18 Oct Diabetic Retinal Screening Ireland
Diabetic retinal screening is a revamped national service, funded by the Irish government to screen all registered diabetics in Ireland.
The aim is to centralize this service and remove it from the hospitals out patients facilities.
The aim is to screen all registered diabetics to reduce the risk of sight loss and detect early changes in the eyes of affected diabetics. We are often asked about this service and what diabetics need to do. All diabetics that are registered as such do not have to do anything as they will be contacted. Once they given their approval to become part of the program an appointment will be made for them. The program is been run for diabetics 12 years and older.
Those who are concerned and suspect they are not registered can call a free phone number 1800 45 45 55 or contact through the website http://www.diabeticretinascreen.ie/.
Ireland has 190,000 registered diabetics and it is estimated it will take 2 years to screen everyone in this new program.
Follow each screening both patient and their GP are notified of the results and if any further procedures are necessary. This program is extremely worthwhile and an essential service for diabetics to maintain good retinal health.
Is this a full examination?
It should be noted this is not a full eye test and will not be sufficient to prescribe glasses or cover any other function except screen for diabetic damage.
The diabetic screening procedure is straight forward, a drop is instilled to each eye to dilated the pupil to allow for a full view of the retina. A series of photographs are taken which will assess the retina and particularly the blood vessels.
Diabetes affects the body in man ways but the integrity of the blood vessels is a primary gauge as to the effect diabetes is having on the patient.
The deterioration of the blood vessel walls, leakage into the retina and the growth of new vessels are all investigated in this screening program. The screening takes roughly 30 minutes.
Patients that are concerned about their eyes and suspect they maybe susceptible to diabetes are welcome to call along to us where we have the latest digital camera (Topcon 3D OCT 2000)
We offer a screening for €50 and will liaise with your GP offering whatever direction necessary. Diabetes is a growing concern in Ireland with current 5.6% of the population affected in one form or another. Early detection is always beneficial but particularly in this condition were the damage from unregulated blood sugars tends to accumulative, i.e. damage that has already occurred is not reversible. In addition retinal damage is indicative of the longevity of this condition being present and rarely is evident early in the disease. patients often notice a sudden change in their vision. Their distance vision reduces and sometimes accompanied with an improvement in their near vision. A full eye test is highly recommended if this is the case.