People having diabetes have to face several organ-based complications. Diabetic retinopathy is one such common eye disease confronted by people with diabetes. But are these eye ailments curable? What are the symptoms? To know more details let’s dive in.
What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is a typical eye disorder for diabetes patients. This happens when your retinal blood vessels and nerve tissues are affected. There are primarily observed two stages of diabetic retinopathy by the experienced eye specialist doctor in Siliguri.Those are:
Proliferative Retinopathy
This iswhere abnormal new blood vessels grow around the eye retina. In this advanced stage, the vessel stands the risk of breakage and bleeding into the vitreous. Urgent treatment is suggested to avoid vision loss.
Non-proliferative Retinopathy
Thishappens in the initial stages leading to leakage and swelling of the blood vessels. There can be mild vision loss due to a swelling retina that causes macular edema. But if diagnosed at the right time, your retinal conditions can be addressed.
Diabetic Retinopathy: Symptoms
In the early stages of the eye ailment, it's hard to observe any symptoms as such. Even your vision does not change until the disease turns to worse. Here are some symptoms of diabetic retinopathy at the advanced stages:
- Double or blurry eye vision.
- Observing floating dark spots.
- Feeling pressure in one or both eyes.
- Blank spots or flash points in vision.
Macular edema, an eye condition can develop with diabetic retinopathy. With that, new vessels will grow on the retina surface and your eyes may start bleeding which leads to a decrease in vision.
Treatment For Diabetic Retinopathy
Usually, diabetic retinopathy can't be remedied completely. However, with treatment, you can reduce your risk of vision loss. Certain eye exams are conducted beforehand. Such as Visual acuity tests, Ophthalmoscopy, Pupil Dilation, Fluorescein Angiography, Tomography, etc. Thereby, one or a combination of the following eye treatments is performed:
Laser Surgery: Mostly treated for proliferative retinopathy, laser surgeries try to shrink the abnormal blood vessels and seal the leaked ones.
Injections: Some of the prescribed injections are frequently injected into your eyes to slow down the pace of abnormal vessel growth. Injections also help in treating macular edema.
Vitrectomy:Vitrectomy is a medical procedure to remove the vitreous jelly-like substance from the center of the eyes. Following that, your eye specialist will replace it with a balanced saline solution.
Patients facing diabetic retinopathy are suggested for regular consultation with eye specialists. An eye exam once a year under the supervision of the eye specialist doctor in Siliguri can alert you if your diabetes needs further control.
Needless to say, you can't miss out on your medications and insulin as directed to manage blood sugar levels and overall healthy eye vision.
