Diabetic Eye Disease FAQ

Diabetes is a very serious disease that can cause problems such as blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, and amputations. But by taking good care of yourself through diet, exercise, and special medications, you can control diabetes. And there is more good news. Diabetic eye disease, a complication of diabetes, can be treated before vision loss occurs.

All people with diabetes need to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year.

What is diabetic eye disease?

Diabetes is basically a disease of the blood vessels. The most suseptable blood vessels are those found in the eye's retina and in the kidneys.  The high sugar content reacts with the blood vessel walls causing them to thicken and then collapse. This causes the blood supply to the retina to stop.  The retina then dies and with this death comes blindness.
Diabetic eye disease refers to a group of eye problems that people with diabetes may face as a complication of this disease. All can cause severe vision loss or even blindness.
Diabetic eye disease includes:
Diabetic retinopathy: Damage to the blood vessels in the retina.
Cataract: Clouding of the lens of the eye.
Glaucoma: Increase in fluid pressure inside the eye that leads to optic nerve damage and loss of vision.

What is the most common diabetic eye disease?

Diabetic retinopathy. This disease is 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, retinal blood vessels may swell and leak fluid. In other people, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. These changes may result in vision loss or blindness.

What are its symptoms?

There are often no symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. There is no pain and vision may not change until the disease becomes severe. Blurred vision may occur when the macula (the part of the retina that provides sharp, central vision) swells from the leaking fluid. This condition is called macular edema. If new vessels have grown on the surface of the retina, they can bleed into the eye, blocking vision. Even in more advanced cases, the disease may progress a long way without symptoms. This symptomless progression is why regular eye examinations for people with diabetes are so important.

Who is most likely to get diabetic retinopathy?

Anyone with diabetes. The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely he or she will get diabetic retinopathy. Between 40-45 percent of those with diagnosed diabetes have some degree of diabetic retinopathy.

How is diabetic retinopathy detected?

If you have diabetes, you should have your eyes examined by Drs. Bougher & Smith at least once a year. Your eyes should be dilated during the exam, which means eyedrops are used to enlarge your pupils. This dilation allows Dr. Bougher & Dr. Smith to see more of the inside of your eyes to check for signs of the disease.

How is diabetes treated?

The most important thing one can do to help control diabetes is to to eliminate added suger from your diet. This one step alone can be of tremendous benefit. Next thing to do is to get busy. Get off the couch and move. Walking 30 to 45 minutes a day is a great way to start the day. Maintaining a normal weight is Critacilly important.

If you can achieve these three goals you will reduce your chances of developing diabetes including diabetis retinopoathy by over 50 %.  

When these steps fail to work, drugs to control blood sugar will be given by your physician.  We work with many physicians for referral if needed.

Good luck.

Larry Smith OD

Virginia Bougher O.D.

CedarParkOptometry.com
715Discovery Blvd
Cedar Park Tx 78613
512.260.2100

Thanks to the National Eye Institute (NEI)

Diabetic Eye Disease Glossary

Cataract
A clouding of the lens of the eye.

Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic disease in which blood sugar levels are above normal. Complications may lead to vision loss.

Diabetic eye disease
A group of eye problems that people with diabetes may face as a complication of diabetes.

Diabetic retinopathy
Damage to the blood vessels in the retina due to diabetes.

Dilated eye exam
An eye examination where drops are placed in your eyes to widen, or dilate, the pupils. The eye care professional uses a special magnifying lens to examine the retina and optic nerve for signs of damage and other eye problems. After the exam, your closeup vision may remain blurred for several hours.

Focal laser treatment
A laser surgery treatment where an ophthalmologist places up to several hundred small laser burns in the areas of retinal leakage surrounding the macula.

Glaucoma
An increase in the fluid pressure inside the eye that leads to optic nerve damage and loss of vision.

Macula
Small central area of the retina; area of acute central vision.

Macular edema
When fluid leaks into the center of the macula, the part of the eye where sharp, straight-ahead vision occurs. The fluid makes the macula swell, blurring vision.

Mild nonproliferative retinopathy
The first stage of diabetic retinopathy where small areas of balloon-like swelling (microaneurysms) occur in the tiny blood vessels of the retina.

Moderate nonproliferative retinopathy
The second stage of diabetic retinopathy where blood vessels that nourish the retina are blocked.

Optic nerve
Largest sensory nerve of the eye; carries impulses for sight from the retina to the brain.

Proliferative retinopathy
The fourth stage of diabetic retinopathy where signals sent by the retina for nourishment trigger the growth of new blood vessels. These new blood vessels are abnormal and fragile. They grow along the retina and the surface of the clear vitreous gel that fills the inside of the eye. By themselves, these blood vessels do not cause symptoms or vision loss. However, they have thin, fragile walls. If they leak blood, severe vision loss and even blindness can occur.

Scatter laser surgery
A laser surgery treatment where an ophthalmologist 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.

Severe nonproliferative retinopathy
The third stage of diabetic retinopathy where many more blood vessels are blocked, depriving several areas of the retina of blood supply. These areas of the retina send signals to the body to grow new blood vessels for nourishment.

Tonometry
An instrument that measures the pressure inside your eye. Numbing drops may be applied to your eye during this test.

Type 1 diabetes
Formerly called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is usually first diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults. In this form of diabetes, the beta cells of the pancreas no longer make insulin because the body's immune system has attacked and destroyed them.

Type 2 diabetes
Formerly called adult-onset diabetes or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes. People can develop type 2 diabetes at any age-even during childhood. This form of diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which fat, muscle, and liver cells do not use insulin properly. At first, the pancreas keeps up with the added demand by producing more insulin. In time, however, it loses the ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals.

Visual acuity test
An eye chart test that measures how well you see at various distances.

Vitrectomy
A surgical treatment where an ophthalmologist removes the vitreous gel and replaces it with a salt solution.

Vitreous gel
Transparent, colorless mass that fills the rear two-thirds of the eyeball, between the lens and the retina.

CedarParkOptometry.com
715Discovery Blvd
Cedar Park Tx 78613
512.260.2100