Diabetic Retinopathy: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

You know that diabetes is a chronic condition that renders difficulties to the patient in several aspects. A comprehensive care is essential to manage it effectively as the condition can lead to many other diseases including eye diseases.

If you have been diagnosed with diabetic or hypertensive eyes, then it means that your vision has started to deteriorate. But you need not lose hope as it is still possible to remedy the situation. Understanding the issue in detail will help you cope with the situation better.

What are diabetic and hypertensive eyes?
Diabetic eye refers to the complications in the eyes as a result of diabetes. It affects the blood vessels of the retina and hence develop impairment of vision and loss of vision in severe cases. Similarly, hypertensive eye as indicated by the name is the situation where in the eye is affected as a result of hypertension. This is because high blood pressure affects the blood vessels of the retina. It does not allow the retina to function properly and puts pressure on the optic nerve resulting is vision problems.

What are the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy?

Like many conditions of this nature, the early stages of diabetic retinopathy may occur without symptoms and without pain. An actual influence on the vision will not occur until the disease advances. Symptoms may only become noticeable once the disease advances, but the typical symptoms of retinopathy to look out for include:

1. Sudden changes in vision / blurred vision
2. Eye floaters and spots
3. Double vision
4. Eye pain

How to take care of the conditions?
In the conditions of the diabetic eye and hypertensive eye that prime step to take care is to control diabetes and hypertension respectively. By following the prescribed medications for these conditions, the vision problem can be managed. At the same time, some adequate preventive measures are of utmost importance to efficiently and effectively take care of both diabetic eye and hypertensive eye.

Taking care of diabetic eye
First and foremost, you need to keep your diabetes under control and prevent it from being getting into the advanced stage. You should take utmost care to maintain the blood sugar level under control. After that, it is also necessary to keep the blood pressure in the correct range. Also, the cholesterol level in the blood needs to be under control. A proper and balanced diet is essential in this case. Whole grains, green leafy vegetables, fruits and lean protein should be included in the diet. Exercising is also very important to deal with diabetic, and if you are a smoker, you should quit it immediately since it causes problems with the blood vessels.

Taking care of hypertensive eye
You should bring down your blood pressure to the correct level and maintain it. You should consume a diet which contains all the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. You should make sure not to do or involve in anything activity that can increase your tension or excite you. Smoking and drinking should be avoided to deal with the hypertensive eyes effectively. You should get yourself adequate and peaceful sleep which will help you to ease out of tension.

It is imperative to consult an ophthalmologist if you notice the classic symptoms of vision problems such as blurry vision, seeing floaters or flashes. If the condition progresses, treatment will involve medications or surgery depending on the severity of the condition. Hence, the best way to avoid such complications is to maintain a healthy lifestyle to take due care of your eyes.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Diabulimia is an eating disorder often associated with Type-1 Diabetes. Also referred to as ED-DMT1, not many people are aware of this non-clinical term. It is a well known fact that many people with Type-1 diabetes require the daily administration of insulin. In the case of Diabulimia, a person having Type-1 diabetes purposely manipulates with the insulin dosage in an endeavour to lose weight. In some extreme cases, a person may completely avoid the use of insulin.

You need no rocket science to understand the impact diabulimia will have on a diabetic patient (Type-1) who is entirely dependent on insulin. Some of the lethal consequences of diabulimia include

1. Yeast infections: Manipulating with the appropriate dosage of insulin can trigger an abnormal rise in the blood glucose level (Hyperglycemia), some of which gets eliminated out through the urine, thereby enabling a person to lose weight. However, the high glucose level is just the ideal and favorable condition for yeast growth. The hyperglycemic condition will result in increased yeast infections. The infection can be very uncomfortable and annoying. In fact, there will be repeated yeast infections until the blood glucose level comes down to the normal range.
2. Ketoacidosis: As already mentioned, diabulimia devoids the body of insulin. As a result, glucose is unable to enter the body cells (glucose is an important fuel for the muscles and the other cells and tissues of the body). In its absence, the body starts looking for alternate sources. Gradually the body starts breaking down fats to get the desired energy. Increased breakdown of fats results in accumulation of ketone bodies in the bloodstream, a condition medically termed as Ketoacidosis or Diabetic Ketoacidosis. The condition if left untreated can be harmful triggering Cerebral Edema (a condition characterized by a swelling of the brain), Hypokalemia (low potassium level) or even Hypoglycemia.
3. Diabetic retinopathy: Hyperglycemia can spell doom for your eyes. The accumulation and buildup of high levels of glucose in the eyes often damage the retinal blood vessels, a condition known as Diabetic Retinopathy. There may not be any early signs associated with the condition. However, diabetic retinopathy can give rise to many serious complications such as Glaucoma (characterized by severe damage to the optic nerve), Vitreous Hemorrhage (the blood leaks into the areas adjacent to the vitreous humor of the eye), or even Blindness. There may also be a Retinal Detachment.
4. Renal failure: One of the common and harmful consequences of diabulimia is the kidney failure. Increased concentration of glucose in the kidneys often damages the filtration units of the kidneys called the Glomeruli (increased glucose blocks the capillaries of the kidney) leading to kidney damage and failure.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Before you go through this, just close your eyes for a few seconds and ponder how your life would be if you are unable to see? Pathetic isn’t it? Eyes are one of the greatest gifts from the almighty, and it is your sole responsibility to protect them and keep in optimal health so that you too can keep on enjoying the beauty of nature.

