Eye Doctor Cape Coral, Florida

Having an eye doctor right here in Cape Coral, Florida is definitely an advantage. Most of us visit the eye doctor each year for a comprehensive eye examination. While those exams are certainly important, having a local eye doctor can help with some often-overlooked eye problems.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Did you know that, as your eye doctor, we can detect many diseases during a regular eye exam? We often detect diseases like glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes.

Diabetes profoundly affects your eyes because you can develop diabetic retinopathy as well as increase your risk for developing other eye conditions like glaucoma. Diabetes damages the blood vessels in your retina, which causes diabetic retinopathy. Because the retina is the light-sensitive portion of your eye that focuses light for vision, over time the retinopathy worsens and you may experience vision loss.

If you are diabetic and notice blurry or less intense vision, it is important to have a comprehensive diabetic eye exam. The longer you have diabetes, the more likely you are to develop retinopathy.

While anyone who has diabetes is at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy, not all patients will develop it. The issue is that, if diabetic retinopathy goes undetected, a person can have substantial vision loss. However, when retinopathy is detected in the early stages, the large majority of patients (about 95%) can avoid substantial vision loss with early treatment. Most patients do not notice any changes in vision in the early stages of retinopathy, therefore annual exams become critical for early detection.

Even if you don’t have symptoms, go for your annual exam if you have diabetes. Why? Diabetes is the number one cause of blindness in the United States. A dilated eye exam is the only way our doctor can perform a thorough retinal evaluation on a yearly basis to ensure your eyes are not being affected by your diabetes.

Cataract Evaluations

Cataracts are a normal part of aging characterized by the vision becoming cloudy due to protein deposits on the lens of the eye. Once again, most cataracts are detected during a comprehensive eye exam — all the more reason to have a trusted local eye doctor you can visit on an annual basis.

Many people over the age of 60 have cataracts, but the good news is they are easily remedied with a safe and painless surgery. The cloudy lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. Millions of surgeries are done each year across the United States; this surgery has an extremely high success rate.

 

You can turn to Elmquist Eye Group as your eye doctor in Cape Coral, Florida for all of these conditions above.  For over two decades, we have been proudly providing the Southwest Florida region with eye care services in our state-of-the-art facilities. Our highly trained doctors and staff want you to be our next patient, so call us today to schedule this all-too-important annual appointment.