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Diabetic Retinopathy Diagnosis / Tests
Having explained all of the above, how is diabetic retinopathy diagnosed? For this, your physician (an ophthalmologist is recommended) will do a complete examination of your eyes. Pupillary dilation is needed to have a better view of your eyes. To do so, the doctor will put a few drops in your eyes that will turn your vision blurry. This effect may last several hours until it disappears completely.
During the eye examination, the physician will search for abnormal or growth of new blood vessels in your retina. Is important to discover if there are hemorrhages, swelling like macular edema, fatty deposits (exudates), or scar tissue.
Also, the ophthalmologist is in the obligation to discover any complications produced by the diabetic retinopathy such as bleeding in the humor vitreous, retinal detachment or any abnormal signs in the eye´s optic nerve (neuropathy). Regular and more complicated ophthalmological exams are practiced.
Your vision will be tested through a visual acuity test using an eye chart like the Snellen chart. The acuity is measured relating the patient´s perception with the size of the correspondent letters or symbols viewed on the chart. The result may be expressed as a fraction or a decimal number. The normal is to have a vision of 20/20 or 6/6.0 (which represents the same but in different measures), or 1.00 in decimals.
Your eyes pressure need to be measured due to the possibility of glaucoma. The doctor will apply anesthetic drops to numb the eyes. After a few seconds, a specialized instrument that measures the pressure inside your eyes is applied very gently in the front of the surface of them. The physician will notice how much pressure appears indicated in the device. It is very important to remain calm and breathe normally. The procedure does not generate any pain. Normal eye pressure can go from 10 to 21 mmHg (scale in millimeters of mercury).
