Retinal Photos - Why It Matters

Retinal Photos and WHY THEY MATTER

Why Is it important to have retinal imaging (photos) done yearly at your eye doctor? I’m glad you asked. It is said that your eyes are the window to your soul. Well, for your eye doctor, the eyes are the window to your health. The images that we are able to collect through this five-second, pain free retinal imaging process can provide your eye doctor with valuable information about your overall health and the future of your vision. Have you ever heard of sight threatening conditions such as Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, or Retinal Detachment? What about diseases that people don’t typically realize cause blindness: diabetes, cancer, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis? Early detection of many of these conditions, even without symptoms, can be possible through retinal imaging.

I myself have diagnosed melanoma with this tool, among other unsavory diseases that led to sight-saving treatment. In most of these cases, the patient came in for a routine visit for glasses or contacts, and were quickly sent for surgery and/or treatment! All because I was able to see the inner workings of the retina that cannot be seen with the naked eye (because the retina is located at the BACK of the eye). This is not limited to older adults either! In fact, the instrument we use called the Optomap was developed by Douglas Anderson, whose son lost his sight at age five due to an undetected retinal detachment. His goal when developing the Optomap was to create a system that would capture an unprecedented view of the retina AND be patient-friendly even for our youngest patients.

So, given the amount of clinical knowledge about the health of your eye that can be gleaned from retinal imaging, I cannot recommend enough this screening for your next visit.

Give us a call or schedule online to get your screening done today!

Dr. Clyde