Diabetic Retinopathy Screenings at EyeCare Associates
How Do Eye Doctors Diagnose Diabetic Retinopathy?
An eye doctor can assess your retinal health during a comprehensive eye exam. During the appointment, the doctor will dilate your pupils with eye drops to better examine the inner structures of your eyes. Your eye doctor may perform a test known as optical coherence tomography, which takes images of the retina to assess its thickness to check for the presence of diabetic retinopathy.
Another test that an eye doctor may perform during a comprehensive eye exam is called a fluorescein angiography. This procedure helps the eye doctor view the blood vessels in your retina. Dye is injected into your arm and travels through blood vessels, reaching your eyes. The dye appears bright yellow, which makes it easy for the doctor to view the tiny blood vessels. Using a specialized camera, the doctor takes images of your eyes to see if the blood vessel activity suggests diabetic retinopathy.
Get Checked for Diabetic Retinopathy at EyeCare Associates
If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes please give us a call to schedule an appointment at your nearest Alabama EyeCare Associates location. Our expert Alabama eye doctors are ready to give retinal screenings and get you on your treatment plan for healthier eyes.
What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Diabetic Eye Disease?
In the early stages of diabetic eye disease, there are often no symptoms present and a patient can experience no pain or vision loss while the disease begins to damage the inner eye. Because there is no pain, vision loss, or noticeable signs of the disease early on, it makes it difficult to detect that there is a problem. As the diabetic eye disease progresses, a patient may experience blurry vision, dark spots and floaters, flashes of light, frequent headaches, light sensitivity, poor color or night vision, vision loss, and more. If you have diabetes, it’s important to schedule a diabetic eye exam as soon as possible before any new or unusual vision problems occur.
Diabetic Eye Exams From Top Alabama Optometrists
As previously stated, you could have diabetic retinopathy without knowing it. If you have diabetes it is important that you have regular diabetic eye exams to monitor your vision. Early detection is critical when it comes to diabetic retinopathy. Our specialists at EyeCare Associates can accurately perform a retinal screening to find diabetic retinopathy and create a treatment plan that is right for you.
Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy
If you have any of the following risk factors it is important that you have a retinopathy screening examination as soon as possible.
Protein in urine
Poor blood glucose control (Fasting blood sugar above 100, A1c over 7% or any blood glucose reading over 200)
Raised fats in the blood
High blood pressure
If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes you are at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy. Because the condition is caused by increased blood sugar, monitoring your blood glucose levels closely, watching your diet, and exercising is important.
Find Diabetic Retinopathy Screenings Near You
EyeCare Associates has diabetic retinopathy specialists at our Alabama locations.
Frequently Asked Questions About Diabetic Retinopathy
There are four stages of diabetic retinopathy:
Stage 1: Mild nonproliferative retinopathy – microaneurysms and dot blot hemorrhages which look like a small red dot or balloon. These do not affect vision and may go unnoticed without an exam.
Stage 2: Moderate nonproliferative retinopathy – characterized by cotton wool spots which are white fluffy looking areas in the retina. These occur when the blood vessels become so leaky that oxygen can no longer be delivered to the retinal tissues.
Stage 3: Severe nonproliferative retinopathy – in this stage bleeding occurs across the entire retina and permanent changes to the shape of the blood vessels also occurs. This is called venous beading and the blood vessels begin to look like beads on a string. Additionally, sometimes new shunt vessels will grow between arteries and veins to bypass the damaged blood vessel area. In extreme cases even the optic nerve which carries information into the brain can begin to swell.
Stage 4: Proliferative retinopathy – An advanced stage of the disease. New blood vessels form in the retina which will cause significant levels of bleeding and often the formation of fibrotic scar-like tissue. At this point problems like retinal detachments and blindness can occur.
With proper diabetes management and regular vision exams, diabetic retinopathy can be avoided. Preventing diabetic retinopathy starts with managing the underlying condition of diabetes.
Take all prescribed medications
Focus on healthy eating
Exercise regularly
Manage your blood pressure and cholesterol
Manage your blood glucose levels
Avoid tobacco use
Receive an annual eye exam
The most important step is to control your diabetes. For advanced cases, some treatments may be available, including laser treatment to treat the growth of new blood vessels, eye injections to treat retinal swelling and leaking vessels and eye surgery to remove blood or scar tissue in advanced cases.