What Does a Visual Field Test Show?
Regardless of your age or physical health, it is critical to have your vision checked regularly. Routine vision tests are important for general health maintenance. In addition to evaluating a person’s eyes for glasses and/or contacts, during an eye exam in Laramie, our doctors will check the patient’s eyes for eye diseases and other problems that could lead to vision loss. A wide variety of vision tests and procedures are used to examine the eyes ranging from simple assessments such as having the patient read an eye chart, to complex tests such as a corneal and retinal topography vision test for conditions like astigmatism, or a fluorescein angiogram eye test to evaluate the blood circulation in the retina. In fact, vision tests can help detect chronic systemic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes which can seriously affect a person’s eyes.
A visual field test, to measure peripheral (side) vision, may be performed during your examination. Your visual field is an indicator of how much you can see to each side while focusing your eyes on a central point (peripheral vision). Visual field testing is used to look for signs of vision loss in patients which may be an early indication of glaucoma or other harmful conditions. During the non-invasive test, a patient sits and looks inside the testing instrument at a screen. Every time the patient sees a flash of light, they are instructed to press a button on a remote. In this way, the patient’s entire vision – including their peripheral or side vision – is checked.
If your visual field test results are normal, your peripheral vision is in good working order. However, if you have abnormal results, further testing will be needed to determine the cause of your vision loss.
To learn more about visual field testing or other visual assessments in Location, contact Snowy Range Vision Center at 307-742-2020 or website and schedule an exam today.