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The exam is simple and painless. Your eye doctor will check for vision problems that make it hard to see clearly, like being nearsighted or farsighted. Then your doctor will give you some eye drops to dilate (widen) your pupil and check for eye diseases.

Dilating your pupil lets more light into your eye just like opening a door lets light into a dark room. Dilation helps your eye doctor check for many common eye problems, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

In determining whether eye dilation is necessary for you, your eye doctor may consider: Your age. The risk of eye diseases increases with age. The National Eye Institute recommends a dilated eye exam once every one to two years if you're 60 or older.

The dilating drops that we typically use last, on average, 4-6 hours before they wear off. Occasionally, we use longer lasting eye drops in younger children, which can last approximately 24 hours. Most people do feel comfortable to drive after their pupils have been dilated.

There is no way to reduce your pupil size faster. You might consider taking a nap once you get home to reduce how much light your eyes are exposed to. Since it can be hard to do things like read or see a television screen if your vision is blurry, it is best to avoid these activities until the effects wear off.

Dilation allows an eye doctor to look inside your eyes. Dilating drops widen the pupil (the black part of your eye) so that it doesn't get smaller when your doctor shines a light at it. The widened pupil allows your doctor to use a magnifying lens to look inside your eye and at the back of your eye.

Therefore, they require stronger drugs to dilate the pupils. As a result, a child's eyes may stay dilated for 24 hours or longer. Type of drug: The type of drug that a doctor uses to dilate the pupils will affect how long the eyes remain dilated.

How long do dilating drops last? Dilating eye drops used for examination of the eyes usually last anywhere from 4 to 24 hours. This depends on the strength and type of the drop, and on the individual patient. Dilation can last longer in people with lighter colored eyes, and in some cases, may last longer than 24 hours.

Dilation is often a normal part of an eye exam for people who wear glasses or contacts. But if you're young and your eyes are healthy, you may not need it every time. Your doctor also may be able to use other methods to check your retina without dilating your eyes, but they may not work as well.