Diabetes affects your body in many different ways and can impact your eyes and vision health. Patients with diabetes can develop diabetic eye disease, which is an umbrella phrase used to describe a wide variety of issues that all stem from diabetes.

Diabetic patients have a higher risk of developing:

• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Diabetic Macular Edema (DME)
• Cataracts
• Macular Degeneration
• Glaucoma

Most eye diseases associated with diabetes develop slowly over time, and can not exhibit any noticeable symptoms until damage has already occurred. This is why individuals with diabetes should undergo regular eye exams. It is essential that your optometrist detect issues before they become problems.

It is strongly recommended that patients with diabetes undergo a comprehensive diabetic eye exam at least once per year.

As part of your Diabetic Eye Exam at Queensway Optometric Centre we will conduct a dilated fundus exam, during which your pupils will be dilated so that we can better assess your lens, retina, optic nerve, blood vessels, and other eye features. We will use a specialized camera to take a picture of your fundus. We may also conduct a non-invasive imaging test called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), during which we will take cross-sectional images of your retina.