Refraction

Refraction is initially performed to determine whether you are long sighted, short sighted or have a stigmatism.

Refraction is performed by our optometrist, and is an important part of the diagnosis and management of a wide range of eye conditions.

Our optometrists also perform refraction prior to performing a contact lens assessment or a low vision assessment.

The optometrist will test your vision in each eye separately and then show you a series of lenses asking you which lenses improve the clarity of letters on the vision chart.

This will be done for both your near and distance vision. This is called subjective refraction.

In certain circumstances it may be necessary for the optometrist to dilate your pupils and perform an objective refraction.

Once your pupils are dilated the optometrist will move a light across the eye whilst a series of lenses are placed in front of the eye. Both methods take between 20 and 30 minutes.