Asian DiabetesCare Berhad - Help People With Diabetic

Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of blindness among people aged between 16 and 64.

Before we were able to keep blood glucose levels normal, blindness - due to retinopathy - was common for people with diabetes. Now, as long as blood glucose levels are kept as near normal as possible (4-7 mmols before meals) it is possible to reduce your chances of developing retinopathy by 76 per cent.

What is retinopathy?
Who gets retinopathy?
Can I protect my eyes?
How is it treated?

Glossary
  Background
  Proliferative
  Maculopathy

What is retinopathy?

Diabetic retinopathy affects the blood vessels supplying the retina - the seeing part of the eye. Blood vessels can become blocked, leak or grow haphazardly. This affects the way visual images are received by the retina and, if left untreated, can damage vision.

Retinopathy is a progressive condition - it develops over time. Generally there are no obvious symptoms until it is well advanced. This is why annual eye examinations are essential. Early detection is the key to successful treatment.

Who gets retinopathy?

Retinopathy can affect anyone with diabetes, whether treated with insulin, tablets or diet alone. Nearly one in five people with Type 2 diabetes have a significant degree of retinopathy when they are first diagnosed. This is because their diabetes may have been present for months or even years before it is diagnosed - so that blood glucose levels may have been higher than normal for a long time.

It's rarely found in people who've had Type 1 diabetes for less than five years, but it becomes more common with time.

Can I protect my eyes?

The best protection against retinopathy is keeping blood glucose levels as near normal as possible. In addition, everyone should have a check for retinopathy at least once a year as part of the regular annual diabetes review (everyone should be tested when first diagnosed with diabetes). The test should be done with your pupils dilated using special drops.

Children with diabetes should start having eye examinations ten years after diagnosis, or from the age of 12 onwards, whichever is sooner.

How is it treated?

Retinopathy is treated by laser, which is very successful if the condition is caught early and is generally pain free. In 80 per cent of cases it prevents any further loss of sight.

Tiny laser beams are used to destroy the damaged parts of the retina, stopping the growth of new abnormal blood vessels and preventing any further damage to vision. Laser therapy, cannot restore any vision which has already been lost.

Glossary

Background retinopathy -
The earliest visible changes to the retina where the fine blood vessels become blocked or start to leak. This type of retinopathy will not effect vision but it can progress to more serious forms.

Proliferative retinopathy -
More and more vessels are damaged and leak. Large areas of the retina have a poor blood supply. This stimulates the growth of new blood vessels which are fragile and prone to bleeding. This can also cause scar tissue and increase the risk of retinal detachment

Maculopathy -
The name given to changes at and around the macular - the central part of the back of the eye used for detailed vision and more common in Type 2 diabetes and can be very tricky to treat so that people with maculopathy usually have some loss of vision.

And finally...

Don't wait until you notice a change in your vision. Retinopathy frequently has no symptoms until it's well advanced. By this time treatment is more difficult and you may have permanently lost some sight.

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