If diabetic you are recommended to have screening of your retinas at least yearly to determine if you show early signs of retinopathy which are due to changes in the blood vessels at the back of the eye.
Seeing flashes and floaters is very common, especially if you are over the age of 40 years. However their appearance should not ignored, particularly if this follows a recent blow to the head or to the eye, some ocular surgery, and if you are very short-sighted.
In Guernsey the Board of Health supply a screening service for newborns and preschool children at the hospital which is free to use and integrates with other paediatric providers.
We are privileged to have had Optical Coherence Tomography in the practice for over fourteen years now and are using our fourth instrument of this type, the Zeiss Cirrus HD-OCT.
Cataract can be considered as a normal part of the ageing of the eye, although it can also develop due to trauma or conditions such as diabetes, and may be worsened by poor diet or sun damage.
