With respect to the eyes, the damage effect of Diabetes, or Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of preventable blindness in North America. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of Diabetes that occurs when the microvasculature (small blood vessels) of the retina (the light-sensitive tissue layers lining the back of the eye) are damaged.

Diabetics have high levels of sugar in their blood. As it occurs elsewhere in the body, similarly this condition can affect the circulatory system of the retina to cause damage to the blood vessels that supply the retina. In the early stages of the disease, known as Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR, or “Background retinopathy”), the weakened arteries begin to leak, forming small, dot-like areas of bleeding. These leaking vessels often lead to a swelling of the macula. Since the macula is responsible for our central field of view, macular swelling, or edema, thus leads to decreased vision. If left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can result in irreversible vision loss.

Progression of the disease can lead to Proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Here, decreased blood flow causes the retina to become deprived of oxygen. Subsequently, new blood vessels develop in an attempt to maintain sufficient oxygen levels. However, these new blood vessels are weaker and often blood components start to leak out of them. When these newer, weaker blood vessels break or leak, fluid can find its way into the macula and elsewhere, often causing a range of central and peripheral vision loss. Other serious conditions, such as Diabetic-related glaucoma and some retinal detachments from untreated Proliferative Retinopathy can also occur at this stage.

Even with Retinopathy, often times there are no treatments required during the early stages of this condition. However, with Proliferative retinopathy and macular edema, these can be treated with different types of laser surgery. Laser treatment attempts to shrink the abnormal newly-formed blood vessels. The goal is to stop their continued growth. In turn, this laser treatment can improve your vision and prevent further retinopathy and subsequent vision loss.

Common symptoms of diabetic retinopathy can include but are not limited to blurred or fluctuating vision, new signs of increased floaters and flashes, and sudden loss of vision in either or both eyes. In many instances, no symptoms are noticed at all, even when considerable damage has already been done. Because many retinopathies do not have symptoms, every person with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes should have a complete, dilated comprehensive eye examination with an optometrist or ophthalmologist at least once a year.

Thank you to everyone who attended the annual Pumpkin Patch Giveaway! We had a wonderful time, and it looked like everyone else did as well. Here are some photos taken in Burnaby, Kelowna, Port Moody & Price Rupert. Thank you again for your overwhelming support!

OMNI Eye + Vision is holding its ANNUAL Pumpkin Patch Giveaway at all its locations, 100% proceeds going to a local hospital Charity. Anyone can come pick out a pumpkin at no charge, with a freewill donation benefiting the charity.

Locations:

Burnaby: At the Canada Games Pool and Fitness Centre at 65-69 6 Ave E New Westminster, BC on Thursday, October 27th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, benefiting the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation

Port Moody: At the Suter Brook Village Saturday October 29th from 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM, benefiting the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation

Kelowna: In the Mission on Pandosy St + West Ave, Sunday October 30th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, benefiting the Kelowna General Hospital

Prince Rupert: At the Ocean Centre, Thursday October 27th from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, benefiting the Prince Rupert Auxiliary Hospital Foundation

Bring the whole family out and support a cause that is close to our hearts. Please spread the word and we look forward to seeing you there!

1. featured_slide_img

The “featured_slide_img” custom field will allow you to enter a URL to the image of your choosing. Just upload it from the “Add Media” button above this text-editor and grab the File URL from the image. Remember it needs to be 940 x 284 px to fit into the slider.

Some optional things you can add:

2. featured_slide_caption – Quite simply, this field will add a basic text caption to the bottom of your image. No HTML, sorry! This version of the Nivo Slider doesn’t support that yet.

3. featured_slide_destination – Want this slide to link to somewhere? Add your destination URL here.

4. launch_this_in_a_lightbox – Want to launch a lightbox from the slide? Use this one instead of the “featured_slide_destination” and whatever link you put in there will load into a lightbox. Keep in mind there are limitations to this – it’s probably best to just link to images unless you are pretty comfortable with the prettyPhoto slider settings.

1. featured_slide_img

The “featured_slide_img” custom field will allow you to enter a URL to the image of your choosing. Just upload it from the “Add Media” button above this text-editor and grab the File URL from the image. Remember it needs to be 940 x 284 px to fit into the slider.

Some optional things you can add:

2. featured_slide_caption – Quite simply, this field will add a basic text caption to the bottom of your image. No HTML, sorry! This version of the Nivo Slider doesn’t support that yet.

3. featured_slide_destination – Want this slide to link to somewhere? Add your destination URL here.

4. launch_this_in_a_lightbox – Want to launch a lightbox from the slide? Use this one instead of the “featured_slide_destination” and whatever link you put in there will load into a lightbox. Keep in mind there are limitations to this – it’s probably best to just link to images unless you are pretty comfortable with the prettyPhoto slider settings.

1. featured_slide_img

The “featured_slide_img” custom field will allow you to enter a URL to the image of your choosing. Just upload it from the “Add Media” button above this text-editor and grab the File URL from the image. Remember it needs to be 940 x 284 px to fit into the slider.

Some optional things you can add:

2. featured_slide_caption – Quite simply, this field will add a basic text caption to the bottom of your image. No HTML, sorry! This version of the Nivo Slider doesn’t support that yet.

3. featured_slide_destination – Want this slide to link to somewhere? Add your destination URL here.

4. launch_this_in_a_lightbox – Want to launch a lightbox from the slide? Use this one instead of the “featured_slide_destination” and whatever link you put in there will load into a lightbox. Keep in mind there are limitations to this – it’s probably best to just link to images unless you are pretty comfortable with the prettyPhoto slider settings.

1. featured_slide_img

The “featured_slide_img” custom field will allow you to enter a URL to the image of your choosing. Just upload it from the “Add Media” button above this text-editor and grab the File URL from the image. Remember it needs to be 940 x 284 px to fit into the slider.

Some optional things you can add:

2. featured_slide_caption – Quite simply, this field will add a basic text caption to the bottom of your image. No HTML, sorry! This version of the Nivo Slider doesn’t support that yet.

3. featured_slide_destination – Want this slide to link to somewhere? Add your destination URL here.

4. launch_this_in_a_lightbox – Want to launch a lightbox from the slide? Use this one instead of the “featured_slide_destination” and whatever link you put in there will load into a lightbox. Keep in mind there are limitations to this – it’s probably best to just link to images unless you are pretty comfortable with the prettyPhoto slider settings.

1. featured_slide_img

The “featured_slide_img” custom field will allow you to enter a URL to the image of your choosing. Just upload it from the “Add Media” button above this text-editor and grab the File URL from the image. Remember it needs to be 940 x 284 px to fit into the slider.

Some optional things you can add:

2. featured_slide_caption – Quite simply, this field will add a basic text caption to the bottom of your image. No HTML, sorry! This version of the Nivo Slider doesn’t support that yet.

3. featured_slide_destination – Want this slide to link to somewhere? Add your destination URL here.

4. launch_this_in_a_lightbox – Want to launch a lightbox from the slide? Use this one instead of the “featured_slide_destination” and whatever link you put in there will load into a lightbox. Keep in mind there are limitations to this – it’s probably best to just link to images unless you are pretty comfortable with the prettyPhoto slider settings.