Automated refraction
You look at a picture inside a machine, often a road or a balloon, while it measures how your eye focuses light. Also called autorefraction, it gives a first estimate in seconds.
Refraction Test
A measurement of your eye power. It finds the lens prescription that brings your vision into focus, and it does not hurt.
- Senior Consultant Eye Surgeons
- 50+ combined years in ophthalmology
- Seven clinics in six locations islandwide
Camden (Orchard)Joo ChiatClementiBedokToa PayohJurong
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What a refraction test is
A refraction test, the eye test for glasses, measures your eye power. It finds the lens that brings what you see into focus, and that lens is your prescription.
Refraction is the bending of light as it enters the eye. For sharp vision, that light has to meet on the retina at the back of the eye. In a short-sighted eye it meets in front of it, so distant things blur; the right lens moves it back.
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Short-sighted: light meets in front of the retina
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With the right lens: it meets on the retina
How a refraction test is done
Three common ways. Which are used is decided at the visit.
Checking lenses
Lenses are changed in front of each eye while you read a letter chart, and you say which looks clearer. Your answers settle the final figure.
Retinoscopy
A small light is shone into the eye and its reflection watched as lenses are held up. It needs no answers, so it suits young children.
The machine reading is a starting point. The figure you see best with is settled by checking lenses against your own vision.
How to read your eye prescription
Your eye power, written as a few numbers for each eye.
- R and L, or OD and OS, are your right and left eye.
- Sphere (SPH) is the main power. A minus figure means short-sighted, a plus figure long-sighted, and plano means none.
- Cylinder (CYL) and axis are for astigmatism, where the eye focuses more strongly in one direction. The axis gives that direction, from 0 to 180.
- Add is extra power for reading, usually needed from the 40s.
Astigmatism is measured in the same test, so there is no separate astigmatism test to book. If your prescription has no CYL figure, none needs correcting.
In Singapore eye power is often spoken of in degrees: −2.00 is 200 degrees of short-sightedness.
An eye power test is not a full eye check
It says what lenses you need, not how healthy the eye is.
- Blurred vision that lenses do not fix has another cause, and is looked into separately.
- The health of the eye is checked with other tests, such as an eye pressure test and a look at the retina.
Every test, and what each looks at, is set out under common eye tests.
Vision blurred, even with glasses? Tell our friendly staff what you have noticed and they will arrange the right appointment.
Refraction Test Cost in Singapore
An automated refraction is part of an eye consultation, and of all four of our eye screening packages.
| Screening package | Price |
|---|---|
| Community cataract screening | $29 |
| General eye screening | $99 |
| Diabetic retinal screening | $99 |
| Comprehensive eye screening | $249 |
Prices shown are for our community clinics at Bedok, Clementi, Toa Payoh and Jurong. All fees shown are nett, and each figure is the price of the whole screening package.
The screening packages are senior optometrist-led and every report is reviewed by an ophthalmologist. If you would like a new pair of glasses, we have frames at every clinic and can make them up for you.
Where can I do a Refraction Test in Singapore?
Seven clinics, at six addresses. The screening package prices above are for our four community clinics.
The Straits Eye Centre @ Camden
Camden Medical Centre
1 Orchard Boulevard, #06-07/08 & #12-04
Singapore 248649
- Nearest MRT
- Orchard Boulevard (TE13)
- Directions
- Open in Maps
The Straits Eye and Myopia Clinic @ Camden
Camden Medical Centre
1 Orchard Boulevard, #12-04
Singapore 248649
- Nearest MRT
- Orchard Boulevard (TE13)
- Directions
- Open in Maps
The Straits Eye Centre for Kids & Adults @ Parkway East
Parkway East Medical Centre
319 Joo Chiat Place, #03-03
Singapore 427989
- Nearest MRT
- Eunos (EW7)
- Directions
- Open in Maps
The Straits Eye Community Clinic @ Clementi
Blk 443 Clementi Avenue 3, #01-69
Singapore 120443
In Clementi New Town Centre
- Nearest MRT
- Clementi (EW23)
- Directions
- Open in Maps
The Straits Eye Community Clinic @ Bedok
211 New Upper Changi Rd, #01-743
Singapore 460211
In Bedok New Town Centre
- Nearest MRT
- Bedok (EW5)
- Directions
- Open in Maps
The Straits Eye Community Clinic @ Toa Payoh
Blk 185 Toa Payoh Central, #01-320
Singapore 310185
- Nearest MRT
- Toa Payoh (NS19)
- Directions
- Open in Maps
The Straits Eye Community Clinic @ Jurong
21 Jurong Gateway Rd, #02-07
Singapore 608546
In CPF Jurong Office Building
- Nearest MRT
- Jurong East (EW24/NS1)
- Directions
- Open in Maps
Have your eye power checked
Send us a message with what you have noticed and a time that suits, and our staff will arrange the appointment.
Common questions
What is a refraction test?
A measurement of your eye power: the lens prescription that brings what you see into focus. It is also called an eye power test or a refraction eye exam, and it is the main part of an eyeglass exam, the eye test for glasses.
What does eye power in degrees mean?
In Singapore eye power is often spoken of in degrees, which is the prescription figure times 100. A prescription of −2.00 is 200 degrees of short-sightedness; a plus figure is long-sightedness.
Does a refraction test hurt?
No. Nothing touches the eye. You look at a picture or a letter chart and say which lens looks clearer.
Why are drops sometimes used for children?
A child’s eye can focus hard during the test, which can make it look more short-sighted than it is. Drops that relax focusing give a truer reading, called a cycloplegic refraction, and they blur near vision for several hours afterwards.
Why has my eye power changed?
Short-sightedness often increases through childhood and the teenage years, and reading power is usually needed from the 40s. Changes in blood sugar and a developing cataract can also shift it.
Can my eye power get better?
Not usually. In adults, short-sightedness does not go down on its own, and it tends to settle in the 20s. Eye exercises do not reduce it. A change later in life, in either direction, can come from blood sugar or a developing cataract, and is worth having checked.
Can the wrong prescription cause headaches?
It can. Glasses made up to the wrong prescription can cause eyestrain, headaches and blurred vision, and some people feel dizzy. New glasses, even correct ones, can take a few days to get used to. If they still feel wrong after a week or two, have the prescription checked.
Does my prescription change after cataract surgery?
Yes, usually. The clouded lens is replaced with a clear one whose power is chosen before surgery, so the glasses you wore before may no longer suit. New glasses are measured once the eye has settled, about four to six weeks after surgery, and what you still need them for depends on the lens chosen.
How much is a refraction test?
No price is published for a refraction test on its own. An automated refraction is part of all four of our eye screening packages, from $29 nett at our community clinics in Bedok, Clementi, Toa Payoh and Jurong, and of an eye consultation. Glasses are not part of a package price. If you would like a new pair, we have frames at every clinic and can make your glasses up for you.