A dilated pupil after eye doctor put in special drops.  “Here’s looking at you, kid.” *

By Paul Goldfinger, MD and an eye patient having been to a number of eye specialists in recent years.

Years ago you always had to bring a driver for an eye exam.  That’s because it was routine to dilate your pupils. And dilating pupils made it difficult and dangerous to drive.  The eye doctor does the dilation so he could use an ophthalmoscope to view the retina—the light sensitive tissue at the back of your eye.

Dilating your pupils will leave you with blurry vision and light sensitivity.  The dilation affects the ability of your eye to focus, and the light sensitivity could be very uncomfortable.

This is what you will see after your pupils are dilated, and it will be more risky at night. Internet photo.

I  routinely  see an ophthalmologist but also a retina specialist.  If you read the diplomas on the wall,  these retina doctors have more degrees than  a thermometer; and they are usually trained at prestigious institutions where they learn how to perform  intricate  surgical procedures.

If a  doctor does dilate your pupils, the visual changes  usually last 4-6 hours, but these days, general ophthalmologists no longer dilate pupils because they have new cameras that can image the retina better and without dilating the eye.

So no driver would be necessary for a routine eye exam, but ask in advance in case your doctor is planning to dilate your pupils.   Then you can know to  bring a driver and sunglasses.

However,  if you visit a retina specialist as I did today , you will find that they not only use high tech imaging, but they still dilate the pupils for standard ophthalmoscopic examination.

The retina office sent me about 4 texts this week regarding my visit, but they did not warn me to bring a driver, so I didn’t.  When I got there  I found out that they would dilate my eyes.   I asked the assistant if I could drive when we were done, and she said “yes.”

Then before I left I was concerned about the blur, so I asked again and she said, “Yes, you can drive, but your vision will be mildly blurry and did you bring sunglasses?”

No one suggested sunglasses before the visit, but fortunately I had them.

I thought the staff was  rather blasé regarding this issue.  And the doctor who examined my dilated eyes said nothing about it.

Of the 4 text messages this past week reminding me about the visit and warning about COVID, none mentioned dilation.

I went out to the car, and I could not have driven without the sunglasses.  It was bright and sunny.      My eyes have always been sensitive to light.

But the blurry vision was not “mild” as far as I was concerned. I found driving with my blurry vision to be dangerous, and I will not go there again without a driver.

If you Google this topic, you will find that most eye offices say that you can drive after  dilating the eye, but it is “an individual choice since the side-effects can be more or less pronounced.”

I don’t think that eye  physicians should let patients decide what to do.

In my opinion, patients who are to be dilated should bring a driver. You can call the office to find out.

BERTIE HIGGINS. From his album Just Another Day in Paradise.  “Key  Largo.”

“Here’s looking at you, kid”*  is a line spoken in the movie Casablanca by Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman.