Diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a potentially devastating complication of diabetes. Retinopathy is damage to the small blood vessels in the back of your eye that supply the retina. The retina is the part of the eye that picks up light and sends signals to your brain, allowing you to see. Naturally, if the retina is damaged, you are going to have problems with your vision.
Unfortunately, the capillaries that feed the retina are particularly sensitive to high blood sugar levels, which can happen easily diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of both types of diabetes and usually effects both eyes. The symptoms are usually very mild to begin with, and worsen over time, especially in people who do not carefully control their diabetes. It is estimated that over half of all people with diabetes will eventually suffer at least some retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy at can lead to blindness if it's not taken care of early. Because of this, it is important to know the signs of eye damage and what you can do to limit your risk.

The earlier you detect a problem with your vision, the more effective treatments will be. Some common complaints in retinopathy include; blurry vision, spots or floating specks in your vision, a dark spot in the center of your visual field, difficulty seeing at night, or difficultly adjusting from bright light to dimmer conditions. Flashing lights in your vision or a sudden loss of vision in one of both eyes is also possible and can be a very worrisome sign. Retinopathy can also cause pain in the eyes.

There are actually two types of diabetic retinopathy, although the distinction between the two is largely something only your ophthalmologist will worry about. The first type is known as nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). NPDR is generally considered an early stage of diabetic retinopathy. It is characterized by small weakenings in the capillaries of the retina. Mild cases of NPDR will often not effect vision at all.

The second type is known as proliferative diabetic retinopathy, or PDR. This is a more advanced form of the disease. It is characterized by an abnormal growth of the capillaries in the retina. They swell, multiply and generally make a mess of the blood supply to the retina. The new vessels do not function like normal ones however, often leaking blood and fluids in to the eye. In some cases, they can even make the retina detach from the eye, which is an emergency that can cause blindness very quickly if not treated as an emergency.

Diabetic retinopathy can effect both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Proper control of blood sugar is key to controlling the risk. Both eyes are typically effected equally, although it is possible to have symptoms on only one eye at a time in some cases.

If you are diabetic, you should see your doctor and have your eyes checked at least once a year. You should NOT wait until you have problems with your vision. As mentioned before, diabetic retinopathy can exist in early forms for years without obvious symptoms. Your doctor can detect the problem far earlier than you can be yourself.
There are treatments available for diabetic retinopathy. Naturally the best treatment is prevention, which means that you must control your diabetes as well as you can. Should you have problems with retinopathy regardless, there are two common treatments. The first is called photocoagulation. It is essentially a laser treatment which is aimed at reducing the proliferation and leakage of the capillaries in the retina.

The other treatment is called Vitrectomy. This is a procedure used to fix problems involved in bleeding in to parts of the eye where blood is not supposed to be. The procedure is quite detailed and I won't get in to the specifics. If you need it, you will have many more detailed conversations with the doctor who does the procedure than I can provide here.

Take care of your eyes - you only get one set in your lifetime. If you are diabetic, even well controlled, get in to see your doctor for an eye check once a year. Talk to your doctor about diabetic retinopathy and any other complications of diabetes you may be at risk for. Prevention is the best cure!