Shuswap Optometric Center

Eye Disease Diagnosis & Management

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Professional Eye Disease Management from a Team You Can Trust

Many eye diseases develop slowly and without significant symptoms. However, as they progress, they can cause permanent damage and lead to vision loss.

While eye diseases may be hard for you to spot on your own, our staff of experienced eye care professionals can detect and diagnose many using our industry-leading technology.

All you need to do is book an appointment, and we will get to work finding the answers you need to manage your symptoms.

Common Eye Diseases & Conditions

Cataracts

Cataracts are a common eye condition that occur when your eye’s clear crystalline lens becomes rigid and opaque, often becoming cloudy, yellow, or brown.

There are several types of cataracts, but as they develop, they can impair the quality of your vision, sometimes leading to blindness. Mild visual impairments created by cataracts can be corrected using eyeglasses or contact lenses. However, severe cataracts can be treated with cataract surgery.

Glaucoma refers to a group of eye diseases that occur when your intraocular pressure (IOP) levels rise, damaging your optic nerve. However, there are types of glaucoma that can develop even without increasing your IOP levels.

Please visit our Glaucoma page for more information about the disease and how we diagnose it.

Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that occurs when high blood sugar levels damage the blood vessels in your retina. This damage causes the vessels to leak blood and other fluids into your retina, possibly causing vision loss.

In severe cases, the retina may grow new vessels to compensate for the loss of fluids, but these vessels are weak and easily break. These new vessels may also create scar tissue on your retina, increasing your chances of retinal detachment.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of vision loss in adults over 55. 2 common types of the disease include:

Dry AMD occurs when deposits of lipids, known as drusen, develop underneath your macula. These deposits damage the macula’s light-sensitive cells, impairing the central vision you need to read, drive, or recognize faces.

There is no cure for dry AMD, but studies conducted by the National Eye Institute have suggested that progression may be slowed by taking nutritional supplements and antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, zeaxanthin, and zinc.

Wet AMD is far less common than dry AMD, but it is responsible for over 90% of AMD-related blindness. Wet AMD occurs when delicate blood vessels develop under the macula, which break and leak fluids. When this happens, you could lose your central vision quite rapidly, requiring emergency medical assistance.

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is a common eye condition caused by various reasons. Depending on what is causing your symptoms, you may need to take antibiotics and be extra careful around others to prevent spreading the condition.

The 3 most common types of conjunctivitis are caused by allergies, viral infections, and bacterial infections.

How Do We Diagnose Eye Diseases?

Ocular Coherence Tomography

Ocular coherence tomography (OCT) helps our team take a detailed look at the health and structure of your retina. OCTs generate detailed cross-sectional images of your retina similar to an ultrasound. But instead of sound, the device uses light. OCTs are non-invasive and generally comfortable.

Your fundus is the back area of your eye that includes your retina, macula, and optic nerve. Fundus photography allows us to diagnose a range of eye diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, glaucoma, and more.

We can also observe your fundus without using photography by simply dilating your eyes using drops. The drops do not cause discomfort, but they may make your vision blurry for a short period.

Optos retinal scanning generates ultra-widefield digital images of your retina, creating what’s known as an optomap. By assessing your optomap, we can diagnose a range of eye diseases connected to diabetes.

We’re Ready to Serve You

Helping our patients find clear, comfortable vision is what drives us every single day. If you believe you may run the risk of developing an eye disease or condition, please contact us to book an appointment.

Our Locations

Shuswap Optometric Centre

How To Find Us
From the Trans-Canada Highway, turn on to Alexander Street NE going south and take your immediate right into our spacious parking lot. Accessible parking spaces are available.

Contact Information

Address

3-160 Trans-Canada HWY NE
Salmon Arm, BC V1E 1V4

Hours of Operations

Monday
8 AM5 PM
Tuesday
8 AM7:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM5 PM
Thursday
8 AM5 PM
Friday
8 AM5 PM
Saturday
8 AM2 PM
Sunday
Closed

Chase Optometric Centre

How To Find Us
Our clinic is located on Shuswap Avenue, right across the street from Thompson-Nicola Regional Library and Western Financial Group.

Contact Information

Address

633 Shuswap Avenue
Chase, BC V0E 1M0

Hours of Operations

Monday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

We’re closed for lunch from 12:00pm to 1:00pm every day.

How To Find Us
From the Trans-Canada Highway, turn on to Alexander Street NE going south and take your immediate right into our spacious parking lot. Accessible parking spaces are available.

Contact Information

Address

3-160 Trans-Canada HWY NE
Salmon Arm, BC V1E 1V4

Hours of Operations

Monday
8 AM5 PM
Tuesday
8 AM7:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM5 PM
Thursday
8 AM5 PM
Friday
8 AM5 PM
Saturday
8 AM2 PM
Sunday
Closed

How To Find Us
Our clinic is located on Shuswap Avenue, right across the street from Thompson-Nicola Regional Library and Western Financial Group.

Contact Information

Address

633 Shuswap Avenue
Chase, BC V0E 1M0

Hours of Operations

Monday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

We’re closed for lunch from 12:00pm to 1:00pm every day.

Our Services

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