As the leading cause of blindness in adult Americans, it’s more important now than ever to ensure you’re getting regular retinal examinations to diagnose and begin treatment for diabetic retinopathy as early as possible. Your best chance at maintaining your vision is to be diagnosed during the earliest stages of this disease.

Unfortunately, most people don’t exhibit any signs or symptoms of diabetic retinopathy until complications and permanent damage have already occurred. Although a regular retinal examination is your best defense, if you notice any of the following symptoms, you should visit your ophthalmologist immediately.

— Changes in your vision, such as blurring, seeing double or having trouble reading. — Seeing spots or dark strings, known as “floaters,” in your vision. — Vision problems that come and go. — Difficulty distinguishing colors. — Dark areas or blanks in your visual field.

The best way to avoid diabetic retinopathy is to maintain proper control of your diabetes. Although the exact cause hasn’t been determined, studies have shown that high levels of blood glucose are a contributing factor.

optomap ultra-widefield retinal images have been found to be equal to ETDRS¹ in all categories. With a 200 degree optomap image, a literature review found that 66% more …

For many aging adults, seeing is everything, and eye health becomes even more important during their Golden Years. Although there are many eye health conditions that may affect older adults, three of the most common eye health conditions include cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Taking good care of your eyes and visiting your eyecare professional every year is essential for early detection and effective treatment of these conditions.

Cataracts

Cataracts cloud eye lenses and can occur in one or both eyes. Although cataracts develop slowly over time, it can eventually interfere with your vision. Symptoms of cataracts include dim or cloudy vision, sensitivity to light or glare and the fading or yellowing of eye color.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma refers to a series of diseases that damages the optic nerve in the eye, causing vision problems and even blindness. Early detection is essential for treating glaucoma and preventing the progression of this condition, which occurs as pressure from fluid builds up behind the anterior chamber of the eye.

There’s no cure for glaucoma, but early detection allows for effective treatment with medication or surgery. A yearly eye exam is the best way to ensure glaucoma is detected before it results in the loss of peripheral or central vision.

Diabetic Retinopathy

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There’s more to November than cold weather, family gatherings and good food. November is also American Diabetes Month, which is the perfect time of the year to spread awareness about how diabetes affects millions of people all over the world. While you may already know that diabetes complicates the regulation of blood sugar, not enough people understand that it also affects other areas of the body, including the eyes.

With more than 25 million diabetics in the U.S., advocating eye health awareness during American Diabetes Month is vital. Here are the top three optometric conditions that are common among people living with diabetes.

Retinopathy

Retinopathy occurs when small blood vessels connected to the retina are damaged, preventing the eye from sending a visual image to the brain. Retinopathy is one of the main causes of blindness-related conditions and is heavily prevalent among diabetics. The three types of retinopathy related to diabetes, include:

**Macular edema **Proliferative retinopathy **Nonproliferative retinopathy

Left unattended, diabetic retinopathy can lead to permanent blindness. In fact, diabetics may increase their chances of developing diabetic retinopathy by delaying diagnosis and/or treatment.

Glaucoma

While anyone can develop glaucoma, particularly elderly individuals, the odds for …

If you suffer from type 1 or type 2 diabetes, you’re at a higher risk for eye conditions that may lead to blindness. One of these conditions is diabetic retinopathy.

This disease occurs as the blood vessels providing nourishment to the retina begin to leak blood and other fluids. Abnormal blood vessels may begin to grow on the surface of the retina. This damage causes the retina to swell and cloud your vision as it progresses through its four identifiable stages to blindness.

Four Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy

**Stage One — Mild nonproliferative retinopathy. In the earliest stage, small aneurysms cause balloon-like swelling in the tiny blood vessels of the retina. **Stage Two — Moderate nonproliferative retinopathy. The condition progresses and some blood vessels in the retina become blocked, cutting off nourishment to the retina. **Stage Three — Severe nonproliferative retinopathy. The retina becomes starved of its blood supply as more blood vessels become blocked. As a result, signals are sent to the body to grow new blood vessels and increase blood supply. **Stage Four — Proliferative retinopathy. The body responds to the call for additional blood vessels by producing abnormal blood vessels on the retina and the vitreous gel within the eye. These new vessels are fragile …

As the leaders in ultra-widefield retinal imaging technology, Optos would like to invite you to join us at Academy 2014 Denver, the American Association of Optometry’s (AAO) annual meeting. This annual meeting is a fantastic opportunity to obtain CE credits, learn techniques to improve your practice and keep yourself updated on the cutting edge of new technologies and practices. Academy 2014 Denver will also provide you with a great opportunity to network, socialize and explore Denver.

The meeting will take place at the Denver Convention Center from November 12^th to November 15^th. Advanced registration and hotel details can be arranged online, or if you prefer to register in person, you may do so upon arrival to the convention center.

Optos will be providing you with three ways to learn more about our company and what we can offer to your practice. Be sure to take note of the following dates and times, so you don’t miss any of our offerings.

