Do you avoid eye exams because you hate having your pupils dilated? I do. I'm avoiding an appointment right now, in fact. Last time I went for my annual eye visit, I made it out of the office without having those blurry drops dripped into my eyes. I basically whined my way out of the procedure and my doctor, who knows me well, let me get away with it. "You have to come back," she told me. I agreed to stop in at a later date so she could examine the depths of my eyes. That was months ago. I haven't been back.

Many Pearl Vision centers are now offering an alternative for babies like me, according to the April issue of Family Circle magazine. The less-invasive optomap retinal exam involves taking a digital picture of the eye then projecting it onto a screen and printing it for future exams. Sounds much better. It's more objective too. In addition to detecting eye conditions like glaucoma and macular degeneration, the test can detect systemic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and certain cancers.

Dilation is still the gold standard, though, since it reveals more of the retina. Bummer. I guess I'm still headed for this drippy test. One of these days.

For more on eye care, check out this AOL Body site.