When you have diabetes, it can put you at risk for other conditions, including conditions impacting the eyes. This is why it is vital to work with an experienced care team to ensure your diabetes is well under control, lowering your risk for additional conditions. Patients with diabetes will be scheduled for a diabetic eye exam, which is a bit more comprehensive than a regular eye exam. At OCLI Vision, we want to ensure our patients are cared for appropriately, so we take the time to educate them about different risks and keep schedules for regular appointments so we can catch problems when they are small. Read on for more information about how diabetes affects the eyes, diabetic eye exams, and the conditions impacting those with diabetes. Then, schedule an appointment with the team to start your journey to healthy vision.
What is Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy affects patients with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, and is a condition of the eye impacting the blood vessels. When blood sugar remains uncontrolled or a patient has had diabetes for a long time, they are more at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy. This condition results in damage to the blood vessels on the retina which is responsible for transforming light into nerve signals which are then read by the brain, allowing you to see. Diabetic retinopathy causes blood and fluid to leak into the eye from the damaged blood vessels which leads to diabetic retinopathy symptoms, including blurry vision and blind spots. As the disease progresses, new damaged blood cells begin to form on the retina, further obstructing vision and causing scarring. Since the disease is progressive, it can lead to blindness, and is in fact, the leading cause of blindness in American adults with diabetes.
Diabetic retinopathy may also be confused with other eye issues such as cataracts, diabetic macular edema, and glaucoma. All of which are more common in patients with diabetes. The good news is that if you attend regular eye exams at your nearest OCLI Vision location, your eye doctor is more likely to catch diabetic eyes problems while they can still be treated, protecting your vision!
What Happens During a Diabetic Eye Exam?
A diabetic eye exam is an eye exam formulated to address and evaluate common eye conditions caused by diabetes. During a diabetic eye exams, the eye doctor will pay particular attention to the retina and other parts of the eye that are affected by diabetes. A diabetic eye exam consists of dilating the eyes with tropicamide drops to detect the early signs of diabetic eye conditions like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, and cataracts, Dilating the eye allows the doctor to see the retina and other structures of the eye more clearly. A fundoscopy will then be used to examine the back of the eye to view the retina, blood vessels, and the optic nerve. Both of these procedures are incredibly safe, and for patients with diabetes, absolutely necessary to ensure proper vision. After the exam, the eyes may remain dilated for up to two hours, but this is a normal side effect and is nothing to worry about.
What Are the Retinopathy Diabetes Stages?
First, it is important to know that if you have diabetes, you need to have annual eye exams. Those that do not attend regular diabetic eye exams risk losing their vision if diseases are not caught early when they can be treated. Diabetic retinopathy has two distinct stages: non-proliferative (NDPR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Overall, this eye condition is caused by prolonged high blood sugar, which leads to the loss of supportive retinal cells, thickened vessel walls, and minor fluid leakage. The extent of the leakage and damage depends on the stage of the condition.
Diabetic Nonproliferative Retinopathy or Mild Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
In NDPR, the very first stage, the blood vessels leak blood and fluid into the retina, causing blurry vision. Unfortunately, due to the nature of diabetes and how it impacts the blood vessels, most diabetic patients have this condition. However, it is possible to have this condition and not have any symptoms in its earliest stages. It is important to attend regular diabetic eye exams at this stage as the disease can quickly progress and lead to worse outcomes.
Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a serious complication of diabetes in which the blood vessels continue to leak, and at the same time, new abnormal blood vessels start to grow and proliferate on the retina. This is when advanced diabetic retinopathy symptoms start to occur, including blind spots and blurry vision. If left untreated, PDR can lead to blindness! The good news is that doctors can apply diabetic retinopathy treatment to try and resolve the condition with different methods, including diabetic retinopathy surgery, controlling blood sugar, diabetic retinopathy medication, and others.
How Long Does a Diabetic Eye Exam Take?
Depending on your situation, a diabetic eye exam can take between 30 minutes to an hour or more. It will depend on the status of your diabetes, the existing conditions you have, and your combined risk for other conditions. However, this appointment is incredibly important for the health of your eyes and controlling the impacts of diabetes on different bodily systems. Diabetes can be challenging on the best of days, but you shouldn’t also have to worry about your eyes. With regular diabetic eye exams and a trusted eye care team, we’ll help you catch problems before they become serious.
Be sure to schedule your diabetic eyecare services at the nearest OCLI Vision location. Our teams are ready to help!
