November 2019 Newsletter
Diabetic Eye Disease At a Glance
Diabetic eye diseases are a set of eye problems that can affect people with diabetes.
There are several kinds of diabetic eye diseases, and all of them can cause vision loss and blindness.
People with diabetes can protect their vision by getting eye exams at least once a year.
Controlling diabetes can help lower the risk of vision loss.
What Are The Symptoms Of Diabetic Retinopathy?
The early stages of diabetic retinopathy usually don’t have any symptoms. Some people notice changes in their vision, like trouble, reading or seeing faraway objects. These changes may come and go. In later stages of the disease, blood vessels in the retina start to bleed into the vitreous (gel-like fluid in the center of the eye). If this happens, you may see dark, floating spots or streaks that look like cobwebs. Sometimes, the spots clear up on their own – but it’s important to get treatment right away. Without treatment, the bleeding can happen again, get worse, or cause scarring.
What Other Problems Can Diabetic Retinopathy Cause?
Diabetic retinopathy can lead to other serious eye conditions:
Diabetic macular edema (DME). Over time, about half of people with diabetic retinopathy will develop DME. DME happens when blood vessels in the retina leak fluid, causing swelling in the macula (a part of the retina). If you have DME, your vision will become blurry because of the extra fluid in your macula.
Neovascular glaucoma. Diabetic retinopathy can cause abnormal blood vessels to grow out of the retina and block fluid from draining out of the eye. This causes a type of glaucoma.
Retinal detachment. Diabetic retinopathy can cause scars to form in the back of your eye. When the scars pull your retina away from the back of your eye, it’s called tractional retinal detachment.
Am I At Risk For Diabetic Retinopathy?
Anyone with any kind of diabetes can get diabetic retinopathy, including people with type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes that can develop during pregnancy).
Your risk increases the longer you have diabetes. More than 2 in 5 Americans with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy. The good news is that you can lower your risk of developing diabetic retinopathy by controlling your diabetes.
Women with diabetes who become pregnant — or women who develop gestational diabetes — are at high risk of getting diabetic retinopathy. If you have diabetes and are pregnant, have a comprehensive eye exam as soon as possible. Ask your doctor if you’ll need additional eye exams during your pregnancy.
What Causes Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by high blood sugar due to diabetes. Over time, having too much sugar in your blood can damage your retina — the part of your eye that detects light and sends signals to your brain through a nerve in the back of your eye (optic nerve).
Diabetes damages blood vessels all over the body. The damage to your eyes starts when sugar blocks the tiny blood vessels that go to your retina, causing them to leak fluid or bleed. To make up for these blocked blood vessels, your eyes then grow new blood vessels that don’t work well. These new blood vessels can leak or bleed easily.
How Will My Eye Doctor Check For Diabetic Retinopathy?
Eye doctors can check for diabetic retinopathy as part of a dilated eye exam. The exam is simple and painless — your doctor will give you some eye drops to dilate (widen) your pupil and then check your eyes for diabetic retinopathy and other eye problems.
If you have diabetes, it’s very important to get regular eye exams. If you do develop diabetic retinopathy, early treatment can stop the damage and prevent blindness.
What Can I Do To Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy?
Managing your diabetes is the best way to lower your risk of diabetic retinopathy. That means keeping your blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible. You can do this by getting regular physical activity, eating healthy, and carefully following your doctor’s instructions for your insulin or other diabetes medicines.
To help control your blood sugar, you’ll need a special test called an A1c test. This test shows your average blood sugar level over a 3-month period. Talk with your doctor about lowering your A1c level to help prevent or manage diabetic retinopathy.
Having high blood pressure or high cholesterol along with diabetes increases your risk for diabetic retinopathy. So controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol can also help lower your risk for vision loss.
What’s The Treatment For Diabetic Retinopathy And DME?
In the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, your eye doctor will probably just keep track of how your eyes are doing. Some people with diabetic retinopathy may need a comprehensive dilated eye exam as often as every 2 to 4 months.
In later stages, it’s important to start treatment right away — especially if you experience changes in your vision. While it won’t undo any damage to your vision, treatment can stop your vision from getting worse. It’s also important to take steps to control your diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
Injections. Medicines called anti-VEGF drugs can slow down or reverse diabetic retinopathy. Other medicines, called corticosteroids, can also help.
Laser treatment. To reduce swelling in your retina, eye doctors can use lasers to make the blood vessels shrink and stop leaking.
Eye surgery. If your retina is bleeding a lot or you have a lot of scars in your eye, your eye doctor may recommend a type of surgery called a vitrectomy.
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November is Diabetes Awareness Month
In This Issue
Diabetic Eye Disease At A Glance
What Are The Symptoms Of Diabetic Retinopathy?
What Other Problems Can Diabetic Retinopathy Cause?
Am I At Risk For Diabetic Retinopathy?
What Causes Diabetic Retinopathy?
How Will My Eye Doctor Check For Diabetic Retinopathy?
What Can I Do To Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy?
What’s The Treatment For Diabetic Retinopathy And DME?
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Courtesy: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health (NEI/NIH)
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