# Eye care for People With Diabetes

> "My doctor keeps telling me to get my eyes checked and my vision seems fine."

Diabetic retinopathy develops without symptoms until it is advanced, so normal vision provides no reassurance. An annual retinal examination detects damage while it is still treatable and before sight is affected.

Diabetic retinopathy remains a leading cause of preventable vision loss in working age adults, and it stays that way because it is silent. Blood vessel damage accumulates in the retina for years while vision is unaffected.

Annual screening changes that. Microaneurysms, small haemorrhages and early retinal swelling are visible on imaging long before they affect sight, and finding them changes both the eye care plan and often the diabetes management.

Widefield imaging matters particularly here, because diabetic changes often appear in the retinal periphery first. Capturing over 80 percent of the retina in a single image finds what a narrower view would miss, and the images are compared directly year on year.

## What matters most

**My vision is fine**

That is precisely why screening is needed. Retinopathy causes no symptoms until it is advanced.

**I do not want to be dilated**

Widefield imaging can often be used instead, which saves several hours of blurred vision.

**Will my doctor be told?**

Yes. Findings are reported back to whoever manages your diabetes, because retinal findings inform overall management.

## Where to start

- [Diabetic eye exams](https://eyedoctorphoenixaz.com/comprehensive-eye-exams/diabetic-eye-exams): The annual screening that finds it early
- [Diabetic eye care](https://eyedoctorphoenixaz.com/specialty-eye-care/diabetic-eye-care): What diabetes does to the retina
- [Retinal imaging](https://eyedoctorphoenixaz.com/about/technology/optomap-retinal-imaging): Over 80 percent of the retina in one capture


## Questions and answers
**How often?**

At least annually for type 1 and type 2, more frequently once retinopathy is present, and more frequently during pregnancy.

**Can changes be reversed?**

Early changes can stabilise and sometimes improve with good glucose control. Advanced damage tends to be permanent, which is the argument for early screening.

---## About this practice
Arizona's Vision Eye Care Center, 15215 S 48th St Ste 180, Phoenix, AZ 85044.
Phone (480) 706-3937. Monday to Thursday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
Independent optometry practice, founded 1994. One location. Does not perform refractive or cataract surgery.
This site publishes no star rating and no review count, because the figures across the practice's own properties contradict one another and cannot be verified.
This page is general information, not medical advice.