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3 Ways Diabetes Can Affect Your Vision and Eyes

Did you know that people with diabetes are 20 times more likely to get eye diseases than those without it? There are three major eye conditions that diabetics are at risk for developing: cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. To prevent these sight-threatening diseases, it’s important to control your blood sugar level and have your eyes checked at least once a year by an eye doctor.

But First, What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease that is associated with high blood glucose levels. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps our cells get energy from the sugars we eat. Diabetes develops when the body doesn’t produce or respond to insulin effectively, leaving too much sugar in the blood stream instead. Over time, diabetes can lead to potentially irreversible ocular damage and poor eyesight. However, by taking care of your blood sugar levels and your eyes, you can prevent vision loss.

Annual eye exams are recommended for everyone, but routine screenings are even more important for diabetics. Eye doctors may send diabetic eye health reports to a patient’s primary care physician or internist to adjust medication as needed to prevent complications.

What’s the Link Between Vision and Diabetes?

Blurred vision or fluctuating eyesight clarity is often one of the first noticeable signs that diabetes has begun to affect your eyes. Sometimes, fluid leaking into the eye causes the lens to swell and change shape. This, in turn, makes it difficult for the eyes to focus, resulting in fuzzy vision. Such symptoms can indicate that an eye disease is developing, or may simply be due to imbalanced blood sugar levels which can be rectified by getting your blood sugar back to healthy levels.

If you start to notice blurry vision, make an appointment with Dr. George A. Fournier as soon as possible.

The 3 Ways Diabetes Impacts Vision

Cataracts

While cataracts are extremely common and a part of the natural aging process, those with diabetes tend to develop cataracts earlier in life. Characterized by a clouding or fogging of the lens within the eye, cataracts impede light from entering the eye, causing blurred vision and glares. The best treatment is cataract surgery, which is very safe and effective.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma refers to a group of eye diseases characterized by optic nerve damage. Since it tends to impact peripheral vision first, glaucoma often goes unnoticed until significant damage has occurred. However, routine glaucoma screenings can detect warning signs; early treatment can prevent disease progression and vision loss.

Although there is no true cure for glaucoma, most glaucoma patients successfully manage it with special eye drops, medication, and on occasion, laser treatment or other surgery. The earlier glaucoma is diagnosed and managed, the better the outcome.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when the small blood vessels on your retina (capillaries) become weakened and then balloon (microaneurysm) due to poorly controlled blood sugar levels. The resulting poor blood circulation in the back of the eye causes more abnormal blood vessels to grow, which also bleed or leak fluid, and can lead to scar tissue, retinal detachment and even blindness, over time.

Often there are no symptoms until the advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy, where patients may begin to see spots and missing patches in their vision. Retinopathy can be treated through surgery and eye injections, but the best way to prevent this disease from progressing is to regularly have your eyes screened.

The good news is that diabetic eye disease can often be prevented with early detection, proper management of your diabetes and regular diabetic eye exams. Contact Ft. Lauderdale Eye Associates in Fort Lauderdale to set up your eye doctor’s appointment today.

Why Does Your Eye Doctor Dilate Your Pupils for an Eye Exam?

If you’ve been following the guideline to have regular eye exams, then you’re probably familiar with having your pupils dilated. Why does your eye doctor do this?

By dilating your pupils, the eye doctor can get a better view of your inner eye structures – so the eye exam is more comprehensive and more detailed. While the back of your eye can be seen through an undilated pupil, it cannot be examined as fully.

A full evaluation of your macula, retina and optic nerve is possible through dilated pupils. In many common eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, these are the parts of the eye that exhibit signs of a problem. Also, health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes can often be detected on these parts of the eye.

What happens when the eye doctor dilates your pupils?

Your eye doctor or a technician will insert eye drops into your eyes; it takes 20 – 30 minutes for them to take full effect. Then, your eye doctor will use a lighted microscope to inspect your eyes.

