Can I have a show of hands from everyone that loves having their eyes dilated…….
If you’ve ever had an eye exam, you know that dilating the pupil is an extremely important part of your examination. It is the natural reaction of our pupil to constrict when a bright light is shone into it, which will cause the doctor some difficulty in viewing the inside of the eye. The dilating drops are used to relax those muscles that cause the pupils to shrink, allowing the doctor to examine the overall health of your eyes. A large, dilated pupil is not only helpful but essential in diagnosing and treating eye diseases. Relaxing those focusing muscles of the eyes can also allow for a more accurate determination in the glasses prescription in some cases.
One common side effect of the dilating drops, aside from the obviously large pupil, is blurry vision up close -anything that is arms length or closer may be difficult to see for about 2 hours. For those who are lucky enough to have bifocals or reading glasses, they may not even notice this problem! Light sensitivity is another side effect because we relaxed those muscles that would normally shrink the pupil on exposure to bright lights or sunshine. So going outside on a bright sunny day after having your eyes dilated may cause you to squint a bit! You will want to bring a pair of sunglasses with you to your appointment – or we would be happy to give you a pair of our fabulously stylish disposable ones we have near the check out counter.
Shawnté G., Surgical coordinator/Technician
