Comprehensive eye examinations

With Dr. Emily Crane, OD, FAAO, at our First Avenue showroom in Manhattan. An eye examination is not a sight test — it is a look at the health of your eyes.

Why it matters more than the chart

Many people go years without seeing an eye doctor because nothing seems wrong. But an examination is about far more than how well you read a line of letters.

Early glaucoma is essentially undetectable by the person who has it — there are virtually no symptoms until sight has already been lost. Retinal holes and tears often announce themselves late. And systemic conditions, hypertension and diabetes among them, are routinely spotted first in the back of the eye, by an optometrist rather than a physician.

What the examination includes

  • A careful refraction — your prescription measured properly, not approximated

  • Dry eye and cornea evaluation

  • Intraocular pressure measurement

  • A dilated examination of the back of the eye

  • Diagnosis, treatment and management of anything found during the visit

What dilation shows

Dilating drops open the pupil. That creates a window into the back of the eye and lets Dr. Crane examine the retina, optic nerve, macula, vitreous and lens directly — which is how cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal holes and tears are found.

It is worth doing precisely because so many of these conditions cannot be seen or felt by the person who has them.

Dilation leaves near vision blurred and eyes light-sensitive for a few hours afterwards. Bring sunglasses if you have them, and plan not to drive straight afterwards.

Who should be seen more often

  • Anyone with a personal or family history of eye disease

  • Anyone with a systemic condition that can affect the eyes — diabetes and hypertension in particular

  • Anyone taking a medication with possible effects on the eyes

  • Contact lens wearers

Examined and made in the same building

Most people are examined in one place and buy their glasses in another, and when something is not quite right the two blame each other.

Here, Dr. Crane’s examination room, the frames and the lens laboratory are all at 1016 First Avenue. If the finished glasses do not feel right, the person who wrote the prescription and the people who ground the lenses are a few steps apart.

Booking, and what it costs

Examinations take place at our Manhattan showroom, 1016 First Avenue. Book an appointment online, or call (212) 758-2346. Our Mount Kisco showroom does not have an optometrist, but it fills prescriptions, makes lenses in its own laboratory and repairs frames.

Clairmont Nichols is out of network with every vision plan. We accept FSA and HSA cards, and the receipt you leave with is fully itemized for out-of-network reimbursement.