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Diabetic Eye Disease
Our optometrist doesn't just treat nearsightedness and farsightedness. Eye exams may be given to ensure people see optimally. However, our optometrists also see patients who have diabetic eye disease.
What Is Diabetic Eye Disease?
Diabetic eye disease is a group of conditions that are specific to patients with diabetes. Diabetes causes damage to the blood vessels in the eyes, especially in patients who didn't always have their diabetes under control. Some examples of conditions that fall into this categorization include glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic macular edema (DME).
Can Diabetic Eye Disease Cause Blindness?
Our optometrists try to catch diabetic eye disease before it progresses to a point where it causes blindness. However, all forms of diabetic eye disease have the potential to attribute to severe vision loss. In some cases, it will lead to blindness.
What Are The Symptoms Of Diabetic Eye Disease?
Generally, a person won't experience symptoms when the condition initially develops. Screening during eye exams in Huntersville may detect a problem before a person actually sees noticeable changes in vision. Bleeding around the affected retinal blood vessels may cause floating spots. The spots aren't always permanent, though. In most cases, the spots clear up without treatment. Sometimes, the eyes will ooze or leak. It's not uncommon for the bleeding to recur, but when it returns, it elevates the patient's risk of vision loss that isn't treatable. Patients with DME may experience blurred vision at first.
How Is Diabetic Eye Disease Diagnosed?
Patients who have diabetes may be urged to seek out the assistance of an optometrist to prevent blindness. The optometrist may catch the condition via a comprehensive dilated eye exam. This particular exam consists of the optometrist adding drops into the eye that dilate the pupils, which allows more light to enter into the eye. Our Huntersville optometry expert will use a specialized magnifying lens in order to see issues in all parts of the eye including the parts oftentimes damaged as a result of diabetes.
How Is Diabetic Eye Disease Treated?
Once a Huntersville optometry specialist diagnoses a patient with diabetic eye disease, the doctor will determine a course of action in an effort to preserve the vision as much as possible. The first step is to make sure the person's diabetes is currently being controlled and how well it is being controlled. For instance, our optometrist will inquire with the patient about medication usage. A patient must take prescribed medications regularly, or the diabetes may not be controlled adequately. The person must stay physically active and eat healthily. Weight loss, exercise and eating a healthy diet help an individual control blood glucose levels. Patients who don't have their diabetes controlled may need to get on a medication and make lifestyle changes in order to prevent further vision damage or loss.
To make an appointment for an eye exam at Lakeside Eye Associates, please call our Huntersville, NC optometry clinic at 704-896-3311.
16525 Birkdale Commons PkwyHuntersville, NC 28078
Office Hours
Monday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PMTuesday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PMWednesday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PMThursday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PMFriday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PMSaturday & Sunday CLOSED
16525 Birkdale Commons PkwyHuntersville, NC 28078
Office Hours
Monday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PMTuesday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PMWednesday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PMThursday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PMFriday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PMSaturday & Sunday CLOSED
Keratoconus Treatment
The cornea is imperative to our vision. This thin, transparent dome covers the front of our eyes to protect them. It is also responsible for refracting the light that enters our eyes, focusing it onto the retina where it is transmitted to the brain, which then tells us what we can see. If there are problems with the cornea, it can significantly affect our vision. One corneal problem that is fairly common is known as keratoconus.
Fortunately, our professional eye care team has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of keratoconus, meaning that we can offer you the help that you need to see clearly again.
Exactly what treatment you will be offered for keratoconus will depend on the severity of the condition. Some of the treatments that our team may recommend may include the following:
Soft Contact Lenses. Normally used in the earliest stages of keratoconus, bespoke-created soft contact lenses are used to help reshape the cornea and correct vision. These are available in a wide range of fitting parameters and are normally larger in diameter than regular lenses. This helps to provide greater stability to the cornea.
Gas-Permeable Contact Lenses. Similar to soft lenses, these contact lenses are made from a gas permeable material which enables plenty of oxygen to circulate beneath the eye, keeping it healthy and moist. Gas permeable lenses make contact on either side of the natural cornea, vaulting over the top and providing a perfectly contoured dome through which the light entering the eye can be refracted.
Scleral And Semi-Scleral Lenses. Another form of contact lens, scleral and semi-scleral lenses are much larger in diameter than standard contacts. Their edges rest on the white part of the eye, known as the sclera. As you might expect, semi-scleral lenses are a little smaller in size. However, like gas-permeable lenses, both vault over the bulging cornea. This ensures that they are comfortable to wear since they don’t place pressure onto the bulge. However, they both offer greater stability than gas-permeable lenses because their larger diameter means that they don’t move around when you blink and move your eyes.
Keratoplasty. This is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that may be recommended if contact lenses aren’t giving you sufficient relief from your symptoms. This procedure uses a hand-held device that delivers high energy radio waves with the goal of reshaping the cornea so that the bulge is reduced. The treatment is planned using topography – an advanced technological system that takes images of your cornea and turns them into a map of the surface, telling our team what areas need to be targeted by the keratoplasty treatment.
Corneal Transplant. If your keratoconus has advanced and other treatment options are no longer working for you, you may be advised to have a corneal transplant. As its name suggests, this involves removing the existing cornea and replacing it with an artificial lens. Recovery from a corneal transplant can take a number of months, with many patients still reliant on prescriptive eyewear after.
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