Initially, you may feel a slight stinging when the drops are first inserted, but the discomfort is typically minor and short-lived. For a few hours afterwards, your eyes will be extra-sensitive to light and vision may be slightly blurred. Wearing sunglasses can help manage this sensitivity. Dilation usually wears off within four to six hours.

Even though getting your pupils dilated for an eye exam may feel like a nuisance, it enables your eye doctor to check your ocular health and overall body health with much more accuracy. So the benefits are clear! Contact an expert eye doctor near you to schedule an eye exam.

At Ft. Lauderdale Eye Associates, we put your family’s needs first. Talk to us about how we can help you maintain healthy vision. Call us today: 954-440-7345 or book an appointment online to see one of our Fort Lauderdale eye doctors.

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Diabetes Awareness Month – Learn about Diabetic Eye Health in Fort Lauderdale

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, a time to learn more about diabetes of all types – type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes.

Everyone knows the word “diabetes,” but can you define the condition? Diabetes is a disease characterized by higher than normal glucose levels in your blood. Blood glucose is what fuels your body, and it comes from the food you eat. When blood sugar flows through your bloodstream, insulin is needed to help it enter your body cells so it can be used for energy. However, if you have diabetes, your body may make insufficient insulin or not be able to use the insulin properly. As a result, all that sugar stays circulation in your blood – unable to be converted into energy.

Diabetes can be managed very well through diet, exercise, and taking medication. Without controlling diabetes by keeping blood sugar levels within the parameters recommended by your doctor, the high blood sugar can damage many organs – including your eyes. Staying healthy by following your personalized diabetes management plan and making sure to visit your eye doctor for regular eye exams, you can pave your path to good vision and eye health!

Diabetic eye health & diabetic eye disease

To state the facts – diabetes-related eye disease can lead to vision loss, but if you have diabetes, you can minimize your risk of developing diabetic eye disease. Taking charge of your health and visiting our Fort Lauderdale eye doctor for regular eye exams can help prevent these diseases from developing.

Diabetic eye disease comprises several ocular conditions:

  • Diabetic retinopathy – occurs when the small blood vessels in your retina bleed and leak
  • Macular edema – swelling that occurs along with retinopathy; it happens when the retinal blood vessels in the macula (central region of the retina) leak and lead to inflammation
  • Cataracts – a clouding of the lens in the eye, which can cause blurry vision
  • Glaucoma – increased intraocular pressure, which damages the optic nerve and can cause loss of peripheral vision

Diabetes eye exams

With regular check-ups by our Fort Lauderdale eye doctor, you can help prevent eye problems or keep the problems minor. One mistake that many people with diabetes make is to assume that a diabetes eye exam is only necessary if they notice any symptoms. This couldn’t be further from the truth! A comprehensive eye exam is the only reliable way to detect several eye conditions that can cause vision loss, such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and cataracts. Early detection of these problems can make the difference between effective, successful treatment and damage to your vision. During your dilated eye exam, the eye doctor will use high-powered magnification to inspect the inner tissues of your eye thoroughly, checking the retina for signs of diabetic retinopathy and checking the optic nerve for any damage.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines:

  • People with type 1 diabetes should have their first diabetic eye exam within the first five years
  • People with type 2 diabetes should visit their eye doctor for the first diabetic eye exam immediately after diagnosis. Type 2 diabetes can remain undetected for years, and vision damage can occur during this time.
  • Women with gestational diabetes should have an eye exam during the first trimester of pregnancy

After the first diabetic eye exam at Fort Lauderdale, our eye doctor advises all adults with diabetes to visit yearly for a comprehensive dilated eye exam.

At Ft. Lauderdale Eye Associates, we put your family’s needs first. Talk to us about how we can help you maintain healthy vision. Call us today: 954-440-7345 or book an appointment online to see one of our Fort Lauderdale eye doctors.

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Fall is Here! Do You Wish You Could See the Leaves Changing Color?

