ter checking your vision sharpness,
the doctor places drops in
your eyes to dilate (widen) the
dark center of your eyes, called
the pupil. This allows more
light into your eyes, just like
opening a door lets light into
a dark room. Then the doctor
can examine the inside of the
eye.
A special magnifying lens
is needed to examine the tissues
at the back of the eye.
These tissues include the retina
(light-sensitive tissue), the
macula (central part of the
retina for sharp vision), and
the optic nerve (carries visual
messages from the eye to the
brain). Damage to these areas
may be a sign of an eye disease.
“The eyes can also reflect
illness that begins in another
tissue far from the eyes themselves,”
Araj explains. Eye exams
may reveal health problems
like diabetes, high blood
pressure, autoimmune disorders,
sexually transmitted diseases,
and cancers.
For example, eye doctors
often detect diabetes by observing
damage to the retina
and blood vessels in the eye.
The disease may show up in eye
tissue before a blood glucose
(sugar) test reveals it. Early detection
can prevent not only
vision loss but other serious
complications.
Advances in Imaging
“Today’s clinical technologies
to image the eye are pretty
amazing, but they are undergoing
tremendous advances,” says
Healthy Living | Spring Issue | 2018 23