Diabetes is a disease that can cause many health problems. While most commonly known for interfering with the body’s ability to use and store sugar, it can also affect your vision. One of the health conditions caused by diabetes, called Diabetic Retinopathy, can weaken and cause changes in the small blood vessels that nourish your eye’s retina. It can cause these blood vessels to leak, swell, or develop brush-like branches. If you have diabetes, call Big Bend Family Eye Care today to schedule a diabetic eye exam.
Early indicators of diabetic retinopathy are blurred vision, but may also produce no noticeable symptoms at all. If it goes untreated, diabetic retinopathy can cause blindness, which is why it is so important to get regular comprehensive eye exams.
At Big Bend Family Eye Care, we are well-equipped to help in the early detection of this condition. To detect diabetic retinopathy, one of our optometrists will look inside your eyes with an instrument called an ophthalmoscope. This instrument lights and magnifies the blood vessels in your eyes. If diagnosed with this condition, laser and other surgical treatments can be used to reduce its progressions and help to decrease the risk of vision loss. Early detection and treatment of diabetic retinopathy are extremely important because once the damage has occurred, it is usually permanent.
