What is a slit lamp exam?

在一般体格检查期间，眼睛的疾病可能很难诊断。专门研究眼睛问题的医生称为眼科医生，可以更好地检查和诊断这些疾病，因为它们具有特定于眼睛的工具。当您进行眼睛检查时，您可能会接受缝隙灯检查。

通常，您将在验光或眼科办公室进行SLIT灯检查。该检查也称为生物显微镜检查。它使医生可以显微镜检查您的眼睛是否有任何异常或问题。

You do not have to prepare in advance for a slit lamp exam.

Once you are in the examination chair, the doctor will place an instrument in front of you on which to rest your chin and forehead. This helps steady your head for the exam. Your eye doctor may put drops in your eyes to make any abnormalities on the surface of your cornea more visible. The drops contain a yellow dye called fluorescein, which will wash away your tears. Additional drops may also be put in your eyes to allow your pupils to dilate, or get bigger.

医生将使用低功率显微镜以及一个高强度的缝隙灯。他们会仔细观察你的眼睛。狭缝灯具有不同的过滤器，以获得不同的眼睛视图。一些医生的办公室可能具有捕获数字图像以跟踪眼睛随时间变化的设备。

During the test, the doctor will examine all areas of your eye, including the:

  • 眼皮
  • conjunctiva
  • iris
  • lens
  • sclera
  • cornea
  • 视网膜
  • 视神经

医生将首先检查眼睛的前部区域，然后再用不同的镜头再次进行检查以检查眼睛的背面。

狭缝灯检查可以帮助诊断以下情况：

  • macular degeneration, a chronic condition affecting the part of the eye that is responsible for central vision
  • 脱落的视网膜，当视网膜是眼睛背面的重要组织层时的条件，从其底部分离
  • 白内障，对镜头的阴影负面影响清晰查看图像的能力
  • 角膜损伤，覆盖眼表面的组织之一的损伤
  • blockages of the retinal vessel, obstructions in the eye’s blood vessels that can cause a sudden or gradual loss of vision

询问您的医生在考试期间寻找什么以及您可能有风险的眼睛状况。

Typically, there are no significant side effects of this exam. Your eyes may be sensitive to light for a while afterward, especially if your pupils were dilated. If you start feeling nauseous or have eye pain, return to your doctor’s office as soon as possible. These may be symptoms of increased pressure of the fluid in the eye, which may be a medical emergency. While the risk of this is small, the eye drops used to dilate the eye can rarely cause this to occur.

如果您的缝隙灯检查结果异常，则可能存在多种疾病，包括：

  • 感染
  • 炎
  • 眼睛的压力增加
  • degeneration of the arteries or veins in the eye

For example, if macular degeneration is taking place, the doctor may find drusen, which are yellow deposits that can form in the macula early on in age-related macular degeneration. If your doctor suspects a particular cause of vision problems, they may recommend further testing to get a more definitive diagnosis.