Diabetes and Your Eyes — What we look for, and how we can now find it sooner

At Eyecare Center of Orange County, Dr. Alexander Bonakdar has cared for patients for more than three decades. Trained at Bascom Palmer, board certified, and trusted by more than ten thousand Orange County patients since nineteen ninety one.

Diabetes affects the smallest blood vessels in the body. The retina is full of them, which is why the eye often shows changes early.

The early changes cause no symptoms at all. Your vision can be completely normal while the retina is already changing.

There is something that comes even earlier. Before the blood vessels visibly change, diabetes affects the nerve layer of the retina. Newer tests can measure that directly, rather than waiting for something to become visible.

Two tests look at how the retina works rather than how it looks. An E R G measures the electrical response of the retina to light. We have one here, it takes a few minutes, and there are no needles. A colour vision test picks up a loss in the blue to yellow range, which can appear before any retinopathy shows.

Your A one C is your average blood sugar over about three months. It drives all of this. In the landmark trial, tighter control cut the rate of eye, nerve and kidney complications by about half. For most adults the target is under seven percent, but yours is set by your own doctor.

How often you come back is not one answer for everybody. Under the current diabetes standards, if no retinopathy is found and your control is good, longer gaps between exams are accepted. Once any change appears, it is at least once a year. We will tell you which applies to you.

Ask us when your next eye examination is due. The interval depends on what we find and on your control, so let us set it with you. Come sooner if anything changes.