Diabetic Eye Exams | NE Florida

Safeguard Your Sight from Diabetes Complications

Diabetes is a systemic health condition that can cause vision-threatening complications. Protecting your eye health and preventing diabetic eye disease includes two primary areas of care: keeping careful control of your blood sugar and booking routine eye exams to screen for signs of disease.

Our team is experienced in detecting, monitoring, and managing diabetic eye disease. We can provide you with key information to care for your eyes and your overall health while living with diabetes.

We recommend that anyone living with diabetes book annual eye exams. If it has been more than a year since your last appointment, book your exam today.

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What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease that impacts your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels. If you have diabetes, your body is not able to control your blood sugar levels, leading to spikes and crashes far outside normal ranges.

Over time, elevated blood sugar levels can lead to various health issues, including serious vision conditions. These conditions can develop without noticeable symptoms during the early (and most treatable) stages, so comprehensive eye exams with diagnostic imaging are the most effective way to detect diabetic eye diseases.

How Does Diabetes Affect Your Eyes?

All forms of diabetes (pre-diabetes, type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes) carry an increased risk of eye disease. Prolonged periods of uncontrolled blood sugar can damage your blood vessels, including the delicate ones in your eyes.

When these blood vessels are damaged, they can leak fluid into the eyes. This can cause increased eye pressure and glaucoma, as well as diabetic retinopathy, which, if left untreated, can progress into diabetic macular edema.

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when the blood vessels in the eye weaken and burst, leaking fluid into the eye. Most people do not experience pain or symptoms during the early stages; however, some may notice blurry vision or changes in their vision, such as trouble reading or seeing distant objects.

Over time, more than half of people living with diabetes are expected to develop diabetic retinopathy. Prevention through close blood sugar control is your primary defense, with routine eye exams crucial for early detection and treatment.

If diabetic retinopathy is left untreated, it can progress into diabetic macular edema. This occurs when fluid leaks into the macula, causing swelling. The macula is part of the retina and is responsible for your central and color vision.

Damage to your macula caused by macular edema can result in irreversible vision loss to your central vision, impacting your ability to read, write, drive, and see faces.

Detecting Eye Conditions with Technology

Our diabetic eye exams follow a similar structure to our regular comprehensive exams. During your diabetic eye exam, we will always include two key imaging technologies: retinal imaging and OCT scans.

Optos retinal imaging captures a picture of the inside of your eye, allowing us to examine a high-resolution image of your retina, optic nerve, macula, and blood vessels. Retinal imaging is key for diabetic eye exams, as changes to the health of your blood vessels, retina, and macula can indicate signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Cirrus OCT 5000 scans use lightwaves to map the layers of your retina, providing a cross-sectional view of your eye. This view allows us to measure the thickness of each layer, enabling us to detect microscopic changes to the health of your retina, optic nerve, and other eye structures that could indicate diabetic eye disease or glaucoma.

We may dilate your pupils during your exam for a better internal view. Special eye drops are used to temporarily widen the pupil, which can blur your vision and increase light sensitivity for a few hours. Bring sunglasses and arrange for alternative transportation, as you shouldn’t drive immediately after.

How Do Eye Exams Protect Your Vision?

We understand that being diagnosed with a systemic health condition like diabetes can feel overwhelming. Our team is here to guide you every step of the way, helping you preserve your vision and care for your eyes and body while living with diabetes.

If you have any questions about living with diabetes or diabetic eye disease, please ask us during your next appointment. Patient education is important to us; we want to help you understand your condition and make informed decisions about your health.

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Our Services

Visit Our Locations

San Marco Location

Find us in the San Marco area, near the intersection of Hendricks Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard. We’re next door to Crumbl Cookie and the Publix parking garage.

2039 Hendricks Ave, Unit 213
Jacksonville, FL 32207

Hours of Operation

Monday:

8 AM – 5 PM

Tuesday:

8 AM – 5 PM

Wednesday:

8 AM – 5 PM

Thursday:

8 AM – 5 PM

Friday:

8 AM – 5 PM

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed

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CR 210 Location

Find us near the Watson Realty building on Hampton Point Drive. We’re across Old Country Road from the Cimarrone Golf Club. Plenty of free parking is available.