High blood-sugar levels from diabetes can damage blood vessels in your retina, the layer of nerve tissue at the back of your eye. This damage is called diabetic retinopathy. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent vision loss, and it’s important to maintain control of your blood sugar if you have diabetes.
Symptoms & Diagnosis
Often there are no symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. Don’t wait for symptoms to have a comprehensive eye exam.
If you suddenly see a few specks or spots floating in your vision, this may indicate proliferative diabetic retinopathy, the growth of abnormal new blood vessels on your retina and optic nerve.
Blurred vision may occur when the macula - the small area at the center of the retina - swells from fluid leaking from retinal blood vessels. Rapid changes in blood sugar can cause temporary blurring of vision in both eyes even if retinopathy is not present.
You should have your eyes checked promptly if you experience changes in your vision that last more than a few days and are not associated with a change in blood sugar.
A medical eye examination is the best way to detect changes inside your eye. An ophthalmologist, Eye M.D., can often diagnose and treat serious retinopathy before you are aware of any vision problems. The doctor dilates your pupil and looks inside of the eye with special instruments.
If your Eye M.D. finds diabetic retinopathy, he or she may order color photographs of the retina. Your doctor may also order a special test called fluorescein angiography to find out if you need treatment. In this test, a dye is injected into your arm and photos of your eye are taken to detect where fluid is leaking.
People with diabetes should schedule examinations at least once a year. More frequent medical exams may be necessary after a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy.
If you have diabetes and you are 29 years old or younger, see an Eye M.D. within five years of your diagnosis. If you are 30 years old or older, see an Eye M.D. within a few months of your diagnosis.
Pregnant women with diabetes should schedule an appointment in the first trimester, because retinopathy can progress quickly during pregnancy.
Treatment of Diabetic Eye disease
Prevention is the best treatment for diabetic retinopathy. Strict control of your blood sugar will significantly reduce the long-term risk of vision loss.
If retinopathy has caused macular edema laser surgery may prevent further loss of vision. The macula is the small area in the center of the retina that allows us to see fine details clearly. The laser will be focused on the damaged retina near the macula to decrease the fluid leakage.
If abnormal blood vessels have grown on the retina (proliferative diabetic retinopathy), laser surgery can be effective in shrinking those vessels and preventing them from growing in the future. Multiple laser treatments over time are sometimes necessary. Laser surgery does not cure diabetic retinopathy and does not always prevent further loss of vision.
If there is advanced damage to the eye because of retinopathy, a microsurgery called vitrectomy may help. During this procedure, your ophthalmologist (Eye M.D.) can remove eye fluid that has become filled with blood and replace it with a clear fluid.
