Diabetic retinopathy is one of main cause for vision loss around the world.

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Diabetic retinopathy is a retinal condition which occurs in patients with diabetes, in this condition there is damage to blood vessels of the retina. Both diabetic patients with type 1 or 2 can develop diabetic retinopathy. Usually occurring when the diabetes is uncontrolled and the levels of sugar elevated for a stretched period of time. This starts with some initial visual problem and then goes onto result in visual loss or loss of sight. Diabetic retinopathy is one of main cause for vision loss around the world. This is also the prominent condition with the patient with diabetes.

TYPES OF DIABETES RETINOPATHY

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR)

When the retinopathy advances in stage there are new blood vessels that grow on the retina and a proliferative diabetic retinopathy is developed. These new blood vessels are usually abnormal vessels that grow at the centre of the eye and cause visual impediments.

Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR)

With age progression the vitreous shrinks and there is a pull force on the retina which goes onto tear a hole in the macular section which distorts the vision and viteroretinal surgery can be used to correct this.

SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES RETINOPATHY

There are no symptoms at the early stages of the diabetes retinopathy, the symptoms start to manifest themselves once there is a damage inside the eye. The symptoms usually are both eyed and are as below.

Colors are not distinguished properly once retinopathy manifests
Night vision is diminished
Vision blurring
Floaters are shadow like objects circulating in the eye, they are visible as spots
Vision loss

DIAGNOSIS OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

A dilated eye exam is performed by the doctor to open up the pupil widely and have a good look at the inside of the eye to diagnose the retinopathy. The doctors will check the eye for following

Eye swelling
Blood vessels of the eye that are leaking
New grown blood vessels that are abnormal
Eye scar
Blood vessels that are blocked
Detachment of the retina
Nerve tissue damage
Changes to the lens

A dye is injected into the eye and allowed to flow and circulate into different blood vessels of the eye and then the flow of dye is tracked to see if there are any leaky blood vessels, picture is take of the circulating dye and determining blocked, leaky or broken vessels.

In this exam light waves are passed to produce images of the retina, this determines the retinal thickness, this exam determines how much fluid is accumulated in the eye.

CAUSES OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Uncontrolled diabetes or uncontrolled sugar levels of the blood is the primary cause of diabetes retinopathy, sugar in the blood damages the blood vessels of the eye that supply blood to the retina, high blood pressure may also be a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy.

The diabetes being the main factor for diabetes retinopathy, this requires adequate checks periodically to control the diabetes and thereby retinopathy precaution. Diabetic patients for more than 30 years have a considerably more chance of developing this condition and almost every such diabetic patient develops some form of diabetic retinopathy.

TREATMENT FOR DIABETES RETINOPATHY

Diabetic retinopathy at its early stage has precautionary treatment options such your doctor may recommend you to have regular eye exams to monitor the eye health periodically.

Endocrinologist who treats diabetes may be consulted for diabetic control and thus retinopathy controlled in turn, so this can be a management plan that is adopted for diabetic retinopathy.

Once the diabetic retinopathy advances, severity of the condition determines the treatment options some are mentioned below. One such treatment option is photocoagulation surgery, this can prevent vision loss. In this laser is used to burn the blood vessels in the eye and seal them that are leaky. There are two types of photocoagulation

Focal photocoagulation uses laser targeting a blood vessel of the eye that leaks in the macula and thus aims at keeping the macular edema under control.
Scatter photocoagulation uses laser to burn hundreds of tiny holes in the eye to try seal them and to reduce the risk of blindness.
Vitrectomy is done to remove tissue that is scarred and vitreous fluid cleaned of cloudy fluid that is formed due to retinopathy.

SUGGESTS FOR DIABETES RETINOPATHY

Diabetic retinopathy is condition of the eye that can get worse and is serious one which can cause partial eyesight loss or total blindness of the eye. This once diagnosed with diabetes has to be controlled with proper management plan, some important things are as follows and may not include all:

Get physical check up of the eye on a regular basis.

Blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol are to be kept at healthy level.

Pay attention to any changes in the vision and discuss immediately with the doctor.

We at Harsha Sai Eye Hospital provide the care for both diabetic retinopathy and any other retinal condition which are dependable and time tested.

PREVENTING DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Diabetes control is the key in managing your retinopathy in turn, so checking and keeping balance of the following can result as preventative measure for diabetes retinopathy:

Blood pressure control

Blood sugar control

Cholesterol control

Rare or no smoking habit.

Exercise regularly several times per week.

Prepare a plan for exercise to keep check on above conditions and thus retinopathy.

Eye exams regularly can help.

Why Choose Us

Leaders in cataract surgery as we are one of the early care providers in this field.
Latest technology adopted to ensure the best of the treatments.
Equipments with high-class feature.
Facility with all in-house care for before, during and after the procedures.
Most importantly qualified and experienced surgeons with staff having served and handled successful cataract procedures for any number of times.
Diagnostics for supplementing and assisting the surgeons to arrive at the most relevant and best treatment for the patient.

DIABETES AND RETINAL