You have diabetes. How often should you get your eyes checked?

Diabetes is common in the Philippines, and most people who have it are managing it reasonably well. They watch their sugar, they take their medication, they see their doctor. The eye check is the appointment that slips.

It slips for an understandable reason. Early diabetic changes at the back of the eye usually produce no symptoms at all. Vision stays fine. Nothing hurts. There is no signal telling you to go.

That absence of a signal is the entire argument for going anyway.

What diabetes does to the eye

The retina lines the back of the eye and converts light into signals your brain reads as vision. It is fed by very small, very fine blood vessels.

Sustained high blood sugar damages small blood vessels throughout the body. In the retina, that damage is called diabetic retinopathy. Weakened vessels can leak fluid or blood, and in later stages the eye grows fragile new vessels that are prone to bleeding. Fluid collecting in the central part of the retina, called diabetic macular oedema, is a common cause of vision loss in people with diabetes.

Two things matter about this process. First, it starts silently, and it is visible to a trained examiner well before it is noticeable to you. Second, when it is found early, there are established treatments delivered by ophthalmologists. Diabetic retinopathy is one of the clearest cases in eye care where the timing of detection changes the outcome.

How often is often enough

Guidance varies by type of diabetes, how long you have had it, and what previous examinations found, which is why the schedule is a clinical decision rather than a rule you can read off a website.

What is consistent across guidance is the principle: people with diabetes need a dilated eye examination on a regular schedule set by an eye care professional, and the schedule tightens if any changes are found. Adults with type 2 diabetes are generally advised to have an eye examination at or shortly after diagnosis, because the condition often develops silently for years before it is diagnosed. Pregnancy also changes the picture and warrants a discussion with your doctor.

The practical version: if you have diabetes and it has been more than a year since anyone looked properly at the back of your eyes, book now. Then let the optometrist tell you when to come back.

Why the pupils get dilated

A proper look at the retina needs a wide view through the pupil. Drops are used to enlarge the pupil so more of the retina is visible, particularly the periphery, where early changes often appear first.

What to expect if drops are used:

• They sting slightly for a few seconds.
• Vision becomes blurry for near tasks and light feels uncomfortably bright.
• The effect commonly lasts a few hours.
• Do not plan to drive yourself home. Bring sunglasses, or a companion.

This is the single most common reason people postpone the appointment. Plan around it rather than skipping it. Book late in the day, or on a day you are not driving.

Symptoms that mean go now, not next month

Do not wait for your scheduled check if you notice any of the following:

• A sudden shower of new floaters, or what looks like soot or cobwebs drifting across your vision
• A dark curtain or shadow moving across part of your field of vision
• Sudden blurring or loss of vision in one eye
• Straight lines appearing bent or wavy
• A new dark or blank patch in the centre of your vision

These warrant urgent assessment by an eye doctor.

What you control between appointments

Blood sugar control, blood pressure control and cholesterol management are the levers that influence how likely retinal changes are and how fast they progress. That is your physician's territory, and it is the most useful eye care most people with diabetes will ever do. Smoking cessation matters too.

One more practical note: vision that fluctuates with blood sugar levels is common, and it is why an unstable period is a poor time to have new glasses made. If your sugars have been swinging, mention it. It changes what a prescription measured today is worth next month.

Book a Vision7 eye test at your nearest Vision Express store

Our seven-step comprehensive eye exam includes a case history that puts your diabetes on record, a full refraction, and a visual health exam. Where findings need a specialist, our optometrists refer you onward to an ophthalmologist. Getting into the system is what matters, and that starts with one appointment.

If your prescription has shifted, ask for Shamir Opulens Exact at the counter. It is made to your measurements rather than pulled from stock, which means the cylinder and axis of your prescription are cut precisely as written. For eyes that have had a period of change, precision is what makes new glasses feel settled instead of approximate.

If you want your glasses the same day, Opulens Advanced 1.60 is in stock and ready in 20 minutes.

Every pair comes with free lifetime ultrasonic cleaning, free lifetime custom fitting and adjustment, and a 1-year warranty. If you have HMO coverage, ask your provider and our store team about using your benefits.