Guest Author - Deborah Pipas

The longer a patient is diabetic and fails to have yearly eye exams the greater the risk of blindness. Diabetes is a treatable disease however; left untreated it is very damaging to the body including the eyes. When changes in the blood occur it usually affects both eyes and can lead to vision loss and eventually blindness. If you know someone with diabetes or you have recently been diagnosed I hope that you will take the time to learn about Diabetic Retinopathy. This is the most common eye disease in diabetic patients and the leading cause of blindness in adults.

There are four stages of Diabetic Retinopathy:

Mild – small areas of balloon like swelling in the tiny blood vessels in the eye

Moderate – as the disease progresses some vessels that nourish the eye are blocked

Severe – many vessels are blocked depriving several areas of blood flow

Proliferative – in this stage the disease has advanced, when signals are sent by the retina to be nourished it triggers the growth of new blood vessels. The new blood vessels develop abnormally and are very fragile and may break. When this occurs it can cause severe vision loss and blindness could be the end result.

All diabetics are at risk of developing this disease and should have a dilated eye exam once a year. Macular edema may also develop, this will cause swelling in the small area of the retina which is responsible for the main area of vision. Macular edema occurs when blood leaks out of the vessels that have been weakened by disease. It may cause the inability to focus; it is progressive and may seem to the patient that he/she is trying to see through a piece of plastic or cellophane.

Both of these problems with vision could develop at any stage without symptoms or pain. The diabetic at some stage will most likely develop proliferate retinopathy and macular edema while continuing to see fine for a significant amount of time. As the disease progresses the patient is at higher risk for vision loss. A visit to your ophthalmologist once a year can be most beneficial as there is treatment to slow the progression. Controlling blood sugar levels can slow down diabetic retinopathy as well as kidney and nerve damage.

Should bleeding occur in proliferative retinopathy you may notice a few specks or spots floating in your vision or you may have blurred vision. These can clear without a visit to your eye doctor and vision may become clear again. Bleeding can reoccur and often hemorrhages happen during sleep. In order to avoid complete blindness or severe vision loss this is definitely a situation where and ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. See you doctor immediately should you notice any eye problems.

Both diabetic retinopathy and macular edema are treated with laser surgery. On the down side this surgery cannot restore lost vision and you may find it necessary to have the surgery more than once if bleeding occurs again. Once you have this eye disease you are always at risk for reoccurring bleeding and vision loss.

For those that are diabetic you already know the destruction to your body that can be caused by blood sugar being too high. For those newly diagnosed the loss of ones eyesight is a major risk not to be taken lightly. Work daily to keep your blood sugar at a normal level, see your regular practitioner and ophthalmologist as often as needed and make the right choices today that will create the best quality of life in the coming years.