Diabetic Eye Doctors Reading, PA

A diabetes diagnosis can have other implications on your health, and this includes eye health. Diabetes increases your risk of developing a condition called diabetic retinopathy, and diabetes also means you have more likelihood of developing other eye conditions, including cataracts and glaucoma. Early prevention is key if you are diabetic. Eye doctors in Reading, PA are ready for you to be their next new patient at Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania in nearby Blandon.

What is diabetic retinopathy?

Patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes have a much higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, a condition characterized by damaged blood vessels. High blood sugar levels damage the small vessels in the retina, where damage is done to the light-sensitive cells. When the tiny blood vessels are damaged, the blood system cannot deliver nutrients to those cells, so the cells don’t function properly (don’t properly process lights). Over time, the damage progresses and does get worse, and vision is affected when the light-sensing cells are sufficiently affected.

Early detection is key

At first, you will likely not even know you have diabetic retinopathy or even diabetes for that matter. In fact, eye doctors are often the first to detect diabetes in patients because they see the damage to the eye’s small blood vessels during an eye exam. This is why annual eye exams are so important. If you do have a condition, early detection is the only way to ensure early treatment to minimize any damage.

Our excellent doctors perform a diabetic eye exam, which differs slightly from a regular eye exam. During this exam, we do dilate the eyes with eye drops. This helps widen the pupil and allows the doctor to more easily see the eye’s internal structures, including the blood vessels. We perform a thorough eye exam, with a close look at these vessels to inspect for any damage.

Depending on our initial findings during this exam, we may perform other diagnostic eye tests to gather more information. All of these are best done while the eyes are still dilated. For instance, optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of your eyes may be taken so that our doctors can look at the thickness of your retina. Doctors often see damage from the surrounding blood vessels in the cross-section of the retina, and these images are key to provide them that insight.

Trust our team

If you’ve been recently diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to come in for an eye exam if it has been a while since you’ve had one. Even more importantly, regular eye exams are extremely necessary if you have been battling diabetes for some time. Basically, the longer you have been dealing with diabetes, the more prone you are to developing diabetic retinopathy. Just remember that even if you are not experiencing vision problems, the retinopathy and therefore the damage may have already begun.

Eye exams are important but if you have diabetes, the exam takes on a much more important meaning. Reading PA residents: diabetic eye doctors are here for you at Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania in nearby Blandon. We offer highly specialized treatment for diabetic retinopathy as well as other eye conditions and diseases. If it’s been a while since you had your eyes checked, come see us today. Give us a call to schedule your appointment.