Details of Diabetic Retinopathy

This is a diabetic complication that affects eyes. The reason is damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue in the retina. May develop in anyone with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

May include:

• Spots or dark strings floating in vision (floaters)
• Blurred vision
• Fluctuating vision
• Impaired color vision
• Dare or empty areas in the vision
• Vision Loss

Overtime, too much blood sugar may lead to blockage of the tiny blood vessels that carry blood to the retina. As a result, new blood vessels try to grow, but these don’t develop properly and can even leak.

May be asked for:

• Dilation
• Test your vision
• Measure your eye pressure to test for glaucoma
• Look for evidence of cataracts
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT)

Panretinal photocoagulation: This is laser treatment. This can shrink the abnormal blood vessels. During the procedure, the areas of the retina away from the macula are treated with scattered laser burns.

Photocoagulation: This is also a laser treatment. This can stop or slow the leakage of blood and fluid in the eye. During the procedure, leaks from abnormal blood vessels are treated with laser burns.

Vitrectomy: During this procedure a tiny incision used in your eye to remove blood from the middle of the eye (vitreous) as well as scar tissue that's tugging on the retina.

Injecting medicine into the eye: These medications may help stop growth of new blood vessels by blocking the effects of growth signals the body sends to generate new blood vessels.

May include:

Vitreous hemorrhage: New blood vessels may bleed into the center of the eye

Retinal detachment: Abnormal blood vessels stimulate the grown of scar tissue, which can pull the retina away from the back of the eye

Glaucoma: New blood vessels may cause pressure in the eye to build up (Glaucoma).

Blindness: In the end, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or both can cause complete blindness.