Diabetes and Your Eyes: Why an Annual Exam Matters

The most important thing to know

Diabetic eye disease usually causes no symptoms until it's advanced. You can have significant changes in the retina and still see 20/20. That's exactly why the annual comprehensive exams exists, to find changes years before you would ever notice them, while treatment works best.

What diabetes does to the eye

High blood sugar damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina. In early stages (diabetic retinopathy) they leak fluid or bleed; in advanced stages the eye grows fragile new vessels that can cause serious vision loss. Diabetes also raises the risk of cataracts and glaucoma, and blood sugar swings can temporarily blur your vision by changing the shape of the lens.

Who needs an exam, and how often

• Type 1 diabetes, first exam within 5 years of diagnosis, then every year.
• Type 2 diabetes, exam at diagnosis, then every year (retinopathy is often already present at diagnosis).
• Pregnancy with diabetes, an exam early in pregnancy, with follow-up as recommended.
• More often, if we find any retinopathy, we'll set a closer monitoring schedule.

What happens at a diabetic eye exam

If you chose to dilate, we dilate your pupils so we can see the entire retina clearly, examine the blood vessels for any leakage or changes, and document everything. We also send a report to your primary care doctor or endocrinologist, because your eye findings tell them a lot about how your diabetes is doing overall.  If you don't want to dilate we still encourage you to come in and do the digital wide field retinal imaging that is better than nothing. We catch diabetic retinopathy with this all the time and you don't need to recover from the imaging like a dilation. The imaging has no light sensitivity or blurred vision following. The dilated exam, expect light sensitivity and blurry near vision for a few hours after dilation.

The good news

Caught early, diabetic retinopathy is very manageable and keeping blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol in range dramatically lowers your risk. If it's been more than a year since your last dilated exam, that's the appointment to make today.