Sometimes people are too lazy to go for an eye checkup when there is absolutely no vision problem and in other cases, people just don’t feel it is important to go for an eye checkup once in a year. However, routine eye exams are crucial for every person regardless of the age, gender, origin or habits. It is not just for individuals with poor eyesight but for everyone with or without eye problems. Here are the top reasons why you must be paying a visit to an ophthalmologist.

1. Getting the prescription updated: You may think that your eyes are fine and there is nothing reasonable in visiting an ophthalmologist. But it is a general human tendency to neglect things until it is so late that nothing can be recovered. And your eyesight and eye health is no child’s play- it is vital in directing the quality of your life. The skilled ophthalmologist can monitor the condition of your eyes and follow up the changes that have taken place over time. Your eyes and their features are unique, and thus it becomes easier for the expert to detect what’s been altered in them.
2. Seeing to the best of your abilities: People with corrective lenses often experience the need for tracking the periodic changes that have already taken place. Your eyes alter their shape and condition with time. Thus, keeping your prescription updated offers a subtle yet crucial advantage that you may not have considered before. Some of them are even concerned with your safety such as your ability to see while you drive at night.
3. Eye diseases can be secretive: Sometimes, vision issues can come in quickly but often eye disorders tend to creep up that most individuals are not able to see. The deterioration can be so subtle and slow that you are unable to detect anything until it has progressed to a great extent. Eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma typically have no symptoms, which can be detected at an early age.

And it goes without saying that vision loss cannot be reversed. But in case you visit your ophthalmologist regularly from an early age, vision loss can be prevented or at least slowed down.
 

Also termed as diabetic eye disease, this is a disease in which the retina gets damaged due to diabetes. This usually leads to blindness. In most cases, as inferred from various studies, this affects people who have had diabetes for more than 20 years. Diabetic retinopathy can also be a problem for women during pregnancy. With proper monitoring and treatment, this disease can be cured. One major way to prevent this disease could be by regulating diabetes.

Signs and symptoms
Like many other eye disorders, this too has no warning signs. However, in general, people with macular edema are likely to have blurred vision, making it hard for the individuals to carry out tasks like driving and reading. In most cases, if not treated, the situations may worsen with time.

Stages of disorder

1. Initial stage: In the initial stage, it is called non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. There are generally no visible symptoms and patients may even have a normal 20/20 vision. The only way to detect non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy is by fundus photography in which the microscopic bulges that are filled with blood can be detected in the artery walls. In case, the patient suffers from reduced vision, to see the back of the eye, a fluorescein angiography is performed. This way the blocked and narrowed retinal blood vessels are visible. The lack of blood flow due to blocked blood vessels is called ischemia. Macular edema can occur at any stage of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. In this condition, the contents of the blood vessels leak into the macula region, thereby causing blurred vision, distorted images, etc. In such cases, optical coherence tomography can be carried out to show the areas in which retinal thickening has occurred.
2. Second stage: The second stage is termed as proliferative diabetic retinopathy. In this stage, occurrence of new abnormal blood vessels is seen. These form at the back of the eye. These blood vessels are fragile and hence can easily burst and bleed, thereby causing the vision to blur. If this occurs for the first time, it may not be severe. Only a few specs of blood or spots floating on the visual field of the patients can be noticed. Within a few days, these spots may enlarge and the leakage of blood may increase, which can impact vision. The blood might take a few days till a year to clear entirely. In some circumstances, the blood might not clear at all. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ophthalmologist.

The retina is the third and innermost layer of the eye that catches light and helps us focus on things so that we can see clearly. This is one of the most important parts of the eye. The retina is made up of a number of light sensitive cells that are connected to nerve fibres. These nerve fibres help in transmitting the light into imagery through neuro impulses that reach the brain. There are many conditions and diseases that can affect this part of the eye.

Read on to know more.

1. Macular degeneration: This is a common eye disease that is usually associated with aging and comes with symptoms like blurry vision and even blindness after a certain point. It can prevent a person from seeing things in a clear and sharp manner. This disease goes through a slow progression and can be of the dry or wet type.
2. Diabetic retinopathy: This condition can leave one visually impaired in the long run with complete blindness. This complication usually arises when a person is suffering from diabetes. It can be proliferative or non-proliferative depending on the blood and fluid leakage as well as the severity of the inflammation in the retina. While the symptoms are very subtle, the advancement can begin at a very young age.
3. Retinal vein occlusion: This condition usually happens when the veins of the retina gets obstructed or gets a blockage. This can lead to reduced blood flow to the entire area which can lead to significant vision impairment and an increase in the pressure on the eyes.
4. Retinal tears and detachments: When the retina gets pulled and is subsequently lifted from its normal position, this can lead to a condition known as retinal tears and detachment. If this condition is not treated properly and on time, it can lead to vision loss in the long run. These tears can happen in smaller sections of the retina which can lead to retinal breaks causing detachments in the retina. This condition is most commonly seen in people over the age of 60.
5. Posterior vitreous detachment: The vitreous is a gel like layer that allows the eye to retain its shape even as it allows the light to enter the eye and reach the retina. When the thin fibres connecting this layer and the retina get degenerated, there is a detachment that takes place between the two, leading to this condition.
6. Epiretinal membrane and macular holes: The scar like tissue known as the epiretinal membrane that lines the back of the eyes. When the macular tissue gets distorted due to this membrane, a macular hole may form which can lead to progressive vision impairment.