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Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Sign Symptoms and Possible treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy

Sign Symptoms and Possible treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy
“When exposed to diabetes, the body does not use the sugar (glucose) properly. If blood sugar is too high, the natural eye lens will increase so that the view-blur. Later, the amount of sugar that is too much can damage the small blood vessel which gives nutrition to the retina (capillary). So retinopathy diabetic will arise. ”

Sign and symptoms:

At the initial stage, retinopathy diabetic have no symptoms or only cause mild eye disturbances. However, the long run, can culminate in blindness. Retinopathy diabetic usually affect both eyes.

Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:
- spots float in my vision
- blurred vision or does not focus
- Line-or dark red lines that impede the vision
- Difficult to see at night
- Vision is lost / blind

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina.

In some people with diabetic retinopathy, blood vessels may swell and leak fluid. In other people, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. A healthy retina is necessary for good vision.

If you have diabetic retinopathy, at first you may not notice changes to your vision. But over time, diabetic retinopathy can get worse and cause vision loss. Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes.

All people with diabetes--both type 1 and type 2--are at risk. That's why everyone with diabetes should get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely he or she will get diabetic retinopathy. Between 40 to 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy. If you have diabetic retinopathy, your doctor can recommend treatment to help prevent its progression.

During pregnancy, diabetic retinopathy may be a problem for women with diabetes. To protect vision, every pregnant woman with diabetes should have a comprehensive dilated eye exam as soon as possible. Your doctor may recommend additional exams during your pregnancy.

If you have diabetes get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year and remember:

* Proliferative retinopathy can develop without symptoms. At this advanced stage, you are at high risk for vision loss.
* Macular edema can develop without symptoms at any of the four stages of diabetic retinopathy.
* You can develop both proliferative retinopathy and macular edema and still see fine. However, you are at high risk for vision loss.
* Your eye care professional can tell if you have macular edema or any stage of diabetic retinopathy. Whether or not you have symptoms, early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss.

During the first three stages of diabetic retinopathy, no treatment is needed, unless you have macular edema. To prevent progression of diabetic retinopathy, people with diabetes should control their levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol.

Proliferative retinopathy is treated with laser surgery. This procedure is called scatter laser treatment. Scatter laser treatment helps to shrink the abnormal blood vessels. Your doctor places 1,000 to 2,000 laser burns in the areas of the retina away from the macula, causing the abnormal blood vessels to shrink. Because a high number of laser burns are necessary, two or more sessions usually are required to complete treatment. Although you may notice some loss of your side vision, scatter laser treatment can save the rest of your sight. Scatter laser treatment may slightly reduce your color vision and night vision.

Scatter laser treatment works better before the fragile, new blood vessels have started to bleed. That is why it is important to have regular, comprehensive dilated eye exams. Even if bleeding has started, scatter laser treatment may still be possible, depending on the amount of bleeding.

If the bleeding is severe, you may need a surgical procedure called a vitrectomy. During a vitrectomy, blood is removed from the center of your eye.

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