Diabetics are prone to a few eye diseases that cause blindness if left undiagnosed and untreated by your Lindenwood Eye Doctor. Among them are glaucoma, cataracts, and retinopathy. Glaucoma is an increased optical pressure that leads to optic nerve damage. Cataracts are a clouding of the eye’s lens that leads to blurred vision and decreased eyesight. Retinopathy is damage to the blood vessels in the retina and is the leading cause of new blindness among Americans under the age of sixty-five.
A diabetic retinal exam at Jamie Rose Eyewear Inc. checks the eyes for diabetic retinopathy. For the exam, your eyes will be dilated through eye drops, which allows our Lindenwood optometrists to see the interior of the eyes and check for signs of the disease. Retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and one of the main causes of blindness in American adults. Nearly half of all diabetics will develop some degree of diabetic retinopathy during their lifetime. In the early stages of this disease, there is often no symptoms of pain, but regular eye exams at Jamie Rose Eyecare is the best way to detect the disease before vision loss occurs.
Glaucoma is an eye disease that develops when the eye’s drainage ducts become clogged, increasing the pressure inside the eyes and causing damage to the optic nerve. Patients suffering from glaucoma typically do not have any noticeable symptoms until the eye disease is very advanced and vision loss begins to occur. Because of its asymptomatic nature, it is important to have regular eye exams at Jamie Rose Eyecare, where screenings can be performed to check for glaucoma and changes in intraocular pressure.