Diabetes remains one of the leading causes of blindness; this clinical condition is called Diabetic retinopathy.
There is a medical report which suggests that, the culprit for the development of eye damage is the duration of diabetes you are suffering from.
Statistics say that if you have been suffering from diabetes since 30 yr, you got a 90 % risk of developing retinopathy and if the duration is 10 yr only also, you are at a risk of 50 % for the development of eye manifestations.
Symptoms:Initially no loss of vision at all!! But this may be followed by severe vision loss without any pain
so it becomes a necessity “to get yourself checked, if you have diabetes and not wait until u develop the symptoms”.
Who is at risk?
1. Pregnant ladies: it is very important for pregnant to get checked, as they might get blind owing to the affects of diabetes during this time.
2. Smokers
3. Alcoholics
What happens in diabetic retinopathy?1. There is proliferation of blood vessels in retina of the eye, which bleed, which are felt as “floaters “in the eye. At this stage you should at once meet your health care professional.
2. Leakage of blood vessels, which may fill the vitreous humour, present in the center of the eye and may lead to blindness.
Stages of diabetic retinopathy:
1. Mild proliferative diabetic retinopathy: where there is proliferation of retinal blood vessels inside your eye, which bleed and may cause blindness.
2. Moderate proliferative diabetic retinopathy
3. Severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy
4. Non- proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
5. Stage involving the macula region, which is responsible for straight vision of our eye, affecting the vision badly.
4. End stage eye disease: leading to retinal detachment, and glaucoma.
What does your doctor do?
1. Tests your vision by using charts.
2. He puts drops into your eyes and tests.
3. Measures pressure in your eyes by putting drops and den by using a tonometer.
4. Finds out if any leaky blood vessels are present.
5. Fatty deposits if any.
.
6. And whether the macular area is affected.
7. Any damaged nerves.
Treatment of diabetic retinopathy:
1. Maintaining the sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels at normal levels would prevent the progression of the disease.
2. And if at all you are found to land in proliferate phase then your doctor might suggest you
Scattered Lazar treatment:
In this procedure, a Lazar machine faces you and the doctor holds a mirror, you will appreciate some pricking sensation, but it’s ok. As your pupil is dilated for hours, you need someone to drive you home.
You might need few sittings, which depends of the number of times you get into proliferative phase.
And if your doctor finds you in a stage involving macula also , he might suggest you a Lazar therapy which is at bit different from the previous.3. And if you have bleeding into the vitreous or the central gel part of the eye, then your doctor will suggest you a procedure called Vitrectomy, in which the affected gel part is removed using a probe followed by insertion of a similar material into vitreous.
What if you have lost already some vision?
There are many visual aids which, you can ask your doctor which improve your vision, to some extent.
And lastly, one has to remember the following:
1. A complete eye checkup if you are a diabetic.
2. There is 95 % guarantees to get back your vision if you detect it early.
Finally, Diabetic retinopathy stays a classical example for the Phrase
“prevention is better than cure”….
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by on 20. Jan, 2010 in control and management, Diabetes Complications, diabetes symptoms
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