It’s important to identify diabetic retinopathy as soon as possible. Screening is an effective way of detecting retinopathy at an early stage.
The National Screening Programme for Diabetic Retinopathy was introduced to reduce the risk of vision loss in people with diabetes.
If retinopathy is detected early enough, it can be effectively treated using laser treatment. Otherwise, by the time the symptoms of retinopathy become noticeable, it can be much more difficult to treat.
Read more about how diabetic retinopathy is treated.
Everyone with diabetes who is 12 years of age or over should have their eyes screened once a year. You should receive a letter inviting you to attend a screening appointment. Contact your GP if you have not received a letter and your appointment is overdue.
Seek immediate medical advice if you have a problem with your vision in between screening appointments, such as sudden vision loss or deterioration in your vision. Do not wait until your next screening appointment.
The screening procedure
Your invitation to attend a screening appointment will provide details about where you need to go. This may be your GP surgery, your local hospital or another nearby clinic.
When you arrive, the procedure will be explained to you. If you have any questions, ask the healthcare professional who is treating you.
You will be given eye drops to enlarge your pupils and photographs of your retina will be taken. There will be a flash of light each time a photograph is taken. Although the light is bright, it should not be uncomfortable.
The eye drops may cause your eyes to sting slightly and after about 15 minutes your vision will be blurred. You may find it difficult to focus on near objects.
Depending on the type of eye drops used, the blurring can last two to six hours. You will be unable to drive home from your appointment.
After the screening procedure, you may also find that everything looks very bright. Therefore, you may want to take a pair of sunglasses with you to wear afterwards.
Side effects
In very rare cases, the eye drops can cause a sudden pressure increase within the eye. This only occurs in people who are already at risk of developing retinopathy.
A pressure increase within your eye will require prompt treatment at an eye unit. The symptoms of a pressure increase are:
- pain or severe discomfort in your eye
- redness of the white of your eye
- constantly blurred vision, sometimes with rainbow halos around lights
If you experience any of these symptoms after screening, go back to the screening centre or your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department.
Results
After the screening procedure, you will be told when you can expect to receive your results.
You will not receive your results immediately because the photographs will need to be studied by a number of different healthcare professionals, including someone who is trained in identifying and grading retinopathy.
You may need to have a further assessment if:
- the photographs are not clear enough to give an accurate result
- you have retinopathy that could affect your sight and follow-up treatment is required
- you have retinopathy that needs to be checked more than once a year
- other eye conditions are detected, such as glaucoma (a group of eye conditions that affect vision) or cataracts (cloudy patches in the lens of the eye)
If diabetic retinopathy is detected during screening, you will be given information about how far it has progressed. This will determine the type of treatment you receive.
