Diabetic Eye Exams
in La Mesa

Glaucoma occurs when the optic nerve is damaged, usually by higher than normal pressure in the eye. There are many types of glaucoma, but all of them cause vision loss without treatment. Glaucoma often develops slowly, but some kinds can appear very quickly and pose urgent risks to your eyesight.

If you have diabetes, your risk for open-angle glaucoma doubles. This common form of the disease usually doesn’t show symptoms until some of your vision is already gone.

While an eye doctor can help you diagnose and control glaucoma, they can’t reverse the vision loss it causes. That’s why regular glaucoma screenings are important—and included with our diabetic eye exams.

Cataracts “fog up” your vision over time by turning your eye’s lens pale and milky. They mostly occur in older people, but having diabetes puts you at risk for cataracts earlier in life.

Cataract surgery can restore vision lost to cataracts in most cases. Your ophthalmologist will remove the cataract lens during the surgery and replace it with an artificial one you can see through clearly.

Having diabetes can give you high blood sugar, which leads to swelling in the veins connected to your retina. If those veins break, blood and other fluids can leak into the retina, damaging your vision. This is called diabetic retinopathy.

Untreated diabetic retinopathy can also cause swelling in the macula—a part of the retina necessary for central vision. This process causes diabetic macular edema, which can make everyday tasks requiring central vision challenging to perform. You might find yourself unable to read a book, drive your car, or even recognize the faces of your loved ones.