Diabetic retinopathy is best treated and managed with early detection and diagnosis. This can be especially important for children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. The earlier we can detect and diagnose the diabetic eye problems, the better we can prepare to help prevent vision loss. Most often diabetic retinopathy is diagnosed during a dilated exam of the retina during an eye exam. However, we also have a very sensitive non-invasive “kid friendly” imaging system in our office called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) that can help us detect the very earliest types of changes from diabetes-even before they might be visible during a dilated retinal exam.
According to a clinical study reported in the journal Ophthalmic Surgery, Laser and Imaging Retina Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus causes and degenerative effect on certain nerve cells in the retina even before the breakdown of blood vessels occurs with diabetic retinopathy. From this research, it is thought that OCT may be more useful than just a dilated retinal exam in kids with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.
If you or someone you know has a child or young adult with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, please make sure they are having regular eye exams as diabetic retinopathy is manageable and vision loss preventable with early detection, diagnosis and treatment. Please call your local optometrist to schedule an appointment. If specialty care, treatment or cataract surgery is required, please ask to be referred to one of the physicians at Eyecare Medical Group, 53 Sewall Street, Portland, Maine 04102 at 888-374-2020, or visit Eyecare Medical Group, Google+ or facebook.com/eyecaremedicalgroup.
