Diabetes is a silent and chronic disease that, if not treated properly, can lead to numerous complications in the long term, including affecting eye health with the appearance of different vision problems that can cause everything from blurred vision to permanent blindness.
In this case, the only way to prevent vision loss is to check blood sugar levels regularly and also visit an eye doctor to determine if diabetes is affecting eye health.
In this regard, you should know that diabetes can cause several eye problems. These are macular edema, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetic retinopathy usually does not present early symptoms and its affectation can lead to irreversible blindness. Learn more about this visual disease associated with diabetes.
How diabetic retinopathy develops
People with diabetes should be wary of extremes in blood sugar levels, as ranges that are too high or too low can damage blood vessels in the retina in two ways:
- It can cause diabetic macular edema (DME) This condition causes swelling and fluid buildup in the central part of the retina the macula, which is responsible for central vision and detail.
DME may be the most common cause of vision loss in diabetic patients.
- Another way to damage the retinal vessels is when blood cannot reach the retina for its proper functioning.
Diabetic retinopathy usually does not cause symptoms; the lesion only becomes evident when the eye damage is severe and bleeding may occur. The diabetic patient may notice blurred vision and gradual loss of vision, difficulty seeing at night, floaters and shadows o, or areas of lost vision.
In any case, the only way for a diabetic patient to prevent damage to the retina of their eyes is through prevention, with regular eye exams being key .
Can eye damage caused by diabetes be repaired?
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in adults. This disease usually affects both eyes and occurs when high blood sugar (glucose) levels damage the blood vessels in the retina. It can occur in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
When the blood vessels of the retina are damaged, bleeding occurs in the vitreous, a gelatinous fluid located in the center of the eye. This leads to an injury to the back of the eye that causes progressive vision loss.
Therefore, if not treated in an early stage of eye disease, the damage can be irreversible causing total blindness.
Thus, diabetic retinopathy can occur in two ways :
- #Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) occurs in the early stages of eye disease. The retina begins to weaken and signs of inflammation called microaneurysms may appear. At this stage, vision loss is very mild, so it may not be noticeable.
- #Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR): This occurs in the advanced phase of the eye disease. The blood vessels are already damaged and begin to close, forming new, more fragile vessels. At this stage, vision loss increases.
In conclusion, people with diabetes must take extreme care and undergo eye check-ups, since in the advanced stages of the eye disease, vision loss is generally irreversible. Sight is not recovered.
