One of the most essential facets of diabetes care is regular screenings for diabetic eye disease. Diabetes can affect the blood vessels inside your eyes, leading to vision changes or vision loss.
Luckily, early diagnosis and treatment from an experienced eye doctor can prevent future vision issues. Keep reading to learn more about whether anyone with diabetes can develop diabetic eye disease and how you can protect your vision from this common condition.
What Is Diabetic Eye Disease?
Diabetic eye disease, also called diabetic retinopathy, can affect anyone who has diabetes, including Type 1, Type 2, gestational diabetes, or diabetes induced by certain medication. The risk of developing the condition increases the longer you have had diabetes.
The exact cause of diabetic retinopathy is complex, but includes increased blood sugar levels which damage the blood vessels in the retina. This can weaken the tiny vessels that carry blood through the eyes.
They may swell and leak fluid into the surrounding tissue. Vessels can also become closed off and restrict proper blood flow.
New vessels may develop to replace the damaged ones, but these tend to be abnormal and leaky. These abnormal vessels can also lead to a severe form of glaucoma.
Severe diabetic retinopathy can cause vision changes or vision loss.
Carefully managing your blood sugar can prevent or delay the onset of diabetic eye disease. Anyone with diabetes should at least get an annual dilated eye exam so their eye doctor can monitor them for signs of diabetic retinopathy.
What are the Symptoms of Diabetic Eye Disease?
Like many conditions that affect the eyes, diabetic eye disease doesn’t cause early symptoms. You won’t feel any discomfort or notice any changes to your vision but this does not mean no damage is being done.
You may only find out there are any signs of the condition when your eye doctor identifies them during an eye exam. If diabetic eye disease progresses without treatment, you may start to notice symptoms such as:
- Floaters in your vision
- Blurred vision
- Fluctuating vision during the day
- Dark or blank spots in your vision
- Vision loss
Your eye doctor at Whitson Vision can diagnose early diabetic retinopathy with non-invasive, painless tests performed in the office. The exam generally includes an examination of the front of the eye and a dilated examination of the retina. In addition, different cameras can be used to examine the health of the retina.
This allows them to examine the blood vessels for signs of blockage or swelling. If you have evidence of changes to the blood vessels in your retina, known as diabetic retinopathy, your eye doctor may suggest consistent monitoring and careful blood sugar management.
Keeping blood sugar at your target levels is the best way to prevent diabetic eye disease from progressing. With mild or moderate diabetic retinopathy, your eye doctor may also suggest more frequent eye exams so they can monitor your eyes closely. They will also communicate with your designated primary care physician.
If they see signs of disease progression, they can act quickly to get you started on proper treatment.
What are the Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy?
Since diabetic eye disease is progressive, it can get more severe if you don’t get proper treatment and follow up care.
There are four main stages of diabetic retinopathy:
Mild Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
You won’t have any detectable symptoms, but your eye doctor can see changes in the blood vessels. There may be tiny balloon-like swellings called microaneurysms inside your eyes.
Moderate Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
As diabetic eye disease progresses, your eye doctor may spot broken blood vessels inside your retina. You may also have an accumulation of blood and fluid in the retina tissue.
This excess fluid, called retinal edema, can cause vision changes or loss of vision.
Severe Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
Untreated diabetic eye disease will eventually lead to more blood vessel damage and blockages of some blood vessels. You will have a greater accumulation of fluids in the eye and more significant vision changes.
Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
At its most severe, diabetic eye disease is called proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The condition causes extensive damage to blood vessels in the retina.
New blood vessels will grow to compensate for the blocked or destroyed vessels, but they tend to be improperly formed with weak walls that can leak or even bleed into the eye. The damaged blood vessels lead to scarring, which can increase the risk of retinal detachment.
The new blood vessels can even grow into the tissue that maintains the normal fluid balance in the causing elevated intraocular pressure causing glaucoma and optic nerve damage.
Treatment for Diabetic Eye Disease at Whitson Vision
Your eye doctor at Whitson Vision may prescribe various diabetic eye disease treatments depending on the progression of your condition, including:
Medication
Injections of anti-VEGF drugs or corticosteroids can slow down or reverse diabetic retinopathy. Your eye doctor injects These medications into the eye in a quick, nearly painless, in-office treatment.
Laser Treatment
Lasers can shrink swollen blood vessels within the eye. This reduces fluid leakage and prevents excess fluid from causing any increase in eye pressure.
Surgery
If you have significant retinal bleeding or scarring in the eye, you may need a procedure called a vitrectomy to correct the issue. During a vitrectomy, your eye doctor can remove excess fluids from the eye and clear away scar tissue you may have.
Regular eye exams are critical to maintaining your vision and eye health if you have diabetes. In addition, you should work with your primary care provider and endocrinologist to manage your blood sugar.
Keeping your blood sugar controlled is the best way to prevent diabetes-related damage to your eyes. You can control your blood sugar with a healthy diet and lifestyle choices and, if necessary, medication, including insulin or other newer medications.
The team at Whitson Vision are diabetic eye exam specialists. They can provide comprehensive vision exams and answer any questions you have about the vision-related aspects of diabetes management.
Do you want to learn more about protecting your vision from diabetic eye disease? Schedule an appointment at Whitson Vision in Avon or Indianapolis, IN, today!