What Makes Them Different
If you’re managing diabetes, staying on top of your eye health can be a critical part of maintaining a good lifestyle. It means taking the initiative and going well beyond routine vision checks. At Dr. Sam Dhaliwal & Associates, we recognize the unique demands that people suffering from diabetes may face with their eye care, and have tailored our services to help meet them where they are using advanced imaging and convenient direct billing options.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common eye diseases that affect people with diabetes, with over 60% of type 1 diabetics suffering from it within 20 years of a diagnosis of diabetes. When the body has too much sugar in it, it can lead to blockage in the blood vessels feeding the retina of your eye. As a response, the retina tries to grow new blood vessels, but these are very often malformed and bleed onto the retina itself, causing a dimness and lack of vision.
What can be particularly dangerous about diabetic retinopathy or some other diseases is that it can progress silently, with no warning signs until damage is already underway. If left unchecked it causes progressively cluttered and dim vision, sometimes leading to near or total blindness. It is important to have annual, comprehensive eye exams, as they are essential in catching these conditions early and prevent permanent vision loss.
Why Diabetic Eye Exams Are Different
People living with diabetes can face the elevated risks of developing serious eye conditions, even long before they may notice symptoms. Conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration can all be hard to spot or prevent without knowledge that they are there.
In a diabetic eye exam, we are specifically checking for and monitoring conditions stemming from diabetes. Essentially, it is a comprehensive eye exam with a focus on detection and prevention of ailments resulting from prior personal health issues.
A Closer Look: Advanced Imaging That Makes a Difference
We at Dr. Sam Dhaliwal & Associates are committed to bringing you whatever treatment and care you may need. This means providing cutting-edge technology to produce clearer, deeper insights into your eye health. Here are some of the machines that we can use:
- Optomap Retinal Imaging: This ultra-widefield scan captures detailed images of the retina, including the periphery and not just the center. This broader view can help detect early signs of diabetic damage that traditional exams might miss.
- Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT): OCT delivers cross-sectional retinal images, helping us monitor subtle changes in the retinal layers and identify early macular edema or diabetic retinopathy.
- Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer: This tool maps focused and peripheral vision, which is vital for detecting early signs of glaucoma. This disease is another common risk among diabetic patients.
These tools can help diabetic exams from basic vision testing to proactive, high-definition detection, enabling more accurate diagnosis and earlier treatment.
Direct Billing Convenience for Streamlined Care
Navigating medical appointments can be hard enough even without worrying about the paperwork that usually comes after. This is why Dr. Sam Dhaliwal & Associates offers direct billing, meaning that we can handle the insurance claims for you. We can also help you work around your busy schedule, ensuring that everything is done in a timely manner to cater to your needs.
Alberta Health Care can cover eye exams for children under 18 and adults over 65. However, for adults between 19 and 64 years, diabetic eye exams may not be covered. This is no problem for us, and we can contact your insurance company to figure out the details and how to move forward, meaning you can focus on your health and not the bill.
Contact us Today
Taking charge of your diabetic eye health starts with understanding what makes these exams unique. By combining high-tech imaging with streamlined billing and proactive scheduling, we can deliver a level of care truly tailored to you and your needs.
If you’re due for your annual diabetic eye test, schedule an appointment today at our Westmount Optometrist location. At Dr. Sam Dhaliwal & Associates, we believe that your vision deserves care as vigilant as you are, regardless of what may be causing the problems.