Diabetic Retinopathy
Does your vision fluctuate day to day?
Have you noticed increased difficulty while driving or reading?
What is diabetic retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy, also known as diabetic eye disease, is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the blood vessels at the back of the eye, causing bleeding that can lead to blindness.
It usually takes several years for diabetic retinopathy to reach a stage where it could threaten your sight. To minimise the risk of this happening, people with diabetes should ensure they control their blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol. It is also important to have an annual eye examination where it may be necessary to use eye drops to enlarge the pupil to check for and monitor diabetic retinopathy.
Symptoms
Diabetes and its effects on eye health often go unnoticed. There are usually few symptoms and vision is not affected in the early stages.
Diagnosis
At Holley Optometrists we use the latest OCT and Optomap Ultra Wide Field scanners to check for the earliest signs of diabetes. Treatment for diabetic retinopathy is only necessary if screening detects significant problems that mean your vision is at risk. The main treatments for more advanced diabetic retinopathy are laser treatment, injections of medication into your eyes or an operation to remove blood or scar tissue from your eyes.