diabetic eye exams

Diabetes and its complications can affect many parts of the eye. In fact, early diabetes can often be detected through a comprehensive eye exam. Patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes should see an Optometrist at least once per year, sooner if new symptoms arise.

Diabetes can cause:

• Blurred vision and fluctuation in glasses prescriptions

• Earlier-onset cataracts

• Glaucoma

• Double vision (muscle paralysis)

• Diabetic Retinopathy

Over time, diabetes can cause changes in the retina. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when the tiny blood vessels that supply oxygen to the retinal tissue become weak or swell; this results in fluid accumulation (edema), bleeding (hemorrhages), and a lack of oxygen (ischemia). If the retinopathy is not diagnosed and treated, these blood vessels will stop working and parts of the retina die. New, abnormal blood vessels attempt to grow (proliferative diabetic retinopathy) and ultimately, this progresses to vision loss and blindness.

In its early stages, diabetic retinopathy may present with no symptoms.

Patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes should see an Optometrist at least once per year, sooner if new symptoms arise. OHIP covers yearly exams and any required follow-up assessments for patients with diabetes.

As part of your diabetic eye exam at Barrhaven Optometric Centre or Manotick Optometric Centre, we will perform a careful and thorough examination of your retina. We encourage all diabetic patients to have an ultra-widefield retinal photograph to better detect and monitor for progression of retinopathy. Where indicated, we will further analyze your eyes using OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography), which allows us to take a cross-sectional image of your retina and detect any subtle diabetic macular edema (swelling).

These tests allow us to accurately assess your eyes for possible diabetic eye diseases.