Tips to Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy Alliance OH
Tips to Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy
For people with diabetes and health professionals, methods to prevent diabetic retinopathy are high on the radar. Diabetic retinopathy, the most common diabetes eye disease, is one of the leading causes of blindness. The retina of the eye is essential to good vision. But, when you have diabetes, high blood glucose levels damage tiny blood vessels in the retina causing them to swell and leak, and scar tissue to develop.
In some cases, blood vessels may also become plugged and prevent the flow of blood. In some cases, new, fragile blood vessels grow on the retina and eventually leak. Diabetic retinopathy can also affect the macula—the part of the retina where vision is the sharpest.
The National Eye Institute estimates that 40 to 45 percent of people diagnosed with diabetes have some degree of diabetic retinopathy. Your risk increases the longer you have diabetes, and it's common for people to develop some type of diabetic changes to their retina after 20 years of having the disease.
Because diabetic retinopathy doesn't have symptoms in the early stages, you could have the condition and not know it. As the condition progresses, retinopathy symptoms include blurred vision, dark streaks, floaters in your eye, poor night vision, and loss of vision.
The best treatment for diabetic eye diseases is prevention. For instance, controlling your blood glucose levels can prevent diabetic retinopathy or slow its progression. Here are seven key ways to protect your vision:..
