Diabetic retinopathy is a serious complication of diabetes that affects your eyes. It is the number one cause of vision loss in diabetic patients.
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (retina). This causes bleeding, swelling, and abnormal blood vessel growth. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop this eye condition.
Like many other eye conditions, diabetic retinopathy often causes few (if any) symptoms in the early stages. You may only notice minor vision issues that could be attributed to other causes. However, if left untreated diabetic retinopathy can lead to blindness.
Anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes can develop diabetic retinopathy so it’s really important to have yearly comprehensive eye exams.
The disease can affect both eyes but it can be asymmetric in severity. As it gets worse, your symptoms will increase and could include:
Keeping your blood sugars as well controlled as possible is by far the best way to prevent loss of vision. The earlier on in the disease diagnosis that you can shift your lifestyle changes to adjust this will give you the best prognosis and outcomes. Adjusting what you eat is possibly the most powerful tool that you have to work with for managing diabetes. The cool part? You get to pick what you eat–there is a lot of power in being able to make choices that directly impact your health outcomes!
Even if you are coming in for yearly eye exams, as recommended, if you notice the sudden appearance of the symptoms noted above, make an appointment right away.
Are you ready to up-level your eye care experience? Reach out to Advanced Eye Care Professionals for more information about our services. We’re happy to help!
