Retinal Photos at Every Exam — Why we photograph the back of your eye

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.

Retinal imaging is simply a photograph, a wide, detailed picture of the back of your eye captured in seconds. Nothing touches the eye, and there is no discomfort at all.

Think of the X-rays at your dentist. Nobody skips them, because problems below the surface show up long before they hurt. Your retina works exactly the same way. Disease appears in the picture years before you would feel anything.

The retina is the only place in the body where blood vessels can be watched directly, without a single cut. Diabetes and high blood pressure often show themselves here first, along with retinal tears, freckles and glaucoma clues.

The real power is the baseline. This year's photograph sits beside last year's, and a change too small to notice on its own becomes obvious side by side. That comparison is what catches disease at its smallest.

When we offer retinal photos at your exam, say yes. It costs seconds of your visit, and it builds the record that catches problems while they are still small.