Diabetic & Glaucoma Screening
DIABETIC SCREENING
At Fitzsimons Opticians we advise all diabetics to have a free annual sight test. This is important as diabetes is one of the most common causes of treatable sight reduction and blindness. Most of these issues can be minimized by keeping good control of your diabetes and early treatment of any problems detected in your eye.
Diabetes can also cause significant fluctuations in the strength of the glasses required and this change needs to be identified and monitored. For over 15 years we have been using retinal photography to identify these changes. As new technology has arrived we have adopted it, for example, OCT where we can scan further in the back of the eye, picking up diabetic changes and identifying them earlier.
When testing diabetic patients we put drops into their eyes to dilate or enlarge the pupil for a much clearer view of the retina for scanning or photography. The effects of the drops wear off quickly.
GLAUCOMA SCREENING
Glaucoma is much more common in older people and everyone over the age of 40 will be screened for it. This involves several tests which can include, for example, measuring the pressure inside the eye and examining the optic nerve which is damaged by glaucoma. Also peripheral vision testing and OCT which scans the optic nerve in more detail than ever before and retinal photography
Glaucoma in most cases cannot be cured but early detection means it can be treated to minimise any damage. This is usually treated with eye drops, possibly for the rest of your life, and occasionally surgery is the appropriate treatment.
Unfortunately there are usually no symptoms with glaucoma and vision loss can be quite far advanced before patients notice it. At this stage it is much more difficult to treat, SO GET CHECKED EARLY.
Contact Us
Fitzsimons Opticians
8 William Street
Ballymena
Co. Antrim
BT43 6AW
Phone: 028 2564 0582
Email: enquiries@fitzsimonsopticians.com
Opening Hours
Christmas and New Year Opening Hours
We will be closing at 1pm on Christmas Eve and reopening again on Monday the 4th of January
Normal operating Hours
Mon, Tues, Wed & Fri 9.00am – 5.30pm
Thurs 9.00am – 8.00pm
Saturday 9.30am – 1.00pm
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