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Don't Lose Sight of Diabetic
Eye Disease
Information for People with Diabetes
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What is diabetic eye disease? |
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 may include:
Diabetic
retinopathy--damage to
the blood vessels in the retina.
Cataract--clouding
of the eye's lens.
Glaucoma--increase
in fluid pressure inside the eye that leads to optic nerve damage and loss of
vision.
Cataract
and glaucoma also affect many people who do not have diabetes.
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What
is the most common diabetic eye disease?
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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.
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Who
is most likely to get diabetic retinopathy?
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Anyone
with diabetes. The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely he or she will
get diabetic retinopathy. Nearly half of all people with diabetes will develop
some degree of diabetic retinopathy during their lifetime.
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What are its symptoms?
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Often
there are none in the early stages of the disease. Vision may not change until
the disease becomes severe. Nor is there any pain.
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. But, even in more advanced cases, the
disease may progress a long way without symptoms. That is why regular eye
examinations for people with diabetes are so important.
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How is it detected? |
If
you have diabetes, you should have your eyes examined at least once a year.
Your eyes should be dilated during the exam. That means eyedrops are used to
enlarge your pupils. This allows the eye care professional to see more of the
inside of your eyes to check for signs of the disease.
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Can diabetic retinopathy be treated? |
Yes.
Your eye care professional may suggest laser surgery in which a strong light
beam is aimed onto the retina to shrink the abnormal vessels. Laser surgery
has been proved to reduce the risk of severe vision loss from this type of
diabetic retinopathy by 60 percent.
If you have macular edema, laser surgery may also be used. In this
case, the laser beam is used to seal the leaking blood vessels. However, laser
surgery often cannot restore vision that has already been lost. That is why
finding diabetic retinopathy early is the best way to prevent vision loss.
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Can diabetic retinopathy be prevented? |
Not
totally, but your risk can be greatly reduced. The Diabetes Control and
Complications Trial (DCCT) showed that better control of blood sugar level
slows the onset and progression of retinopathy and lessens the need for laser
surgery for severe retinopathy.
The study found that the group that tried to keep their blood sugar
levels as close to normal as possible had much less eye, kidney, and nerve
disease. This level of blood sugar control may not be best for everyone,
including some elderly patients, children under 13, or people with heart
disease. So ask your doctor if this program is right for you.
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How common are the other diabetic eye diseases? |
If
you have diabetes, you are also at risk for other diabetic eye diseases.
Studies show that you are twice as likely to get a cataract as a person who
does not have the disease. Also, cataracts develop at an earlier age in people
with diabetes. Cataracts can usually be treated by surgery.
Glaucoma
may also become a problem. A person with diabetes is nearly twice as likely to
get glaucoma as other adults. And, as with diabetic retinopathy, the longer
you have had diabetes, the greater your risk of getting glaucoma. Glaucoma may
be treated with medications, laser, or other forms of surgery.
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What research is being done? |
Much
research is being done to learn more about diabetic eye disease. For instance,
the National Eye Institute is supporting a number of research studies in the
laboratory and with patients to learn what causes diabetic retinopathy and how
it can be better treated. This research should provide better ways to detect
and treat diabetic eye disease and prevent blindness in more people with
diabetes.
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What can you do to protect your vision? |
Finding and treating the disease early, before it causes vision loss or
blindness, is the best way to control diabetic eye disease. So, if you have
diabetes, make sure you get a dilated eye examination at least once a year.
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