Protect Your Vision from
Diabetic Retinopathy

Early detection and expert treatment at Eye Consultants can help prevent vision loss from diabetes-related eye disease—schedule your eye exam today.

Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) is a common disease in which blood-sugar levels are chronically too high. The disease has many related complications and several eye diseases among them. The most common eye complication of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of adult blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high blood-sugar levels damage the small blood vessels in the retina (light-sensing cells in the eye). In the early phases of the disease, capillaries will leak blood or fluid. This can cause bleeding or swelling in the retina.

During the early stages of retinopathy serious vision damage is less likely; however, if not treated, it can lead to a more advanced stage of the disease, called proliferative diabetic retinopathy. In this form, new fragile blood vessels may form in the retina. These new blood vessels unfortunately are generally accompanied by increased leakage and scarring. This can lead to severe vision loss and blindness.

The condition can be diagnosed by an ophthalmologist or optometrist during an eye exam, long before noticeable vision symptoms occur, and when more treatment options are available. Thus it is very important for those with diabetes to have regular eye exams, to monitor for diabetic retinopathy and other complications.

Treatment:

Treatments for diabetic retinopathy vary based upon the nature and progression of the condition. The best way to preserve good vision is to vigilantly control blood-sugar levels, lessening the chance of retinopathy, and impeding its rate of advancement.
Once the disease is in advanced stages, other treatments including injections, laser procedures, or surgery may be used to protect and preserve vision.