Diabetes & Your Eyes
Diabetes is a systemic disease that affects your body’s ability to create or use insulin, which regulates your blood sugar levels. When blood sugar is too high, it can damage organs, blood vessels, and nerves.
This can be particularly dangerous for your eyes. Patients with diabetes are at an increased risk for glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic eye diseases, like diabetic retinopathy.
Managing diabetes is a team effort. Undergoing annual eye exams and maintaining appropriate blood sugar/blood pressure levels is an excellent start. By keeping communication lines open with your family doctor and optometrist, you will have the best chance of maintaining robust ocular health and vision quality throughout your life.
Be Aware of Changes in Your Vision
Because of the increased risk of developing complications, we advise you to closely monitor your visual quality and see us immediately if you notice any changes.
Sudden or even subtle changes may indicate the presence of an eye condition. If you experience any of the following symptoms, please schedule an eye exam with our optometrist. Early detection and treatment are key to maintaining your vision.
Diabetic Eye Diseases
Diabetic eye diseases can impact your veye health and vision, with some of the common symptoms including:
- Double vision
- Blurry or distorted vision
- Eye floaters and flashes of light
- Sudden loss of vision
Unusually high blood glucose levels can damage the delicate blood vessels in your eyes. Over time, these blood vessels may leak blood and fluid into the eye. If it is improperly managed, diabetic retinopathy can cause scar tissue to develop, damaging your vision. The condition can also progress to diabetic macular edema.
As these damaged blood vessels in the eye continue to leak, they deposit fluid into the retina, causing it to swell. The more the retina swells, the more damage is done to the macula. When the macula sustains damage, it impacts your ability to see fine details like text, numbers, and facial features.
Regular Eye Exams Help Us Stay on Top of Your Eye Health
We’re dedicated to helping our patients feel comfortable during the entire eye examination process. The exam involves a series of noninvasive tests and is generally completed within 60 minutes.
Patients with diabetes should schedule annual eye exams to safeguard their eye health. Our optometrist may want to see you more than once per year if they detect a condition that requires closer monitoring. Your vision is our priority.
Our Brands
Find Us In Bonnyville & St. Paul
Bonnyville
Find us on the corner of Main & 52nd Street, across from Westline Autowash.
- 5201 50 Avenue
- Bonnyville, AB T9N 2G6
- Phone: 1-844-612-6214
- Fax: 780-826-4267
- Monday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Thursday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Friday: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: Closed
St. Paul
You can find us on 51st Avenue, next to the Fire Hall.
- 4916 51 Avenue
- St. Paul, AB T0A 3A0
- Phone: 1-844-452-4675
- Fax: 780-645-2830
- Monday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Thursday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Friday: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: Closed
Bonnyville Gallery
St. Gallery Gallery
Our Blog
Three ways to tell you if your baby is having trouble seeing
UncategorizedWe understand that as parents, especially new parents with their first child, it is easy to overthink and overreact when it comes to our children. Parenthood is full of constant new experiences, and we are bombarded by articles, videos, and other media telling us the importance of this check-up or that exam.We get it.This article […]
Read More… from Three ways to tell you if your baby is having trouble seeing
Four reasons your child should have an annual eye exam
UncategorizedUnlike trips to the dentist or health checks with your doctor which we attend quite vigorously, annual eye exams are frequently overlooked as unimportant. “There’s nothing wrong with my eyesight” is a common reaction.In reality, there are many eye diseases and problems which do not show any early symptoms and will only become apparent once […]
Read More… from Four reasons your child should have an annual eye exam
Ever wondered why dry eye is worse in the winter?
UncategorizedIf you normally suffer from dry eye then you’ll have noticed how much worse it can be in the winter. For those who aren’t plagued all year round, you may have developed dry eye symptoms over the winter without even realising what they were!Despite being situated in a fairly humid part of the province, winters […]
Read More… from Ever wondered why dry eye is worse in the winter?
Three ways to tell you if your baby is having trouble seeing
We understand that as parents, especially new parents with their first child, it is easy to overthink and overreact when it comes to our children. Parenthood is full of constant new experiences, and we are bombarded by articles, videos, and other media telling us the importance of this check-up or that exam.We get it.This article […]
Read More… from Three ways to tell you if your baby is having trouble seeing
Four reasons your child should have an annual eye exam
Unlike trips to the dentist or health checks with your doctor which we attend quite vigorously, annual eye exams are frequently overlooked as unimportant. “There’s nothing wrong with my eyesight” is a common reaction.In reality, there are many eye diseases and problems which do not show any early symptoms and will only become apparent once […]
Read More… from Four reasons your child should have an annual eye exam
Ever wondered why dry eye is worse in the winter?
If you normally suffer from dry eye then you’ll have noticed how much worse it can be in the winter. For those who aren’t plagued all year round, you may have developed dry eye symptoms over the winter without even realising what they were!Despite being situated in a fairly humid part of the province, winters […]
Read More… from Ever wondered why dry eye is worse in the winter?
