Diabetic Eye Exams in Saskatoon

Significant increases or decreases in your blood sugar can change how your eyes focus. This occurs because the lenses inside your eyes swell and shrink when the blood sugar fluctuates. Sometimes this can cause dramatic changes in your eyeglass prescription.

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common eye disease linked to diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy develops when high blood sugar weakens the blood vessels inside the retina. These vessels may break and leak fluids, leading to macular edema. As a result, the fluids can damage the retina and possibly cause permanent vision loss.

In advanced cases, diabetic retinopathy can cause the growth of abnormal blood vessels and scar tissue on your retina. Scar tissue increases the risk of retinal detachment, which can lead to blindness.

Diabetic macular edema is a complication of diabetic retinopathy. As damages occur to blood vessels in your eye, fluids can accumulate within your macula, causing your macula to swell.

Your macula is the centremost part of your retina, helping you see fine details, read, and drive. If fluids damage your macula,these tasks can become difficult.

Open-angle glaucoma is the most common type of glaucoma in the country, and diabetes can increase your risk of developing it. Open-angle glaucoma occurs when fluid builds up inside your eye, raising your intraocular pressure (IOP) and damaging your optic nerve.

Learn more about glaucoma and its types by visiting our Eye Disease Diagnosis & Management page.

Cataracts are a common eye condition that generally develops as you grow older, but diabetes increases the risk of developing them at a younger age. Cataracts occur when the clear crystalline lenses inside your eye become rigid and opaque, causing cloudy vision.

Blurry vision caused by early cataracts can often be corrected with eyeglasses or contacts, but cataract surgery is the only way to correct poor vision from more severe cataracts.