Diabetic Eye Care in Sydney

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Keeping Your Eyes Healthy

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how your body produces and uses insulin, which allows your body to process sugar into energy. Diabetes can also significantly increase your risk for developing degenerative eye diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy or macular edema.

If you have type 1 or 2 diabetes, you must have your eyes examined regularly to pinpoint early signs of disease that can affect your vision. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, diabetic retinopathy affects 23% of people with type 1 diabetes on insulin therapy and 14% of people with type 2 diabetes.

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Diabetic Eye Disease

Diabetic eye disease refers to a group of eye conditions that occur due to uncontrolled diabetes. Over time, diabetes can cause significant damage to your ocular health and vision. In some cases, uncontrolled diabetes can lead to blindness.
Some of the best ways to prevent diabetic eye disease are to:

Diabetic retinopathy is a degenerative eye disease that occurs when unregulated blood glucose levels damage the tiny blood vessels in the back of the eye. When these blood vessels are damaged, they can swell, burst, and leak fluids into the eye. Fluid leakage can cause scarring, block vision, and increase pressure inside the eye.

The early stage of diabetic retinopathy, called nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, occurs when the blood vessels weaken, bulge, or leak into the retina.

In more advanced stages, called proliferative diabetic retinopathy, the blood vessels close off, causing new, abnormal vessels to grow on the surface of the retina. This stage of diabetic retinopathy is serious and can lead to permanent vision loss and even blindness.

Diabetic macular edema often happens as a result of untreated diabetic retinopathy. When the damaged blood vessels leak fluid into the eye, it causes surrounding tissues to swell, including the macula. The macula is the central-most part of the retina and is responsible for your central vision. This swelling can lead to central vision loss.

Diagnosing Diabetic Eye Disease

At Island Eyecare, our primary goal is to make sure your ocular health and vision are well cared for. If you have diabetes, your eye exam may include some specialized tests to detect early signs of diabetic eye disease.

We use Optos ultra-widefield imaging technology to detect, diagnose, document, and treat diseases that may go undetected with traditional examination techniques. The technology is a non-invasive imaging tool that provides high-resolution images of your retina without eye drops or pupil dilation. Most patients report retinal imaging as being quick and painless.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used to capture cross-section images of your retina. The tool takes high-resolution images of your retina so we can assess the thickness of each layer and pinpoint early signs of retinal disease.

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Our Location in Sydney

Find us at 117 Welton Street in Sydney, Nova Scotia, on the corner of Welton Street and Spruce Street. Our office is just down from the Sydney Memorial Chapel and next to Air Liquide Canada Store. There is ample free parking in our parking lot next to the building.

Our Address

117 Welton Street
Sydney, NS B1P 5R6

Contact Information

Hours of Operation

Monday
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

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