Diabetic Eye Disease Screening
What is Diabetic Eye Disease Screening?
Diabetic retinopathy is a form of retinal disease caused by diabetes. It can cause blindness if it is not caught early. An eye examination can detect problems before they affect your vision.
If left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can result in blindness. However, it takes a long period of time for the stages of diabetic retinopathy to progress to a point where your vision is affected. It occurs as a complication of diabetes when glucose levels cause damage to the retina.
Maintaining a healthy blood sugar and cholesterol level is important for eye health. All people with diabetes over 12 should also attend the annual screening each year. An examination and photograph of the eye are required and can help to detect any problems early on.
Symptoms
Regular Diabetic Retinopathy screening is so important because the symptoms are not always noticeable until they have progressed to a more serious stage. Early diabetic retinopathy signs can be noticed during these screenings.
Symptoms can include:
- Gradual deterioration of vision, blurring or patchiness in your vision
- Sudden loss of vision
- Redness or pain in the eye
- Eye floaters.
If you experience these symptoms and you have diabetes, it is essential you contact your GP or eye specialist.