Diabetes Retinopathy
What is "diabetic retinopathy"?
One of the severe complications of diabetes is called diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is an effect on the retina of the eye due to the diabetes, and the diabetes causes new blood vessels to grow in the back of the eye where they're not supposed to be, and these blood vessels can detach the retina by actually pulling it off the inside of the eye, leading to blindness.
Are some signs of diabetic retinopathy?
Common signs of diabetic retinopathy are blurred vision or "floaters". That means little swarms (they almost look like little bugs or gnats) that look like they're flying around in front of your vision but there's really nothing there. If you're diabetic, then those should be signs that you should get to an eye doctor quickly.
What are "floaters"?
Floaters are little spots that float around inside your eye, and they look like they're on the outside world. It looks like something's out there, but it's not. Floaters are caused as a natural aging change in the jelly, the vitreous jelly that's inside your eye. Your eye's filled with this jelly that gives it its shape when you're young, but as we age that jelly collapses and coalesces, and this causes floaters. Those little areas of coalesence look like floaters to you. It's very annoying to many people because when they're looking at something it looks like there's something in the way, spots or a web in front of their vision, and this web moves as their eye moves. Unfortunately there's no treatment for floaters. You just have to live with them. The good news is they tend to drift out of the way over time. So, if you're very annoyed by them now just wait, they should go away, but that can often take months or years.
Are floaters in my vision a serious problem?
There are certain situations in which floaters are serious, and that is if you get a whole bunch of new floaters all at once - that can be a sign of an impending retinal detachment. In that case you should see your eye doctor relatively quickly - within a day or two. Similarly, if you develop flashes of light in your eye - they almost look like little bolts of lightning off in the corner of your eye - that can be a sign of impending retinal detachment and again should lead you to see an eye doctor about the floaters.
What is "retinal detachment"?
The retina is a very thin layer attached to the inside surface of your eye. Retinal detachment is when that layer peels off the inside surface of your eye. When it peels off, the retina stops working, and you will stop seeing i.e. so retinal detachments can lead to blindness.
What are the signs of retinal detachment?
There are three signs of retinal detachment. One is a burst of new floaters, almost like a cloud of gnats or flies floating in front of your vision, or maybe spider webs. That can be a sign. Another sign of retina detachment is little flashing lights off in the corner of your eyes that comes and goes, almost like a little bolt of lightning. The third sign of a retinal detachment is a curtain coming across your vision, almost like a curtain opening orclosing from down below, the side, or up above. If you have any of those three symptoms, you should see an eye doctor quickly. If you see a curtain, it should be within hours; floaters or flashing lights, within a couple days - to prevent a retinal detachment, which can cause blindness.
Can diabetic retinopathy be prevented?
It's not clear if there's any way to prevent diabetic retinopathy. It's certainly worth having your diabetes in good control, but really nobody knows if that really slows down the progression. If you're diabetic it's particularly important not to smoke, because smoking amplifies the effect of diabetic retinopathy.
What are the most common treatments of diabetic retinopathy?
There are two basic ways to treat diabetic retinopathy. The main treatment is laser treatment. The doctor basically shoots a small laser in your eye to seal the retina or clean up damaged areas of retina. The other treatment for diabetic retinopathy is surgery. It's a procedure called vitrectomy. It involves inserting small instruments in your eye, removing the virtrious fluid, cutting away the abnormal blood vessels and pushing the retina back into the proper position. We try to prevent the surgery part by doing the laser part early enough. That generally can be done. If you are diabetic, it is very important to have annual eye exams so the laser treatment can be done early so you don't need the surgery.
