedure to follow during an eye exam, and why it’s important to visit your eye doctor. Without eye doctor visits, these critical changes in vision and eye health may go unnoticed.

An eye doctor visit is a process

Beyond what you need to know going into an exam, know that visiting your eye doctor is a process you should repeat regularly to maintain eye health and ideal vision.

  1. You can expect an eye doctor visit to last about an hour or so, depending upon whether or not you’ll need to have your pupils dilated (opened up) with special drops to allow your eyecare professional to fully analyze the internal structure of the eye.
  2. Your eye doctor visit starts with a review of your eye exam history, and any visible changes in your sight, your lifestyle, and any changes in your medical condition that may affect your vision. (This includes knowing all medications you’re taking.)
  3. Then you’ll undergo simple visual acuity tests designed to check your overall vision, near vision, and side vision. These tests may reveal vision errors that need correction; errors that usually direct your exam toward special equipment used to accurately determine your prescription.

But expect even more out of your visit to the eye doctor—because correcting vision and maintaining good eye health do require additional, regularly-performed tests.

Visit regularly

Visiting your eye doctor regularly is the only reliable way to maintain healthy sight and possibly prevent mild to serious eye diseases.

For children, teens, and adults of all ages, an eye doctor visit needs to happen regularly; at the minimum once every two years, and more frequently if you currently have eye disease, are at risk or have diabetes, or are approaching stages in life that put you at risk for age-related eye disease.

Things to know before eye exams

Beyond having your vision insurance information, necessary payment and identification ready, here’s a checklist of things to know before you approach the front desk at your next eye exam.

  • What eye problems are you having now? Is your vision blurry or hazy at certain distances? Do you have problems in your side vision? Are you experiencing pain or discomfort in certain lighting situations?
  • Do you have a history of any eye problems or eye injury? Do you have a current prescription for glasses or contact lenses? Are you wearing them regularly, and if so, are you still happy with them?
  • Were you or your loved one born prematurely? Have you had any health problems in the recent such as high blood pressure or heart disease? Are you diabetic? Are you considered overweight?
  • Are you taking any medications? Do you have allergies to medications, food or other materials? Seasonal allergies?
  • Has anyone in your family (including parents) suffered from eye problems or diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma or macular degeneration?
  • Has anyone in your family (including parents) suffered from high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes? What about other health problems that can affect the whole body like blood disorders or cancer?

Eye exams include a detailed history because many things you might consider unrelated to vision may actually affect your current vision, or reveal potential risks for developing certain eye diseases. Be ready to provide a complete history at your next eye exam, and help the front desk, and your eye doctor, best prepare for the examination that follows.

 

Special thanks to the EyeGlass Guide, for informational material that aided in the creation of this website. Visit the EyeGlass Guide today!

Dear Valued Patient:

We plan to re-open on May 20, 2020 to a limited schedule by appointment only—please set appointment online or call or email first.

We look forward to see you again soon!  We place the highest priority on the health and safety of our patients and our eye care staff.  Please read below:

Please read the following carefully to prepare for your visit to our office. We are implementing many new and more stringent procedures to ensure the health and safety of our patients and eye care personnel based on guidelines from the Alameda County Health Department and the CDC to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. During this time we are requiring the following for every patient and in-office encounter:

+We are starting with a limited schedule of appointments for better social distancing and for the safety of our patients (thank you in advance for your patience and understanding).

+All visits are by appointment only, there are no walk-in visits available

+All patients are required to wear their own personal mask before entering the office

+All patients are required to check in over the phone before their appointment

+Insurance coverage verifications must be taken care of before entering office for appointment

+Patient will wait outside in car until notified by text or email when they can come in for their appointment, upon entering, patient’s temperature will be taken and their hands sanitized with alcohol cleaner

+There will be no waiting area in the office, patient will be seen right away-please be on time

+Family or caregivers will need to wait outside in the car, as we will only allow patient to enter office.  Verbal consent for minors is acceptable. Updates will be given family or caregiver over the phone as needed.

+All glasses, contact lens orders will be by curb side pick up only—please call or email and we can help you set up a time to pick up your eye wear safely, maintaining social distancing

Our doctors and staff will increase our cleaning and sanitizing protocols:

+We have the latest HEPA air filters with UVC light disinfection to destroy bacteria and viruses

+Wearing protective face shields and surgical masks and medical grade disposable gloves

+All exam equipment and every surface is sanitized fully with hospital grade sanitizer after each patient encounter

+We have a new safe system of disinfection for all frames which have been touched or tried

+We screen all patients by phone to assure they have been healthy prior to their appointment

+All staff and doctors have passed additional training in more stringent sanitizing protocol

Thank you for your patience and compliance to these new and required guidelines. Our goal is to take care of your eye care needs while keeping you and your family healthy. We also want to help our community overcome this pandemic.

We will get through this together.

Please let us know if you have any questions or need more immediate assistance. 

You can set up a future appointment online at EyeCareDrLee.com or send an email to EyeCareDrLee@gmail.com or DrLeongOK@gmail.com  or call 510-668-0877

Please stay safe and stay healthy.

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Stay up to date on our COVID-19 pandamic protocols Read Our Blog Post…

Our office continues to monitor the local health announcements on a daily basis. Optometry is an essential service and we will open to new health guidelines to help our patients while keeping everyone healthy. Please read our blog updates for our open date and new safety guidelines. Let us know if you have any questions or immediate eye care needs. Need contact lenses? Let us know, as we can send orders to you with free shipping.
We are responding faster to direct email:

eyecareDrLee@gmail.com

drLeongOK@gmail.com (for ortho-k)

Thank you, stay safe and stay healthy.

COVID-19 guidelines from CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention-H.pdf