Specialized Care for People With Diabetes
Diabetes is on the rise in Canada. Today, anyone over the age of 20 faces a 50% risk of developing diabetes in their lifetime. The disease impacts your body in many ways, not the least of which involves your eyesight.
Controlling your blood sugar, healthy eating, and regular exercise can all help keep diabetes under control. Regular, comprehensive eye care should also be a part of your overall diabetes maintenance.
If you have diabetes, you should have an annual eye exam. Depending on your particular situation, we may want to see you more often.
At West Coast Optical, we’re well-equipped to care for people with diabetes. Our eye exams are thorough and screen for early signs of vision loss caused by diabetic eye disease.
Book your appointment today and ensure the health of your eyes.
What is Diabetics
Diabetes is a chronic condition involving insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. People with diabetes are either unable to produce insulin or can’t effectively use the insulin they do produce.
In someone without diabetes, insulin regulates the body’s blood sugar. For people with diabetes, the inefficiency of insulin (or lack of it altogether) means sugar builds up in the bloodstream, causing problems for internal organs.
People develop diabetes for a variety of reasons, including genetics, family history, and overall health.
Diabetes & Your Sight
Diabetic eye disease is one of the leading causes of blindness in Canada. Since almost 11.5 million people in the country have diabetes or prediabetes, there are many people at risk for vision loss.
Diabetic Retinopathy
The most common form of vision loss associated with diabetes comes from diabetic retinopathy. Increased levels of blood sugar can lead to blood vessel damage. When the tiny, delicate blood vessels that feed the retina are damaged, they can burst and leak, leading to distorted vision and even blindness.
Left untreated, diabetic retinopathy may get worse. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow in place of the broken ones, and then these new vessels also burst and leak, eventually causing scar tissue to form.
The proliferative type of diabetic retinopathy is a very serious condition that can cause retinal detachment or damage to the macula.
Diabetic Macular Edema
When retinal blood vessels burst and leak into the macula, it can damage the central vision. This is called diabetic macular edema. The condition severely impacts the quality of life.
Dealing with diabetic macular edema while also attempting to manage other symptoms of diabetes is challenging. It is best to identify vision issues before they progress into such a severe condition.
Signs & Symptoms
Often, there are no symptoms of diabetic retinopathy or other eye diseases in their early stages. Vision issues become noticeable as the condition advances, sometimes after significant vision loss has already occurred.
Some early warning signs might include:
- Poor night vision
- Blurry vision
- Impaired colour vision
- Seeing dark spots
- Eye floaters
Optometrists Are Here to Help
One-third of Canadians with diabetes do not know they have it. Not only do comprehensive eye exams help prevent vision loss from diabetes, they can diagnose the disease in its early stages.
Book an appointment at West Coast Optical today and let our team take part in your overall health care.
Come See Us
Find us right on the Fraser Highway near the Langley/Surrey border, one block from Willowbrook Shopping Centre in Langley!
Our Address
- 102B 19475 Fraser Hwy
- Surrey, BC V3S 6K7
Contact Information
- Phone: 604.533.1171
- Email: [email protected]
Our Hours
- Monday: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Tuesday: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Wednesday: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Thursday: 9:30 PM – 8:00 PM
- Friday: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Saturday: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
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West Coast Optical
- 102B 19475 Fraser Hwy
- Surrey, BC V3S 6K7
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P: 604.533.1171
[email protected]