Eye Care Instruments - The Slit Lamp

It is another beautiful day today and we are always excited and glad when we have to come your way with another one of our interesting lessons for health or eyecare. Today we are taking a little bit of a different route and that involves we learning about the things that our healthcare providers have been using to take care of us.

Today we are learning about one of these instruments known as the Slit Lamp, we would be covering what the instrument does basically and a few things you ought to know to help make your stay at the office of the Optometrist easier and more convenient for you when you pass by.

The slit lamp is one of the critical instruments that is used by the ophthalmologist, optometrist and ophthalmic nurse in the care of the eye. The instrument is quite bulky as compared to the other instruments used to quickly examine the eye before further test may be need. Because of this it is stationed at one point, mostly in the office of the OD or has it's own separate room.

The slit lamp is used to access the anterior segment of the eye including the cornea, conjunctiva, anterior chamber, iris and lens. In some instances depending on the skill of the practitioner or user it may be used to observe the vitreous which is part of the posterior segment and with the help of additions such as the Volks lenses the retina may be viewed and assessed a process known as indirect ophthalmoscopy.

The slit lamp comes in different brands and as such may vary in terms of their user-friendliness and durability or quality. The Brightness and additional features such as in-built cameras with software to allow a view on laptops or pc as the doctor takes care of patient etc. Whichever the case may be your optometrist would be well to give you the best of care.

When we say uasge we basically mean to say that these are tips that can help you if it happens to be the first time you are sitting behind the slit lamp to be examined by the Doctor or coming across it all together.

• Sit as close to the slit lamp as possible and make sure you are comfortable before the Doctor proceeds.

• Do not be afraid to let the Doctor know if you are not ok.

• The dent is for your chin and the headrest is for your forehead. Be well to let them touch your head.

• If you are confused as to where to look, just focus straight ahead and try not to move your eyes a lot.

• Keep your arms straight and on the rest.

• Do not be afraid and when in doubt always ask

And so now you know what the slit lamp is and could familiarize yourself with it the next time you visit the Optometrist. You can try mentioning the name to your OD on your next and see how his reaction may be. We do hope you enjoyed this session though.

We look forward to our subsequent lessons and we thank you our dear reader for your time. Have a wonderful time and stay safe. You may leave all of your questions or comments below and we would do well to attend to them. Thank you once again,