Can You Wear Contact Lenses With Dry Eyes?
Yes, many people with dry eyes can wear contact lenses comfortably with the right strategy and lens choice. […]
Yearly Diabetic Eye Exams Can Save Your Sight
Thorough diabetic eye exams can help prevent eye complications related to type 1 and type 2 diabetes. During a diabetic eye exam, we complete more extensive testing to monitor for eye conditions that may emerge as a result of unregulated blood sugar.
Diabetes can cause multiple ocular complications, including diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, glaucoma, and vision loss.
Regardless of type, all people with diabetes should have yearly eye exams to protect their eye health.
How Does Diabetes Affect Sight?
Diabetes is a chronic disease that impacts your body’s ability to produce or use insulin. Unmanaged, diabetes can lead to high blood glucose (blood sugar), which can impact the entire body.
In your eyes, consistently high blood glucose levels can damage blood vessels in the eye. The damage can affect the normal function of your eyes, interfering with sight and eye health.
While managing your blood glucose is a great way to prevent diabetes complications, regular eye exams are also vital for monitoring your ocular health.
What Is Diabetic Eye Disease?
Diabetic eye disease develops over time. Many people may not notice immediate symptoms or changes to vision.
Diabetic eye disease is a group of eye conditions caused by diabetes, including cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, and glaucoma. Having diabetes does not guarantee that you will develop any of these conditions, but it does increase your risk.
Along with the guidance of your primary care physician, your optometrist can provide you with useful information and advice to keep your eyes healthy while living with diabetes.
Cataracts occur when the normally clear lens of your eye becomes cloudy. This affects your vision and can cause symptoms like blurry or foggy vision, light sensitivity, and the feeling of a film over the eye.
In earlier stages, cataracts are managed through prescription lenses. In later stages, cataract surgery is often necessary to restore vision.
Macular edema or diabetic macular edema affects the health and function of the macula. This point of your retina has a high concentration of cones and is responsible for your central and colour vision.
Diabetic macular edema results from excess fluid buildup around the macula. Symptoms of macular edema include blurry or wavy central vision and washed-out or faded colours. Treatments can include laser therapy and injectable medications.
Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high blood sugar damages the blood vessels in the retina, which is responsible for receiving light and sending visual information to the brain. More than 500,000 Canadians are living with diabetic retinopathy.
Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include blurry vision, dark spots or holes in vision, flashes of light, and difficulty seeing colours. Diabetic retinopathy also increases the risk of other eye complications, such as retinal detachment or macular edema. Treatments include injectable medications, laser therapy, and surgery.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that affects your eye pressure and damages your optic nerve. Diabetes is a significant risk factor for developing glaucoma. Increased blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels in the eye, leading to abnormal blood vessel growth and poor drainage, which in turn can increase intraocular pressure (IOP).
Early detection of glaucoma is crucial to prevent vision loss. Treatments include drainage implants, medications, laser surgery, and trabeculectomy surgery.
Diagnosing Diabetic Eye Conditions
Our eye care team uses various diagnostic methods and technologies to look at your eye health. OCT and digital fundus imaging are 2 primary technologies we use during a diabetic eye exam to monitor your eye health.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging test that uses light waves to take cross-sectional pictures of the retina and optic nerve. It creates high-resolution images, allowing for detailed measurements of the retina and eye structures.
An OCT scan is a noninvasive test that often requires pupil dilation. The scan typically lasts between 5 and 10 minutes.
The fundus is the back surface of the eye, which includes the retina, macula, optic nerve, fovea, and blood vessels. Fundus imaging utilizes a low-power microscope to capture images of the interior surface and back of the eye.
Digital fundus imaging is a noninvasive test and can be completed in a few minutes. As the images are taken through the pupil, pupil dilation may be necessary to provide the camera with a better opening to look through.
Preventing Diabetic Eye Disease
Yearly diabetic eye exams are a crucial part of preventing eye disease and other complications of diabetes. Our team at Westmount Optometrists can help you protect your vision through diagnosis and treatment. The sooner we see you, the sooner we can work together to protect your eyes.
Book your diabetic eye exam today. Trust us, you’ll see!
Where to Find Us
At the corner of Springbank Drive and Wonderland Road, our clinic offers plenty of parking out front.
Our Address
- 585 Springbank Dr.
- London, ON N6J 1H3
Talk to Us
- Phone: 519-472-0210
- Email: info@westmounteyes.com
Hours of Operation
Monday:
8:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Tuesday:
8:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Wednesday:
8:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Thursday:
8:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Friday:
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday:
Closed
Sunday:
Closed
Insurance Providers We Direct Bill
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