We offer specialized glasses for color blindness in Fort Lauderdale

As autumn pushes the year forwards, everyone oohs and ahs over the fiery tones of the changing fall leaves set against a vivid backdrop of summer greenery. But if you have color blindness, whether you visit or live in a location with fall foliage, you probably suffer from a feeling of missing out. At Ft. Lauderdale Eye Associates, we understand – and we can help brighten your view of the world.

Despite the name, color blindness has nothing to do with going blind. It is a vision condition, more appropriately called color vision deficiency, in which the ability to discern colors is compromised. While colorblind individuals usually don’t see a stark black and white picture of the surrounding scenery, they do see colors differently from most people.

How do I know if I have color blindness, and who gets it?

Color blindness is not rare, affecting millions of people around the world. According to current statistics, about one in every 12 men in the United States is colorblind and one in every 200 women. (And yes, that is a possible reason why so many men ask for help when matching their tie to their shirt!)

Typically, color blindness is inherited – so blame genetics if you can’t make out all the hues of the rainbow. Also, it can be present from birth, show up during childhood, or make a sudden appearance in adulthood. Other than genetics, color blindness can also be due to chemical or physical damage to parts of the brain that process color cues, to the eye itself, or to the optic nerve. As cataracts develop, they can also dim and dull your color vision.

If you notice that colors don’t look distinct to you, a specialized eye exam using diagnostics to test color vision in our Fort Lauderdale eye care center can diagnose this disorder. Contact us to book an appointment with our eye doctor.

What causes color blindness?

You need to understand the basics of color vision in order to understand the loss of this ability. Our Fort Lauderdale optometrist explains that your eyes and brain partner to see all the properties of light. When you see reflected light, you see color – and the particular color depends on how long the reflected wavelengths of light are. For example, a red rose is only red because it reflects the long wavelengths of red light, absorbing all others at the same time.

In order to see all of the light around you, your cornea and lens focus the wavelengths onto the retina at the back of your eye. There awaits millions of photoreceptors – called rods and cones – which are cells that are sensitive to light. The rods and cones contain photopigment molecules that absorb light, and this process triggers electrical signals to be conveyed from the retina to the brain.

Rods respond more powerfully to dim light, and cones react more forcefully to bright light. Also, cones contain one of three different photopigments, making them sensitive to red, green, and blue light wavelengths. That means in order to see all the hues that are out there, you need all your cones to function fully and properly. When there is a defect in the genes that produce your photopigments, congenital color blindness results.

Is there only one kind of color blindness?

No, there are three main types:

  1. Deuteranopia, most common, is a form of red-green color blindness
  2. Protanopia is another form of red-green color blindness that affects the ability to discern between blue and green and between red and green
  3. Tritanopia, also called blue-yellow color blindness, causes people to get confused between blue and green or violet and yellow

What’s the treatment for color blindness?

While there’s no magic bullet to cure all color blindness, specialized lenses and advanced optics are now available to enhance your ability to precisely differentiate between colors. Called “color blind glasses”, this eyewear is crafted with amazing technologies. Basically, the lenses have built-in, customized tints that filter out certain wavelengths of light – giving you a more accurate perception of the spectrum of color tones.

We are always excited to see the reaction of patients who put on color blind glasses for the first time in our Fort Lauderdale eye care clinic. Suddenly, traffic lights make sense and flowers bloom in more than one shade!

Ready to see not only the trees, but the vibrant red and green of the leaves too? Book a color blindness eye exam and consultation with our experienced eye doctor at Ft. Lauderdale Eye Associates.

At Ft. Lauderdale Eye Associates, we put your family’s needs first. Talk to us about how we can help you maintain healthy vision. Call us today: 954-440-7345 or book an appointment online to see one of our Fort Lauderdale eye doctors.

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While many things have changed, one thing remains the same: our commitment to providing you with the highest level of quality eye care. With state of the art technology and knowledge, the doctors and staff here at Ft. Lauderdale Eye Associates are providing our patients with low volume, concierge quality medical treatment. You can be assured that our infection control and safety protocols are up to date and at the highest level to provide you with a clean and extremely safe environment. We look forward to seeing you soon. To make an appointment please call 954-492-1177.