Eye examinations

An eye examination at The University of Auckland Clinics Optometry service includes:

• a check of how well you see and what strength lenses you might need in order to see better
• a check of how well your eyes work together, so that you have comfortable and single vision when looking at any distance. Headaches and eyestrain can be caused by your eyes not working together as a team
• a check of the health of the outside and the inside of your eyes to looks for signs of eye diseases, such as cataracts or macular degeneration. By looking at the inside of your eyes, we can often tell whether you have some general health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
  We also look at the surface of your eyes, as problems there can make your eyes feel scratchy, dry, itchy and irritated at some times during the day. In many cases, we can prescribe drops and other therapies to help with these conditions. We can also check out any lumps or bumps you may have on or around your eyes, to see if they should be removed
• a check of the pressure of your eyes, as sometimes increased eye pressure can damage the very sensitive nerves inside the eye (glaucoma)
• some other tests that help us diagnose and treat problems that we find.

At the end of the examination we review all the test results with you and recommend the best solutions. This could be glasses, contact lenses, eye exercises, ways of making your eyes feel less scratchy and dry that don’t require drops or prescribe you eye drops for eyes that are red and uncomfortable.

If you need glasses, we will recommend the best types of lenses to suit your needs, whether that’s looking at a computer screen for long periods or working in a dusty factory. We can also give you advise on coatings and tints that can be added to lenses. As we use the best lens for the job as we do not limit ourselves to only using one brand or maker of lens.

Examinations are conducted by final year students in the Department of Optometry and Vision Science under the supervision of NZ registered optometrists.

We are open to the general public as well as all university staff, students and families.

For more information on this service, please contact us.

At the beginning of your eye examination, we will ask you questions to ensure we understand the nature of any problems that you are having with your eyes and vision. We also ask about your family’s eye health so that we can spend some more time on areas of eye problems that may run in the family.

We will measure your vision by having you read letters on an eye chart. Don’t worry about not being able to read letters or if you are bringing a young child along, we have charts that have pictures and symbols.

We will measure what strength lenses you might need to help you see properly at all distances. Some people only need glasses to see at a distance (short sighted), while others might only need glasses to read (longsighted). Some people need different lens powers to see distance and close up. All the lens options will be discussed with you and we will recommend which might be the best for you.

We will measure how well your eyes work together to make sure they stay comfortable, even if you use your eyes a lot, for example looking at computer screens, needlework or watching television. We will look at the outside and surface of your eyes with a microscope to look for anything that might be unusual or require treatment.

We will look at the inside of your eyes, by using a small light and looking through your eye’s pupils. Sometimes the view we get of the inside of your eye can be limited - if this is the case for you we can use eye drops to make your pupils larger. As these drops can sometimes make you a little light sensitive and your vision slightly blurred for a few hours afterward, we recommend you do not drive until your vision has returned to normal. We would not put any drops into your eyes unless we have discussed these effects with you first.

We will measure the pressure of your eyes to make sure the pressure of the fluid in your eyes is not too high. Eyes that have high pressures could develop a sight-threatening problem called glaucoma.

The University of Auckland Clinics' Optometry service has some of the most up-to-date equipment to detect and monitor eye problems. We can measure the actual thickness of groups the light sensitive nerves inside the eye and we can also look at cross-sections of the light sensitive layer (the retina) inside the eye – amazing technology!

Your eye examination will take about 90 minutes and will be carried out by an Optometry student, who is usually in their final year of their training. The examination is supervised by an experienced New Zealand registered Optometrist.

Sometimes, additional tests will need to be done and these might require a second visit. When and why you might need these extra tests and how long they will take will be explained to you by the student optometrist.
During your eye examination, we will check how well your eyes see, how well your eye work together and the health of your eyes.

As part of the examination, we will sometimes we will need to put drops into your eyes to enlarge your pupils. The drops will tend to make you a bit sensitive to sunlight and may cause your reading vision to be blurry. These effects will wear off after a few hours and you are advised not to drive until your vision has returned to normal. These drops will only be used with your consent and when it is convenient for you.

Prices valid from January 2012

Eye examinations for adults (16+ years)

$50 including GST

Eye examinations for The University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology students (on presentation of ID)

$25 including GST

Eye examinations for SuperGold card holders (on presentation of ID)

$40 including GST

Eye examinations for children (under 15 years old)

$35 including GST

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