Diabetic Eye Exams in Fort Worth

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common complications associated with diabetes. At the start, it’s not uncommon for diabetic retinopathy to show few to no symptoms. If left untreated, patients may experience vision problems or even blindness.

The condition is caused by diabetes affecting the blood vessels in the eye. Having unbalanced blood sugar can create breaches in the blood vessels, causing them to spill fluid into the eyes and damage the retina.

If left untreated, diabetic macular edema can develop from diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic macular edema occurs when leaking fluid from broken blood vessels enters the eye’s macula. If the macula is damaged, patients may have a hard time seeing clearly and can struggle with activities like reading and driving.

Cataracts are the clouding of the eye’s natural lens. This clouding can occur naturally as people age but can also develop earlier because of factors like diabetes. If not treated, cataracts can make it hard to see clearly.

To help manage vision loss from cataracts, stronger lens prescriptions can be used. However, to completely recover the vision lost from cataracts, surgery is needed. During cataract surgery, the natural lens of the eye is removed and replaced with an artificial lens.

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that affect the eye’s optic nerve. If not identified early, glaucoma can eventually cause blindness. People with diabetes need to get tested for this group of eye diseases, as they’re nearly twice as likely to develop glaucoma.

In its early stages, glaucoma may not show any signs or symptoms. Without regular eye exams, it can be difficult to know whether glaucoma is present.