Diabetic Eye Exams

Protect Your Eyes From Diabetic Complications

About 1 in 10 Americans lives with diabetes. Diabetes can develop at any age and impacts your whole body, including your eyes.

Diabetes can lead to complications that impact your eyes, such as diabetic retinopathy. This condition is the leading cause of blindness in working-age Americans. However, with routine eye exams, we can often catch and manage signs of these conditions before they cause vision loss.

At VEA, we provide thorough, health-focused eye exams for people with diabetes to monitor eye health and catch conditions before eyesight is impacted. We collaborate with your primary care provider to support your overall health and wellness. Book your eye exam today.

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How Does Diabetes Affect Your Eyes?

Diabetes impacts your body’s ability to regulate its blood glucose (sugar) levels. Consistently high levels of blood glucose can damage your blood vessels, including the delicate ones in your eyes.

Diabetes can result in diabetic eye disease, a group of eye conditions that affect the health of your eyes and vision. Many of these conditions emerge without noticeable symptoms until permanent vision loss occurs.

Routine diabetic eye exams are crucial for your visual health, as they can monitor your eyes for any signs of disease before your vision is impacted.

What Is Diabetic Eye Disease?

Diabetic eye disease refers to a group of eye diseases that occur as a result of complications from diabetes. These include diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, cataracts, and glaucoma.

If you are living with diabetes, you are at a greater risk of developing these conditions. Keeping a close watch on your blood glucose levels and working together with your primary care provider and optometrist all help to reduce your risk and maintain your overall health.

Learn more about the different conditions we monitor and manage.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when the delicate blood vessels in the eye are damaged by consistently high blood glucose levels. These blood vessels may swell, leak, or close, impacting blood flow to the eyes and affecting your vision. The blood vessels may also leak into your retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue inside your eye. This can cause blurry vision.

Diabetic Macular Edema

Diabetic macular edema occurs when the weakened blood vessels break and leak into the macula. The macula is a part of the retina that is responsible for your central vision and most of your color vision. If macular edema occurs, you can experience the loss of your central vision, making it difficult to read, write, or see faces.

Cataracts

Cataracts are a normal part of the aging process, but people living with diabetes are at risk of them forming earlier and faster. Cataracts occur when the normally clear lens of the eye becomes cloudy or opaque. They can cause blurry or hazy vision. While many cataracts can be managed with updated eyewear prescriptions, individuals with significant visual impairment may need surgery.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that lead to damage to the optic nerve and vision loss, beginning with peripheral vision, if left untreated. There are several types of glaucoma, many of which involve increased internal eye pressure, although not all. Diabetes increases your risk of developing glaucoma; therefore, checking your eye pressure, peripheral vision, and the health of your optic nerve are all part of a diabetic eye exam.

What to Expect During a Diabetic Eye Exam

During a diabetic eye exam, we will complete thorough testing of your eye health and the internal structure of your eye, as well as checking for any changes to your vision. We use diagnostic technology to measure and track these changes objectively so that we can refer back to previous appointments and catch even the smallest of differences.

As part of your diabetic eye exam, Dr. Williams will also complete a diabetic report, which is shared with your primary care provider. This report provides detailed information about all the tests completed during your visit, any changes noticed to your health, and any cause for concern. This report helps connect your different healthcare providers so we can collaborate better in caring for your overall health.

We recommend that anyone living with diabetes has an annual eye exam to monitor their visual health. This allows us to develop a baseline for your vision, track changes over time, and catch signs of complications earlier, before your vision is affected.

If you’re diagnosed with an eye condition, Dr. Williams will work with you to develop a treatment plan and determine an exam frequency to meet your needs.

Our Technology to Monitor Your Eye Health

Our eye care technology allows us to enhance our level of care. Our diagnostic devices provide detailed information and images that make it easier to detect microscopic changes or notice subtle differences in your eyes or vision from one visit to the next.

We use fundus photography to capture an image of the inside of your eye. This allows us to monitor your retina, blood vessels, and optic nerve. We also use iCare tonometry, which measures the pressure inside your eye, OCT scans, and electroretinogram tests to get a full picture of your eye health.

OCT Scans

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) uses light waves to map the layers of your retina, creating a cross-sectional image of your eye. It is a powerful diagnostic tool that allows us to check on the health of your eye and optic nerve, and track changes over time. The cross-sectional image helps us measure the thickness of each retinal layer and compare this measurement between visits.

Electroretinogram (ERG)

The electroretinogram (ERG) measures the electrical activity of the retina in response to light. In this way, the ERG can provide an objective measurement of the retinal function (how quickly and accurately your eyes respond to visual information) through a noninvasive test. This test helps us to monitor for and detect diabetic retinopathy during early stages, resulting in more treatment options and better outcomes.

Keep an Eye on Your Visual Health

Living with diabetes can come with lots of changes to your daily routine and healthcare needs. We understand that these changes may feel overwhelming at times.

Whether you’ve recently been diagnosed or you’ve been managing your diabetes for a while, we’re here to support your eye health and overall wellness with compassion and clarity. By tailoring our approach to your specific needs and connecting with your primary care provider via our diabetic eye exam reports, we want to make caring for your eyes as simple as possible.

Protecting your eyes from the complications of diabetes begins with routine monitoring. Start by booking your diabetic eye exam today.

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