Eye Exams
Diabetic Eye Exams
Everyone with diabetes needs an annual dilated or widefield retinal examination. Diabetic retinopathy develops without symptoms, and screening detects it while it is still treatable and before vision is affected.
Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of preventable blindness in working age adults, and the reason it remains so is that it is silent. Blood vessel damage accumulates in the retina over years while vision stays perfectly normal.
Annual screening changes that entirely. Microaneurysms, small haemorrhages and early swelling are all visible on retinal imaging long before they affect sight, and finding them changes both eye care and often diabetes management.
Widefield imaging is particularly valuable here because diabetic changes frequently begin in the retinal periphery. Capturing over 80 percent of the retina in one image finds changes a narrower view would miss, and the images are compared directly year on year.
What is included
- Widefield retinal imaging
- OCT macular assessment for diabetic macular oedema
- Year on year image comparison
- Full eye health examination
- Written findings reported to your physician
Questions and answers
How often do I need this?
At least annually for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, more frequently once retinopathy is present, and more frequently during pregnancy, when retinopathy can progress rapidly.
My blood sugar is well controlled. Do I still need it?
Yes. Good control substantially reduces risk without eliminating it, and duration of diabetes is itself an independent risk factor.
Do I need to be dilated?
Widefield imaging can often be used instead, which saves several hours of blurred vision. Dilation is used where a fuller view is clinically warranted.
Will you tell my doctor?
Yes. Findings are reported to whoever manages your diabetes, because retinal findings inform overall management.
Talk to someone about diabetic eye exams
Appointments are scheduled two per hour, so there is time to answer questions properly. Call (480) 706-3937 or request a time online.