CHENNAI: Diabetic eye disease refers to a group of eye problems that can affect people with diabetes. High blood glucose levels can damage certain tissues in our body, particularly in the eyes, kidneys, nerves and skin. Your chances of developing diabetic eye disease increase the longer you have diabetes, therefore an eye examination is essential for early detection, if not prevention.
The retina, which is composed of nerve fibers and blood vessels, is the back part of the eye that senses light and turns it into signals that your brain decodes. If your blood glucose stays high over time, it can damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina. The most serious of diabetic eye diseases begin with this.
In the case of diabetic retinopathy, the damaged blood vessels may leak fluid and cause swelling. New, weak blood vessels may also begin to grow. These abnormal new blood vessels may proliferate and cause bleeding, increased eye pressure or scarring and can lead to serious vision problems.
The other disease is diabetic macular edema. The part of your retina that you need for reading, driving, and seeing faces is called the macula. Diabetes can lead to swelling and fluid accumulation in the macula, which is called diabetic macular edema. This disease can destroy the sharp vision in this part of the eye. Often, there are no symptoms of the above mentioned conditions.
Symptoms may include:
Consult your eye doctor if you have any of these symptoms.
Managing diabetes: Managing your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels
If you smoke, get help to quit smoking. It is essential to have a dilated eye examination annually, even if you feel you are asymptomatic.Your doctor will place drops in your eyes to widen your pupils and visualise your retina using a special magnifying lens.
Your vision will be blurry for a few hours after a dilated exam. Vision and eye pressure will be checked, and other tests may be suggested to aid in diagnosis and management.Advanced diabetic eye disease may warrant follow-ups and may be managed with medicine, laser treatments, or surgery.
Medicine
Your doctor may treat your eyes with anti-VEGF, an injectable medicine that blocks the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye. It can also stop fluid leaks, which can help treat diabetic oracular edema. Frequency of medicine will be determined based on the response your disease shows to treatment.
Laser treatment
Laser treatment, also called photo coagulation, creates tiny burns inside the eye with a beam of light. This treats leaky blood vessels and reduces extra fluid, called edema.
This prevents eye disease from getting worse, which is important to prevent vision loss or blindness.Vitrectomy: Vitrectomy is a surgery to remove the clear gel that fills the center of the eye, called the vitreous gel. The procedure treats severe bleeding and helps in removal of fibrovascular tissue. Sometimes, formation of fibrovascular tissue can force the retina to peel away and detach causing sudden vision loss. This requires urgent surgical intervention.
Long-term effects
Your chances of developing diabetic eye disease increase the longer you have diabetes, therefore an eye examination is essential for early detection, if not prevention. If your blood glucose stays high over time, it can damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina.
The author is a consultant ophthalmologist at Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Chennai.