What does optometry mean?
Optometry is an eye care field that focuses on keeping the eyes and vision healthy. It includes diagnosing, managing and treating common vision and eye problems during checkups called comprehensive eye exams.
Optometry also involves looking for more complex eye conditions and signs in the eyes that could be related to other health problems.
A big part of optometry is managing common eyesight problems called refractive errors. The four main types are:
- Nearsightedness
- Farsightedness
- Astigmatism
- Presbyopia
These imperfections can all affect vision in some way. Optometry involves measuring patients’ eyes and prescribing glasses or contact lenses so they can see as clearly as possible.
Which doctors practice optometry?
Optometrists are the doctors licensed to practice optometry. Their formal title is Doctor of Optometry, which you’ll see abbreviated as “OD” after their name.
Their goal is to help patients maintain their vision and eye health, and they’re often the first doctors people see when they have an eye or vision concern. Some choose to specialize in specific areas.
Optometrists typically don’t perform surgery to treat medical eye diseases, but they may help manage many of them. Surgical treatment of eye disorders is mainly handled by ophthalmologists, medical eye doctors who practice ophthalmology.
LEARN MORE about the differences between optometrists and ophthalmologists
What does optometry cover?
For the most part, optometry covers the care of day-to-day eye concerns that don’t need surgical or specialized care. These are some of the common issues a doctor of optometry might diagnose, manage or treat:
Refractive errors
Refractive errors happen due to imperfections in the shape of the eye or certain parts of the eye. Age can also be a factor.
These common issues affect eyesight in different ways:
- Nearsightedness (myopia) – Distant objects look blurry, while closer objects look clearer.
- Farsightedness (hyperopia) – Close-up objects look blurry, while distant objects may look clearer.
- Astigmatism – Objects can look blurry or distorted at all distances.
- Presbyopia – It gets harder to focus on things up close. This type is caused by age and usually starts around age 40.
Prescription glasses or contact lenses can correct these conditions and their effects on vision.
Other eye conditions
While many doctors of optometry spend a lot of time on vision correction, caring for their patients’ eye health is equally important. They handle issues, such as:
- Common eye infections, like conjunctivitis (pink eye)
- Common eyelid conditions, like stye or blepharitis
- Minor eye injuries, like a corneal abrasion (an eye scratch) or a piece of metal lodged in the front of the eye
These eye doctors can also detect eye problems that they don’t treat directly. They may monitor or manage some of these conditions with other eye doctors. Examples can include:
- Glaucoma
- Cataracts
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Retinal detachment or tears
- More serious eye infections, injuries or inflammation
Some optometrists diagnose, monitor and prescribe medication for glaucoma, but surgery or laser treatment is usually performed by an ophthalmologist.
Signs of other health problems
Optometry involves more than just the eyes. It can also be used to find eye-related signs of health conditions in other parts of the body.
During an eye exam, an optometrist may find signs related to health issues, such as:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Stroke
- Heart disease
- Thyroid disease
- Certain brain or nerve problems
- Certain autoimmune diseases and cancers
Optometrists will refer someone to another kind of doctor if they see signs of a possible health problem.
Which services are part of optometry?
Optometry includes different tests and services that are important to maintaining eye and eyesight health.
Comprehensive eye exams
The comprehensive eye exam (often just called an “eye exam”) is a complete check of the eyes and vision. These are different and much more thorough than a vision screening.
Eye exams can be regularly scheduled checkups or related to a specific concern. This is similar to how a primary care doctor does both annual physicals and as-needed “sick” appointments.
Eye exams include several tests that can vary, depending on the patient. Together, these painless tests give the eye doctor a good understanding of:
- How well the patient can see.
- How healthy their eyes are inside and out.
- Any risk for future eye problems.
- How their eyesight, eye health or both can be managed or improved.
In-office testing
Optometrists can perform many different eye and vision tests. They’re often done during an eye exam:
- Visual acuity test – Measures how clearly someone can see using an eye chart.
- Refraction test – Checks how the eye focuses light to help find a prescription for glasses or contacts.
- Eye pressure test – Measures the pressure inside the eye, which can help detect glaucoma.
- Slit-lamp test – Uses a lighted microscope to check the front of the eye for signs of disease or injury.
- Retinal exam – Examines the back of the eye (retina) for signs of disease. The pupil may be dilated (widened) with eye drops so the doctor can see the retina better.
- Other tests – May check eye movement, peripheral vision, color vision and other important factors, depending on the patient.
Treatment and management
Doctors of optometry provide different services to help patients see clearly, protect their eye health and manage ongoing issues. In addition to comprehensive eye exams, these services can include:
- Prescribing and fitting glasses (an optician may help with adjustments)
- Contact lens fittings (including medically necessary contact lenses that can restore vision when glasses cannot provide adequate vision)
- Diagnosing eye problems
- Referrals to ophthalmologists or other doctors if needed
- Prescribing over-the-counter or prescription medications for eye problems
- Managing certain medical eye conditions
- Minor in-office procedures, like draining a stye
- Low-vision aids and vision rehabilitation
- Vision therapy
- Sports vision services
These services can vary, depending on the doctor or practice.
Co-management with other doctors
While optometry doctors usually don’t perform surgery, some of them offer care before or after certain procedures. This might include pre- or post-operation care for cataract removal or laser eye surgery, among others.
This is called co-management because the optometrist is managing the patient together with the ophthalmologist who performed the procedure.
The school and training behind optometry
Becoming a doctor of optometry takes several years of education and hands-on training.
They aren’t medical doctors (MDs), but they are trained to diagnose many eye conditions and help manage someone’s vision and eye health. If a patient needs specialized medical care or surgery, they know which doctor to refer them to.
Education and license requirements
Optometry education requirements can vary slightly based on the school or state. For example, some optometry schools don’t strictly require a bachelor’s degree but still encourage it.
People who want to become optometry doctors in the U.S. typically complete:
- Up to four years of college undergraduate study, often focusing on natural sciences, like biology or chemistry.
- A four-year Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree.
- National and state licensing exams.
Once someone passes their licensing exams, they can legally practice optometry and treat patients in their state.
Optometry school
Students use classroom learning mixed with hands-on patient training during their four years of optometry school.
A residency isn’t required to practice optometry, but one in four optometrists chooses to do one to specialize in specific optometric specialties, such as low vision care or advanced contact lens fitting, or to gain more experience in the management of medical eye conditions.
After graduation
A doctor of optometry can choose to work in many different settings, such as:
- Private or group practices
- Retail clinics
- Public hospitals
- Military or veterans’ hospitals
- Universities
- Corporate settings
- Consulting
Some students choose to focus on a specific area of optometry. For example, a pediatric optometrist specializes in managing eye and vision problems in children.
All practicing eye doctors need to keep their licenses active. This involves regularly keeping up with new eye care treatments and other advances in the field.
LEARN MORE about how to become an optometrist
Lifelong eye care starts with optometry
Regular eye care is important at every stage of life, even when vision seems normal. Optometry plays a critical role in helping people see clearly, manage their eye health and prevent conditions that could harm their eyesight.
Doctors of optometry use routine eye exams to find vision changes and spot the early signs of eye disease, sometimes long before symptoms appear. They can prescribe glasses, contact lenses or other treatments to help patients maintain healthy vision at any age.
Even when a problem falls outside their care, optometrists can provide recommendations or referrals to make sure their patients get the help they need.
