Diabetic Retinopathy: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the potentially dangerous diabetes complications that diabetes patients may experience. You can examine the causes, signs, and possible treatments for diabetic Retinopathy in this thorough guide. Understanding the dangers and consequences of diabetic retinopathy on eye health is essential, given the rising incidence of diabetes worldwide.

What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?

The degenerative eye condition known as diabetic Retinopathy is a side effect of diabetes that affects the light sensitive tissue of the eye and retina. Diabetes-related chronically high blood sugar levels can harm the retina’s blood vessels, resulting in several structural and functional abnormalities in the retina. It significantly contributes to visual impairment in people with diabetes and calls for quick detection and treatment to avoid long-term eye damage.

What Are The Symptoms Of Diabetic Retinopathy?

Regular eye examinations are essential for those with diabetes because diabetic retinopathy may not initially show any symptoms. However, when the illness worsens, these symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy could appear:

• A vision that is cloudy or distorted: Diabetic Retinopathy can result in cloudy or blurred vision, making it challenging to read or focus on objects
• Small dots or specks: Small dots or specks that seem to “float” across your range of vision are known as floaters. Floaters are an indication of ocular bleeding due to broken blood vessels.
• Changing vision: Depending on the time of day or blood sugar levels, vision may vary, getting better or worse.
• Shady or blank areas in your field of vision: Diabetic Retinopathy can cause shady or blank spots in your field of vision as the disease advances, signifying damage to particular regions of the retina.
• Faded colors: Colors may appear faded or less bright when perceived poorly.
• Night vision: Diabetic eye disease can affect low-light vision, making it more challenging to see in low light.

What Causes Diabetic Retinopathy?

Diabetic Retinopathy is caused by several essential variables, including:

• Damage to blood vessels: Elevated blood sugar levels can weaken, leak, and enlarge the retina’s tiny blood vessels. This may impair eyesight by interfering with the retina’s typical function.
• Unusual blood vessel growth: The retina may attempt to compensate for damaged blood vessels by developing new blood vessels. These new blood vessels can exacerbate the retinal injury and visual loss since they are frequently weak and irregular.
• Chronic inflammation: Chronic inflammation brought on by elevated blood sugar levels may contribute to the emergence of diabetic retinal disease. The retina’s blood vessels and other components may sustain further damage due to inflammatory processes.
• Oxidative stress: Oxidative stress, which is an imbalance between the body’s capacity to produce harmful free radicals and does so, can also be a side effect of persistently high blood sugar levels. The blood vessels in the retina and other cells and tissues are susceptible to damage from oxidative stress.
• Other risk factors: Smoking, having had diabetes for a more extended period, having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar levels are additional risk factors that can raise the likelihood of developing diabetic Retinopathy.

Am I At Risk From Diabetic Retinopathy?

You are likely to develop diabetic Retinopathy if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The longevity of diabetes and inadequate blood sugar control raises the risk. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, pregnancy in diabetic women, and a family history of the disease are additional risk factors for diabetic Retinopathy. Additionally, people from specific racial and ethnic groups, including Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans, may be at a higher risk for diabetic retinopathy.

Are There Any Ways To Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy?

Effective diabetes care can help lower the risk of diabetic retinopathy by maintaining blood sugar levels within the target range with a nutritious diet, frequent exercise, and prescribed medications or insulin. There are numerous methods to reduce your risk of developing diabetic retinopathy or preventing diabetic retinopathy before its onset:

1. Regular eye exams: Comprehensive eye exams, including dilated eye exams, at least once a year, or as advised by your eye care specialist, can detect diabetic Retinopathy in its earliest stages when it is more treatable.
2. Managing blood pressure and cholesterol levels: People who are facing diabetic retinopathy can manage their symptoms if they control their blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels with medication, lifestyle modifications, or other interventions can help reduce the chance of developing diabetic Retinopathy.
3. A healthy way of life: Quitting smoking and upholding a healthy way of life, which includes a well-balanced diet, frequent exercise, and weight control, can help manage diabetes more effectively and lower the risk factors of diabetic Retinopathy.

   Types Of Diabetic Retinopathy

   There are two main categories of diabetic retinopathy:

   1. Non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR): At this early stage, the retina’s blood vessels may leak or constrict, developing tiny swollen regions known as microaneurysms. If NPDR is not treated, it may proceed to more severe stages.
   2. Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR): In this advanced stage, aberrant new blood vessels may develop on the retina’s or the optic nerve’s surface. These blood vessels are brittle and may bleed into the eye, which could result in severe vision loss.

   Diabetic Retinopathy Diagnosis

   A thorough eye exam that includes a dilated eye exam is often used to diagnose diabetic Retinopathy. Your eye doctor will examine the retina to look for any indications of retinal damage, such as hemorrhage, edema, or abnormal blood vessel growth. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography may be employed to further scan and assess the retina’s health.

   Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment

   The stage and severity of diabetic Retinopathy determine the course of treatment. Early treatment can contain the disease to a great extent. Treatment choices could be:

   1. Maintain blood sugar levels: Maintaining stable blood sugar levels through dietary adjustments, medication, or insulin therapy is crucial for treating diabetic Retinopathy and stopping it from progressing.
   2. Laser photocoagulation: In this laser treatment, a laser is used to block or constrict blood vessels bleeding from the retina or stop the proliferation of aberrant blood vessels.
   3. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections: Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections can help prevent aberrant blood vessel growth and leakage.
   4. Vitrectomy: To remove blood and scar tissue from the eye and restore vision, a surgical operation called a vitrectomy may be performed in severe cases of diabetic Retinopathy with considerable bleeding or retinal detachment.

   Get the best care now. Connect with your doctor to know the best way forward for your treatment.

   Reference Links:

   https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/diabetic-retinopathy#:~:text=Diabetic%20retinopathy%20is%20an%20eye,at%20least%20once%20a%20year.

   https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetic-retinopathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20371611

   https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/diabetic-retinopathy?sso=y