Diabetic eye exams that catch changes early.
Diabetes often affects your eyes before you notice any change in your vision. An annual diabetic eye exam gives your doctor a direct look at what's happening in the back of your eye, and a way to track it year over year.
If you'd rather just pick a time, you can schedule now or call us at (614) 933-0575.
Diabetes and your eyes.
Diabetic eye disease is one of the leading causes of vision loss in working-age adults, according to the CDC. Over time, high blood sugar can damage the tiny blood vessels that feed the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. That damage builds quietly, often over years, before it ever affects the way you see.
The two conditions we watch most closely are diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. In diabetic retinopathy, weakened vessels can leak fluid or blood into the retina, and in more advanced stages the eye grows fragile new vessels that can bleed or pull on the retina and, if untreated, lead to scarring or retinal detachment. Diabetic macular edema is swelling in the macula, the small central part of the retina you rely on for reading, driving, and recognizing faces. It can develop at any stage of retinopathy and is a common reason diabetes affects central vision.
Here is the part that catches many people off guard: in the early stages there are usually no symptoms at all. No pain, no blur, no warning. According to the National Eye Institute, damage can be well underway before you notice any change in your vision, which is exactly why a yearly exam matters even when your eyes feel fine and your prescription hasn't changed. By the time vision loss is noticeable, some of the damage may be harder to reverse.
The reason annual exams are worth keeping on the calendar is that finding these changes early gives you and your care team the most options. Many cases of diabetes-related vision loss can be reduced or delayed when the disease is caught and managed early, through tighter blood sugar control, closer monitoring, or timely referral for treatment when it's needed. An exam that finds nothing is still a good exam: it gives your doctor a clear, dated baseline to compare against next year.
The retina is also one of the only places in the body where a doctor can directly view blood vessels without surgery. That view sometimes reveals early signs of conditions that reach well beyond the eyes, such as high blood pressure, which is another reason a diabetic eye exam is a window into your overall health, not just your vision.
What a diabetic eye exam includes.
A diabetic eye exam is built to look for the earliest, quietest signs of change, before they touch your vision. Alongside checking your prescription and the health of the front of your eye, we use two forms of retinal imaging to examine the parts of the eye diabetes affects first. For most patients these images replace dilating drops, so you can usually drive yourself home clear-sighted.
Wide-field retinal photos
A wide-field image captures a broad view of the back of your eye in a single shot, including the far edges of the retina, beyond what a standard photo captures, where diabetic changes can appear. It lets your doctor look for the early markers of retinopathy, such as tiny vessel bulges (microaneurysms), small hemorrhages, and leaking fluid, along with the health of the optic nerve and macula.
Because the image is captured and dated, your doctor can compare this year's retina to last year's side by side, which may help spot subtle changes between visits.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT)
We include a screening OCT, on the Maestro, in every exam, not only for patients already diagnosed with diabetes. Where a retinal photo gives a broad view across the retina, an OCT builds a cross-sectional view of its individual layers, with a macular and optic nerve analysis. That added detail may help your doctor detect fluid or swelling in the macula, a sign of diabetic macular edema, early. It is a quick, no-contact scan.
Working with your other doctors
When diabetic changes are found, with your permission we can send a detailed report to your primary care provider or endocrinologist so your eyecare and diabetes care stay coordinated.
We coordinate your vision and medical benefits and bill whichever leaves you the smallest out-of-pocket cost. Many annual exams go through vision insurance, which often means a smaller copay, and you do not need a vision plan to be seen: if you don't have one, we can bill your diabetic eye exam to your medical insurance instead.
On the medical side we accept Anthem, Aetna, Cigna, Medicare, UnitedHealthcare, and Medical Mutual. Plans and networks vary, and some (HMOs especially) may need a prior authorization or a referral from your primary care doctor first. Call us at (614) 933-0575 with your insurance card and we'll confirm your specific coverage before your visit.
Schedule your diabetic eye exam.
Schedule online or call (614) 933-0575. If you have diabetes, an annual exam is worth keeping on the calendar even if nothing feels different.
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