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Eye screening.

A

activelytrying

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Prefer not to say
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi,

I wondered if anyone could help me? I attended my eye screening appointment today and had my photos taken. However the first appointments I attended, I was given eye drops but including today and last years, I haven’t had any. The lady who don’t my screening asked me if I had eye drops and I told her at first yes but the last one I never and she said that was fine and proceeded to do it without. My issue is I’ve been reading and people do say the drops are important. So my question is should I contact them or not?
Many thanks.
 

I think it depends on what maschine they use to measure your eyes, I think many places have measuring mashines that can measure and photograph eyes without eye-drops
 
Freema said:
I think it depends on what maschine they use to measure your eyes, I think many places have measuring mashines that can measure and photograph eyes without eye-drops
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Oh thank you. I was reading so many post on the web that states the drops are better for a more clearer image, so I’ve just been worried that without them, something could be missed.
 
I have never required drops for retinal screening but last year I was told that I would probably require them next time, due to cataracts.
 
I have had 4 retinal screenings by the official screening service. I have had drops on each occasion, and have never been asked if I want them or not.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
I have had 4 retinal screenings by the official screening service. I have had drops on each occasion, and have never been asked if I want them or not.
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Possibly it depends on who does the screening. At my 1st screening, they switched off the lights and had a look at my pupils. They were large enough to have screening done without drops and it's been the same each year since.
 
In my area, these days, they won't do the screening without drops, unless there is a medical reason the individual can't have them. Curiously enough I was having a bit of a moan about this last week with a consultant opthalmologist (my screening is in a few days). He xplained they achieve my=uch more consistent results when drops are used, so they have far fewer call backs, which all cost money.

I detest that semi-disoriented feeling after the drops, but it's once a year, so I'll just suck it up.
 
Thanks for the info! I do think I’ll call them back and see what they say! It’s weird because their were people who were waiting as they had eye drops in their eye, so I don’t understand how they decided who to not give it to.
 
dancer said:
Possibly it depends on who does the screening. At my 1st screening, they switched off the lights and had a look at my pupils. They were large enough to have screening done without drops and it's been the same each year since.
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Oh thanks for the info! I just thought that eye drops he’ll give a clearer picture, when I had a eye screening two years ago it showed slight changes that didn’t require any treatment, however after that all the other ones came back normal.
 
Hi,
Just to update, I did call the eye screening line and the person I spoke to at first said she’d never heard of the screening being done without drops! She asked me if I wanted to speak to a eye screening person and they told me as I’m young usually they can do it without the drops unless my pupil are small or they can’t get a clear image! I did tell her I’ve had it done before with drops but she said it’s nothing to worry about and that the screener is trained to know if you’d need the drops. So that’s that. Hopefully everything is ok with my results.
 
In England, the eye screening service is designed to be mydriatic i.e. use dilating drops. In Scotland, the procedure is slightly different and I understand that it may involve the screener making a decision about whether or not dilating drops need to be used. As long as it's standard to do the latter in your service, as your phone call suggests, I don't think you need to worry as they will be geared up to recalling patients promptly if the images aren't clear enough to detect sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
I have had 4 retinal screenings by the official screening service. I have had drops on each occasion, and have never been asked if I want them or not.
Click to expand...
Same, it's always been a standard for me. Heading to one right now, got my sunglasses ready for the drops haha
 
I had my retinal screening done on Monday. I asked the technician why some people do not have the dilation drops. She said without them the images are dark and not as clear as with them, which is why they are always recommended to everyone (unless they are known to react badly). I also asked about high street opticians. She said they do occasionally out source to Specsavers when they are overloaded, but the machinery is not as advanced and only one person looks at the images. On the screening service always 2 people look at them on large enhanced screens and if they disagree, a third person is called in.
 
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