Contents:
- Medical Video: Diabetic Retinopathy for USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2
- What is diabetic retinopathy?
- Who might experience this complication?
- What are the symptoms?
- When should I see a doctor?
Medical Video: Diabetic Retinopathy for USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2
Apart from glaucoma and cataracts, there are diabetic retinopathy that endanger the eyes of people with diabetes, diabetic retinopathy can damage small blood vessels in the retina, the back of your eyes. What else should you know about this eye condition?
What is diabetic retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is a general term that describes the problem of the retina due to diabetes. In the form of non-proliferation, the capillaries behind the eyes enlarge and form pockets. This can cause swelling and bleeding. This can also develop into proliferative. This is where the retinal blood vessels are damaged, thus closing and forcing the formation of new blood vessels, which are weak and easily broken and then bleed.
Who might experience this complication?
One of the main causes of blindness in diabetics aged 20-74 years is diabetic retinopathy. This condition can develop in anyone who has type 1 diabetes or type 2.
The longer you have diabetes and poorly controlled blood sugar, the more likely you are to develop these eye complications. Between 40% and 45% of people with diabetes have some symptoms of diabetic retinopathy.
What are the symptoms?
At first you may not feel any symptoms. However, some of the symptoms that you must watch out for are:
- There are dark dots or threads floating in your vision (floaters)
- Blurred vision
- Objects that are seen as if shaking or rocking, but not
- Impaired color vision
- A dark or empty area appears in your vision
- Loss of vision
Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes.
When should I see a doctor?
You should contact your doctor if the following new symptoms occur or the symptoms you experience are worse:
- You cannot see well in dim or dim light
- You have blindness spots
- You have double vision (you see two things when there is only one object)
- Your vision is blurred or blurry and you cannot focus
- You have pain in one of your eyes
- You experience headache
- You see spots floating in your eyes
- You cannot see things on the side of your field of vision
- You see a shadow
Why can I get this condition?
Over time, there will be too much sugar in your blood. Too much blood sugar can cause blockages in the small blood vessels that give the retina nutrients, and also cut off blood intake. As a result, the eye tries to grow new blood vessels. However, new blood vessels do not develop properly and can leak easily.
There are two types of diabetic retinopathy:
Non-proliferation of diabetic retinopathy. In this more general form, new blood vessels do not grow (develop). If you have a non-proliferation of diabetic retinopathy, the walls of blood vessels in your retina will weaken. Small protrusions (micro aneurysms) protrude from the vessels of smaller vessels, sometimes fluid and blood leak into the retina.
Larger retinal blood vessels can start to enlarge and the diameter becomes irregular. This type of retinopathy can develop from mild to severe, because more blood vessels are blocked.
Nerve fibers in the retina may begin to swell. Sometimes the middle part of the retina (macula) begins to swell (macular edema), a condition that requires treatment.
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy. This type of retinopathy can develop into a more severe type. In this type, damage to the closing blood vessels causes abnormal growth of new blood vessels in the retina, and can leak on clean substances such as jelly that fill the center of your eye (vitreous).
Finally, scar tissue is stimulated by the growth of new blood vessels that can cause the retina to escape from behind your eyes. If new blood vessels interfere with normal fluid flow from the eye, the eyeball can get pressure. This can damage the nerves that carry images from the eye to the brain (optic nerve), eventually it can cause glaucoma.
How do doctors diagnose this condition?
Diabetic retinopathy should be diagnosed by widening the eye. For this test, eye drops are done when your eyes are dilated (dilated), your pupils will widen to allow the doctor to see the inside of your eyes better. Droplets can cause your near vision to fade until it fades, a few hours later.
In addition, your ophthalmologist can:
- measuring fluid pressure in your eyes (tonometry)
- examine the structure in your eyes (lamp test gap)
- examine and photograph your retina (fluorescein angiography)
This test is different from the test that is done when you go to the ophthalmologist to check your eyes and see if you need new glasses or not. If you see a change in vision and visit an eye doctor, make sure you tell your doctor that you have diabetes.
What is the treatment of this condition?
If you have early symptoms of diabetic retinopathy, you may not need treatment. However, the doctor will monitor the condition of your eyes.
After your ophthalmologist finds new blood vessels growing on your retina (neovascularization) or you develop macular edema, you will need eye surgery. Eye surgery is the main treatment for diabetic retinopathy.
Laser eye surgery creates small burns in the retina where there are abnormal blood vessels. This process is called photocoagulation. It is used to keep blood vessels from leaking, or to shrink abnormal vessels.
You may need an operation called vitrectomy if there is bleeding (hematoma) into the eye. It can also be used to repair a loose or dislodged retina.
The doctor may inject drugs into the eyeball to help prevent the growth of abnormal blood vessels.
You must follow your eye doctor's advice on how to protect your eyesight. Perform eye examinations as recommended by the doctor, usually 1 time every 1-2 years.
If you have diabetes and your blood sugar is already very high, your doctor will give you new medicines to lower your blood sugar level. If you have diabetic neuropathy, your vision can get worse for a short time when you start taking drugs that increase blood sugar levels.
How can I control my diabetic retinopathy if it has been diagnosed?
Managing your diabetes can help slow diabetic retinopathy and other eye problems. You can control your blood sugar level by:
- eat healthy food
- undergo regular exercise
- check your blood sugar as often as ordered by your diabetes health care provider and keep a record of your number, so that you know the types of foods and activities that affect your blood sugar level
- take medication or insulin as instructed
- strict control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol is very important to prevent this condition
- Do not smoke. If you need help to stop, ask your doctor or nurse
Treatment can reduce the problem of vision loss. However, this treatment does not cure diabetic retinopathy or restore changes that have occurred.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
