How might diabetic retinopathy affect everyday activities?
Contributing Editor: Debbie Sokol-McKay, OTR/L, CVRT, CDE, CLVT, vision rehabilitation therapist, diabetes educator, low vision therapist, and licensed occupational therapist Diabetic retinopathy usually has no early warning symptoms. It can be detected only through a comprehensive eye examination that looks for early signs of the disease, including: • Leaking blood vessels • Macular edema (swelling) • Pale, fatty deposits on the retina • Damaged nerve tissue • Any changes to the retinal blood vessels To effectively diagnose diabetic eye disease, eye care specialists recommend a comprehensive diabetic eye examination that includes the following procedures: • Distance and near vision acuity tests • A dilated eye (or fundus) examination, which includes the use of an ophthalmoscope. In a dilated eye examination, it is the pupil that is dilated — not the entire eye. This allows the examiner to see through the pupil to the retina. Acuity tests alone may not be sufficient to detect diabetic
