Do I need drops today?

Dr. Laurie prefers to examine the retina through a dilated pupil, and pupillary dilation is accomplished with eye drops, so yes. Think of it this way: You are home alone one night and you hear noises on your front porch. You know a neighbour recently had his home vandalized. Would you peek through the keyhole on your front door and decide everything is fine? Or would you look out the window, turn on the light, and be sure? The possible vandal here is eye disease that threatens your vision. Would you prefer the doctor look through your non-dilated pupil (the keyhole) and declare that’s good enough? She can’t see much that way… Instead, she dilates the pupil (like a big window) and turns on a light to get a really good look around to be sure there’s nothing lurking in the background!