If you have diabetes, it’s critical to get regular eye checkups through retinal photography. This is because diabetes does not only meddle with your body’s capability to regulate sugar levels in the blood, but its effects also damage the small vessels in the eye. They can lead to blurred vision, cataracts, or even sight loss. Diabetes can have serious effects on your eyes, which is why you must get a diabetes eye test done at frequent intervals of time.

What is a diabetic eye examination?

A diabetic eye exam is diagnosing eye issues early – way before they can show any symptoms that alter the vision. Regularly testing your eyes plays a crucial role here, as consistent screening can detect these conditions in the beginning stages when they can be best treated. 

It’s recommended to consult with your eye doctor to determine how often the screening must be done. However, ideally, a person with diabetes should get the diabetes eye test done at least once in 12 months. This can help keep track of and prevent eye problems, and keep the vision from worsening further.

The benefits of regular diabetic eye examination are many –

Early detection

It’s common knowledge that the best time to treat any disease is at the early stages of its development. Getting in-depth retinal photography done annually can help your eye specialist detect if you are at risk of developing diabetes, as it can clearly reflect the damage to the blood vessels in your eye. 

Diabetes management

If, at all, your diabetes is at higher levels, getting a regular screening done can help you manage it better – you can track if your eye blood vessels are deteriorating and if they are, at what speed. This can help you consult a doctor who can treat you better for diabetes with a course of action that also helps your eyes. 

Reduced risk of sight loss

The worst outcome of having diabetes is a complete loss of vision. However, if you get regular diabetes eye tests done, your ophthalmologist or optometrist can monitor the changes in the blood vessels of your eyes and design a treatment plan according to it. This can significantly reduce the chances of vision loss, also functioning as the basis for the treatment of your diabetes.

Checks for micro and macro-vascular issues

Diabetes eye exams can include OCT scans that can check for various micro as well as macro-vascular issues such as diabetic retinopathy, optic neuropathy, nephropathy, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and peripheral vascular diseases. This, although may require additional specific tests, can be a solid basis and alert the doctors to perform a thorough check. 

To sum it up, diabetes is a serious health condition that can have fatal implications on the eyes if not treated early. To keep track of the progression of the disease, it’s important to have regular Diabetic Eye Examination done. It is fundamental to getting a well-targeted treatment, monitoring the illness, and preventing permanent loss of vision.