Diabetes causes multiple eye diseases that affect our ability to see clearly and can lead to blindness. In fact, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among adults. The potential impact of diabetes makes it critical for those with diabetes to control their blood sugar levels and receive an annual diabetic eye exam to assess the presence and progress of diabetic-related eye diseases. If you live in the Wilkes-Barre area and want an optometrist near you, contact our Engle Eyewear team.
What Tests Are Part of Diabetic Eye Exams?
Diabetes causes or contributes to eye conditions that cause poor vision or blindness when left untreated. Diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, glaucoma, and cataracts are diseases caused primarily or contributed to by diabetes. Due to the risks caused by these diseases, diabetic eye exams include procedures that differ from the standard eye exam.
Like standard eye exams, a diabetic eye exam often begins with a visual acuity test using an eye chart. Following that test, your eye doctor may use eye drops to dilate your eyes to perform a slit lamp exam (the binocular-like device with special lenses and lights) to examine your retina and macula for trouble signs.
Another potential test is tonometry, which can employ different techniques to measure the pressure inside your eyes. Tonometry commonly helps evaluate patients for glaucoma, a disease influenced by diabetes.
Additional Testing
The examination process may also include optical coherence tomography. This technique scans the retina with a dim light and measures the light reflected off the retina. Besides measuring the thickness of your retina, the images are compared with those from previous exams to assess changes in the damaged blood vessels.
Alternatively, you could have a fluorescein angiogram to detect diabetic retinopathy. This test involves injecting dye into your arm and monitoring whether and how the dye and blood leak from the weak blood vessels in your retina. Your eye doctor performs one or more of these tests based on your history and the results found in other tests performed during the exam.
Working with an Optometrist at Engle Eyewear
If you have diabetes or other eye care needs and are looking for an optometrist near you in the Wilkes-Barre area, look no further than our expert and friendly team at Engle Eyewear. Call us today at (570)