Diabetes is a condition that is soon going to affect more than half of the population worldwide. It is a silent disease that affects many parts of the body including the eye. This condition affects the blood vessels of the eye gradually leading to a condition called diabetic retinopathy.
Diagnosis & Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy develops in 90% of patients having diabetes for 15 years or more and is at risk of developing blindness over time. In this, less than 10% of the people with diabetic retinopathy undergo regular screening by ophthalmologists. This is the condition in which bleeding and leakage of fatty deposits from blood vessels occur in the retina leading to swelling in the retinal layers. In advanced conditions, abnormal vessels begin to grow along the surface of the retina. These abnormal vessels are fragile and often begin to bleed leading to blinding disease.
Patients with diabetic retinopathy usually do not have any symptoms until the disease progresses to advanced stages. In advanced stages, patients may have a sudden loss of vision due to bleeding or detachment of the retina. So this condition can be picked up early only on dilated examination of the retina. Hence regular dilated eye examination is a must in the early diagnosis and treatment of this condition.
Detailed examination of the retina includes dilated retinal evaluation, and microscopic examination of the retina by a procedure called Optical Coherence Tomography gives a measure of retinal swelling, and Fundus photo that aids in documentation and monitoring of the disease.
Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy
Treatment of the condition firstly involves control of diabetes by lifestyle modification, diet, exercise, and medications for control of blood sugar. Diabetic retinopathy when picked up in early stages, can be treated with a procedure called laser photo-coagulation. This procedure is non–invasive and involves the burning out of abnormal blood vessels, thus controlling leakage and bleeding from vessels. Other modality of treatment includes injecting medications such as steroids, in the vitreous cavity of the eye to control the disease.
In the advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy, surgical intervention may be needed to treat the disease. More often the vision in advanced stages may be lost permanently.
To summarize, the only best escape from the disease is not to run away from the disease, but to challenge the disease by keeping good control of blood sugar and having a regular diabetic eye check-up so that disease progression can be halted at the earliest.
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Diabetic Retinopathy in Bangalore
Treatment of diabetic retinopathy changes includes mainly lifestyle modifications to control diabetes and treatment for the eye. Lifestyle modifications like nutrition, exert, and avoiding smoking are helpful in controlling diabetes. For eye treatment, Shekar Eye Hospital has all the treatment options such as laser treatment and surgery.
Laser treatment is done in diabetic retinopathy patients to avoid bleeding and fluid accumulation inside the eye. This laser procedure is done in daycare.
The procedure is done by a retina specialist and is usually painless. This procedure is done in 2- 3 settings and repeated if required based on the extent of the disease. This procedure is useful by preventing bleeding in the eye or leakage in the eye to some extent. This is done by our retina specialist with the best results.
Consult our excellent team of doctors, to know more about Diabetic retinopathy.