**Throughout the show, Optos will be at Booth 621. **Our high-tech workshop will be held on Thursday, November 13^th from 9amto 12pm in room 107. **A Podium Seminar will take place on Friday, November 14th from 2pm to 4pm, on the topic of “Genetics in the …

Vision exams are performed to determine the overall health of your eyes and to assess how well you can see. And as we age, they examinations are essential.

While the exact procedures vary by provider, your doctor may examine your eyes with special lights and perform an eye pressure test. Or, they might have you read from a chart on the wall to determine if you need corrective lenses. Your doctor may even place a unit in front of your face that will help determine your new prescription, if needed.

Retinal examinations are performed so doctors can see the back of your eye. This exam is performed so a doctor can see if you’re developing retinal disease or other serious problems that can affect your vision. During follow up exams, your doctor may compare your new results with past ones to detect any changes and begin treatment if necessary.

There are two methods for examining the retina. One way is to dilate the eyes with eye drops that keep your pupil open even when the doctor shines a bright light into your eye. This way, your doctor can see the back of your eye where …

Halloween is just around the corner, and dressing up is all part of the fun for both children and adults alike. In the spirit of dressing up, many adults opt for cosmetic contact lenses that are designed to create certain effects, such as red eyes, zombie eyes, checkered pupils and more. While these contacts can create a great visual impact, they may also cause vision impairment or even blindness.

Non-prescription lenses may not always be sterile and can cause serious infection. In fact, there were so many problems caused by theses lenses that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of them by anyone but licensed eye care professionals in 2005. Despite the ruling however, these contacts are still available online, in convenience stores, as well as novelty shops.

To reinforce the vision impairment cosmetic contacts can cause, we’ve provided some reasons you should reconsider purchasing and wearing these lenses.

**Poor Fit – Since cosmetic contacts are not properly fitted to your eyes, they can cause corneal scratches, pain, light sensitivity and more. **Corneal Ulcers – Often appearing as white spots on the colored portion of the eye, these ulcers have similar symptoms to scratches, but they can form scarring that permanently …

As reported in the Courier, Optos has announced a commitment of up to £10 million in conjunction with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the academic teams at Strathclyde and Kent University to develop retinal imaging technology that will provide earlier detection of diseases and conditions that cause sight loss.

The initial stage will begin with a £1.1 million study funded by Optos and Innovate UK, formerly known as United Kingdom Technology Board. The study will focus on improving laser technology to track cell function and provide earlier detection of disease formation, so eye diseases can be treated in its earliest stages. With anticipated completion by the beginning of 2017, the earliest studies will focus on AMD, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

If these studies are successful, Optos will commit £9 million pounds to develop fully licensed retinal imaging technology by 2018. “We are delighted to play a key role in this collaboration with the NHS supported by clinical research,” said chief executive of Optos Roy Davis.

The intent of the entire project is not only to prevent blindness, but to prove that collaboration with the academic sector and other entities can provide new technology for enhancing patient outcomes.

With an estimated 7 million patients worldwide losing their vision — 80 percent of …

Eye Injury Prevention Month is a great time to remind patients how important it is to protect their eye health, not only at work, but also at home or play. While various types of injuries to the eyes occur in roughly 2,000 cases per day, nearly half of that number is caused by injuries while at home or in the yard. Many of the remaining cases can be attributed to injuries while at work.

Despite the high number of eye injuries reported, it’s estimated that more than 90 percent of eye injuries can be prevented with the use of protective eye wear. Unfortunately, more than 78 percent of those injured were either not wearing eye protection, or they were wearing inadequate protection for the task they were performing.

In order to protect your eye health and maintain healthy vision throughout your life, it’s essential to wear protective eye wear when performing certain tasks. Here are some tips to get you started:

**Always wear the recommended eye protection when at work. If face shields are required, don’t rely on wearing safety glasses. **Make sure to have certified safety glasses and goggles on hand in your home. Most eye injuries happen in the home or …

While diabetic mothers-to-be are apt to visit their medical doctors frequently and carefully monitor their sugar levels, many of them don’t schedule or receive proper retinal screening exams throughout their pregnancies. In fact, in a study of 300 pregnant women with type I or type II diabetes, 40 percent did not receive the recommended two retinal exams during two trimesters of their pregnancies.

Patients and doctors alike understand that diabetic retinopathy can be a serious condition in pregnant women, so planning and attending a retinal exam during two of the trimesters is a critical process.

In the study mentioned above, 26 percent of the women who received adequate screening were found to have worsening diabetic retinopathy, which is a significant reason to reinforce the importance of retinal screening in pregnancy. Women in the study who had a higher systolic blood pressure reading at their initial prenatal checkup and had the lowest HbA1c were the ones most likely to show increased diabetic retinopathy.

This stands to reason since diabetes can be significantly harder to control during pregnancy and can also form for non-diabetics. Some participating doctors found that women with normal vision at the beginning of their …