Diabetic Retinopathy - How To Avert It?

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes in the eye. In early stages, the disease might not produce any effect of the eyesight. With time, however, if untreated it progresses to complete blindness. This disease damages the light sensing tissue (the retina). Both diabetes type 1 and 2 can cause this disease as a complication. Your risk increases with the duration you have had diabetes for.

Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy:

It often has no symptoms in the early stages and can affect both Type 1 & 2 diabetics. The following signs if exhibited by your body, will help you identify diabetic retinopathy:

• Difficulty in near vision

• Difficulty in adjusting to change in illumination

• Black shadows/floaters in the fields of vision

Its risk factors include:

• Long-standing and poorly controlled diabetes,

• Family history of diabetic retinopathy,

• Associated hypertension, anemia, abnormal lipid profile and kidney disease.

The types of diabetic retinopathy:

• Non-proliferative (mild, moderate and severe),

• Proliferative, with bleeding into the eye cavity

• Maculopathy affecting the central most sensitive part of the retina

Complicated-associated with retinal detachment and glaucoma

Treatment

Treatment options include-diabetes control, laser therapy and injections in the eye and surgery depending on the severity of the disease

Diabetic retinopathy: Better prevented than cured

• All diabetics should have a yearly eye check to screen for retinopathy starting at time of diagnosis

• Good Diabetes control is critical to preventing or delaying onset of retinopathy and also to response of retinopathy to treatment. A balance of a diet, exercise an medication regime is definitely helpful

• Give up smoking: It is a habit that exacerbates diabetes complications, or indirectly even leads to diabetes, so you should steer clear of it.