When you were diagnosed with diabetes, you probably heard a long list of everything that could have gone wrong with your health. Odds are that a warning about your vision was somewhere on that list, but with so many other things to learn and change, you probably didn’t worry much about it at the time. We at Kunesh Eye Center in Dayton, OH, know a lot about diabetic eye exams. An eye doctor on our team may be able to help
Catching Diabetic Retinopathy
Now that you’ve had time to adjust, make plans to see an ophthalmologist about the possibility of diabetic retinopathy. This term is used to refer to several different diseases and conditions, but all of them are linked back to the same root cause; blood vessel constriction caused by diabetes.
When a person suffers from diabetes, he or she has blood vessels that are under a lot of stress. Diabetes can cause an excess amount of sugar in the blood, making the blood thicker and therefore harder for the heart and arteries to push through the body. This creates a bit more strain on the blood vessels, in particular the smaller blood vessels around the eye.
In order to compensate for this, the blood vessels will expand, and in some cases even sprout new capillaries. This increase in the size of the blood vessels around the eyes can cause several problems. To start, the extra volume can put additional pressure on the optic nerve. This can cause blind spots and blurry vision. If the blood vessels burst, it can cause a wide range of problems, such as vision loss and leakage from the eye.
Fortunately, there are things that an eye doctor can do if this condition is discovered during a medical eye exam. Medications and laser therapy may be offered to patients if issues are caught early. If they are diagnosed after symptoms progress, eye surgery may be an option.
Contact Us for More Information about a Medical Eye Exam from Our Ophthalmologist
If you are looking for an eye exam, we at Kunesh Eye Center in Dayton, OH, may be able to help. Call us at (937) 298-1703 to book an appointment. We offer a variety of services including eye surgery.