Dilating Drops

by Felicity Mullette
(Carlingford)

Question: Will you need to dilate my eyes? (those eye drops that make everything go bright and blurry)

Answer: Dilation (eye drops to widen the pupil) is not necessary at every visit. It depends on how clear the view into your eye is with your pupil at normal size, and on the equipment the Optometrist has available.

If you have signs or symptoms indicative of particular problems, then you will be dilated to be able to have a more comprehensive look at the insides of your eyes.

The side effects of these drops are blurred vision (how blurred depends on your prescription) and sensitivity to glare. they take a few hours to wear off. You shouldn’t drive for a few hours after dilation, so another visit may be arranged with you to organise a driver or public transport home, unless there is some emergency to your problem.

In particular, dilation is necessary for examining for tears and holes in the retina. People with high myopia (minus lens prescription) are prone to this because the back of the eyeball is so stretched out.

Also, people with new floaters in their vision or seeing persistent flashes of light may have a tear in the retina. This is often in the periphery of the retina which requires dilation to be able to get a view of it.

If you have significant cataracts you will need dilation. It is just as hard to see into your eye as it is for you to see out!

If your pupils are quite small, you may need dilation to get a decent view of your retinas. The bigger the hole we have to look through, the better the view.