What is diabetic retinopathy?
Diabetic
retinopathy is an eye condition that can cause vision loss and blindness in people
who have diabetes. It affects blood vessels in the retina (the light-sensitive layer
of tissue in the back of your eye).
If you
have diabetes, it’s important to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once
a year. Diabetic retinopathy may not have any symptoms at first — but finding it
early can help you take steps to protect your vision.
Managing
your diabetes — by staying physically active, eating healthy, and taking your
medicine — can also help you prevent or delay vision loss.
What are the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy?
The early
stages of diabetic retinopathy usually don’t have any symptoms. Some people notice
changes in their vision, like trouble reading or seeing faraway objects. These
changes may come and go.
In later
stages of the disease, blood vessels in the retina start to bleed into the vitreous
(gel-like fluid that fills your eye). If this happens, you may see dark, floating
spots or streaks that look like cobwebs. Sometimes, the spots clear up on their own
— but it’s important to get treatment right away. Without treatment, scars can form
in the back of the eye. Blood vessels may also start to bleed again, or the bleeding
may get worse.
Am I at risk for diabetic retinopathy?
Anyone
with any kind of diabetes can get diabetic retinopathy — including people with type
1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (a type of diabetes that can develop during
pregnancy).
Your risk
increases the longer you have diabetes. Over time, more than half of people with
diabetes will develop diabetic retinopathy. The good news is that you can lower your
risk of developing diabetic retinopathy by controlling your diabetes.
Women with
diabetes who become pregnant — or women who develop gestational diabetes — are at
high risk for getting diabetic retinopathy. If you have diabetes and are pregnant,
have a comprehensive dilated eye exam as soon as possible. Ask your doctor if you’ll
need additional eye exams during your pregnancy.
What causes diabetic retinopathy?
Diabetic
retinopathy is caused by high blood sugar due to diabetes. Over time, having too
much sugar in your blood can damage your retina — the part of your eye that detects
light and sends signals to your brain through a nerve in the back of your eye (optic
nerve).
Diabetes
damages blood vessels all over the body. The damage to your eyes starts when sugar
blocks the tiny blood vessels that go to your retina, causing them to leak fluid or
bleed. To make up for these blocked blood vessels, your eyes then grow new blood
vessels that don’t work well. These new blood vessels can leak or bleed easily.
How will an eye doctor check for diabetic retinopathy?
Tej Eye
Center’s experienced Ophthalmologists can check for diabetic retinopathy as part of
a dilated eye exam. The exam is simple and painless — our doctor will give you some
eye drops to dilate (widen) your pupil and then check your eyes for diabetic
retinopathy and other eye problems.
If you
have diabetes, it’s very important to get regular eye exams. If you do develop
diabetic retinopathy, early treatment can stop the damage and prevent blindness.
If doctor
thinks you may have severe diabetic retinopathy or DME, they may do a test called a
fluorescein angiogram. This test lets the doctor see pictures of the blood vessels
in your retina.
What can I do to prevent diabetic retinopathy?
Managing
your diabetes is the best way to lower your risk of diabetic retinopathy. That means
keeping your blood sugar levels in a healthy range. You can do this by getting
regular physical activity, eating healthy, and carefully following doctor’s
instructions for your insulin or other diabetes medicines.
To make
sure your diabetes treatment plan is working, you’ll need a special lab test called
an A1C test. This test shows your average blood sugar level over the past 3 months.
You can work with your doctor to set a personal A1C goal. Meeting your A1C goal can
help prevent or manage diabetic retinopathy.
Having
high blood pressure or high cholesterol along with diabetes increases your risk for
diabetic retinopathy. So controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol can also
help lower your risk for vision loss.
What’s the treatment for diabetic retinopathy and DME?
In the
early stages of diabetic retinopathy, our Retina Specialists will probably just keep
track of how your eyes are doing. Some people with diabetic retinopathy may need a
comprehensive dilated eye exam as often as every 2 to 4 months.
In later
stages, it’s important to start treatment right away — especially if you have
changes in your vision. While it won’t undo any damage to your vision, treatment can
stop your vision from getting worse. It’s also important to take steps to control
your diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
Injections: Medicines called anti-VEGF drugs can slow down or reverse diabetic
retinopathy. Other medicines, called corticosteroids, can also help.
Laser
treatment: To reduce swelling in your retina, eye doctors can use lasers to make the
blood vessels shrink and stop leaking.
Eye
surgery: If your retina is bleeding a lot or you have a lot of scars in your eye,
your eye doctor may recommend a type of surgery called a vitrectomy.