Diabetes: How Does Your Optometrist Fit In?

When most people think of diabetes, they probably think about the fact that sufferers are not able to eat sugar and are required to take insulin shots. But did you know that diabetes is also the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults? According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone with diabetes loses visual function every 15 minutes.

Diabetes is a serious disease that requires consistent treatment and vigilant monitoring by both the individual sufferer and also their team of health professionals. In fact, 8% of the entire U.S. population is afflicted with this disease (nearly 24 million people).

To that end, your optometrist is a key member of your treatment team if you suffer from diabetes. Often, your optometrist will be able to assist in early detection of diabetes, as the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy may be visible through regular eye exams. Your optometrist is an essential player in helping treat and prevent blindness caused by diabetes.

If you’re working-age, be sure you are getting regular eye exams—call us and schedule your appointment today! Diabetes is just one condition we are able to detect and help treat. If you have diabetes, share your experience in the comments below.

Visual Reading Disorders

There are many learning disorders that are related to vision problems. The brain processes information visually in several different ways. As we’ve discussed before, many times children are misdiagnosed with behavioral disorders when the actual issue is a visual/learning disorder.

Here are some of the more common ways our brain processes information visually:

• Sequencing (the ability to see and distinguish words, symbols, and numbers)
• Figure–Ground Discrimination (the ability to distinguish a character or shape from its background)
• Motor Processing (also referred to as hand-eye coordination, the ability to process information from the eyes and move parts of your body accordingly)
• Memory (long-term and short-term, the ability to remember what you have seen)
• Spatial Relationships (the ability to determine how shapes are positioned in relation to one another)
• Discrimination (the ability to process and distinguish one item from another)

Visual disorders can manifest themselves in many different ways because of the many different ways we visual process information. Be sure to bring your child in for regular annual eye exams, especially if you believe they may be struggling with a behavioral or learning disorder. Do you or someone you know have experience with this issue? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Signs Your Child Has a Vision Problem

There are many things you can look for if you’re concerned your child may be suffering from a vision problem. Vision problems can be misdiagnosed as both behavioral and learning disorders, which is why getting your children’s vision checked regularly is essential to their success both in and out of the classroom.

Here are some of the common symptoms your children may display if they have an undetected vision problem:

• Squinting, covering one eye, or closing one eye while reading
• Losing place of what line/page they were reading
• Skipping over words and lines while reading
• Angling or turning their heads to see more clearly
• Getting headaches while reading
• Looking at things up close while reading
• Getting distracted or frustrated while reading
• Avoiding reading or other schoolwork

This list is by no means comprehensive, but it’s a good start. If your child is experiencing any of these symptoms and has not been screened recently, schedule an exam and we can either rule out a vision problem, or determine the issue and work to treat it properly.

Are you wondering if your child has a vision problem? Feel free to ask me a question in the comments below.

Why is it Getting Harder to Read?

Does it seem like squinting is much more commonplace for you nowadays? Maybe you even feel like print is getting smaller…unfortunately, that’s probably not really the case. More than likely, you are displaying signs of Presbyopia, especially if you are 40 or older.

As you age, so do the lenses of your eyes, becoming thicker and losing elasticity and flexibility over time. This makes the business of focusing more difficult, which results in that “hard to read” print you may be frustrated with.

Fortunately, there are many options for a patient suffering from Presbyopia. Progressive lenses are a great choice that will enable you to have clear vision from both a distance and up close. Line bifocals are another choice that is still fairly popular as well. Or, you may opt for an additional pair of glasses to see up close for reading and computer distances.

Contacts may also be an option for some, although it depends on your individual situation. There has been a lot of progress made recently with multifocal contact lenses. There are also other alternatives available that may work for you. The best thing to do if you’re displaying symptoms of Presbyopia is schedule an exam with me, and we can determine what the issue is and how we can find the best solution for you.

What is the best treatment you have found for your Presbyopia? Share your experience in the comments below.