Pupillary Pathways

Diabetes is a systemic condition that can affect the entire body, including the eyes. Most clinicians focus on diabetic retinopathy as the primary ocular manifestation of diabetes.

However, diabetes can increase the likelihood of so many other ocular conditions. Here’s a shortlist of other conditions to watch out for when examining a patient with diabetes who may or may not present with retinopathy. 

Comprehensive eye exams are the bread and butter for every optometrist, regardless of the setting. Though patient demographics and chief complaints may be different, the core of everything we do and the testing we perform remains the same. All of the testing we perform on a daily basis in clinic is essential, but sometimes it’s hard to prioritize what to do and when to do it when it comes to looking for something specific or finding evidence for a certain diagnosis.

As an optometric physician, you will see many patients every single day. You will find that a lot of your patients do not have a primary care physician that they see on a regular basis, or have not been to their primary care doctor for a physical examination in several years.

You may actually be the only doctor that your patient sees regularly or has been to in quite some time. Therefore, we have a responsibility to our patients to ensure that their overall general health needs and concerns are being met.

Take a few extra minutes during your exam to do a thorough case history and identify any risk factors for health conditions that may be undiagnosed or poorly managed.

Diabetes mellitus should be one of the conditions that we feel comfortable talking to our patients about.

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders that is defined by the inability of the body to produce or respond to the hormone insulin. This can be the result of either defective insulin secretion, or target cell receptor resistance.

No matter the cause, this disorder results in imbalanced carbohydrate metabolism and subsequent elevated blood glucose levels. While the bodily processes that lead to the different types of diabetes are distinct, most of the lab tests that are utilized to diagnose diabetes are interchangeable and do not specify which type of the disease is present.

The main tests used to diagnose diabetes mellitus are the fasting plasma glucose test, the oral glucose tolerance test, and the HbA1c test.

Optometry Student, do you know the three signs of Diabetes?