Diabetic Eye Care

Regular Care is Crucial to Prevent Vision Loss

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Diabetic Eye Care

Diabetes is on the rise worldwide, and in our office, we’re seeing more patients diagnosed every day. While many individuals with well-managed blood glucose levels can maintain good vision, diabetes remains the leading cause of blindness in the United States, particularly among adults aged 20 to 74. The risk of diabetic eye disease increases the longer someone has had diabetes and the less controlled their blood sugar is. However, early detection and intervention can prevent serious vision loss.

How Diabetes Affects Your Eyes

Diabetes affects the blood vessels throughout the body, including the delicate vessels in the eyes. Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage the blood vessels in the retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye responsible for sending visual signals to the brain. This damage is known as diabetic retinopathy and can lead to permanent vision loss if left untreated.

Other common eye complications associated with diabetes include:

Diabetic Retinopathy: The most common cause of vision impairment in diabetics, diabetic retinopathy occurs when blood vessels in the retina swell, leak, or become blocked. There are two main stages:
- Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR): Early stage where blood vessels in the retina are damaged but do not yet result in severe visual impairment.
- Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR): More advanced stage, where new blood vessels grow on the retina and vitreous (the gel-like substance inside the eye), potentially leading to scarring, retinal detachment, and significant vision loss.
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME): This is a complication of diabetic retinopathy where fluid leaks into the macula, the central part of the retina, leading to swelling and blurred or distorted vision. Even mild swelling can cause significant visual problems.
Cataracts: People with diabetes are more likely to develop cataracts at a younger age. A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens, which can lead to blurry vision, glare, and difficulty seeing at night.
Glaucoma: Diabetic patients are at higher risk of developing glaucoma, a condition where elevated eye pressure damages the optic nerve, leading to gradual vision loss and potential blindness if not treated. There are different types of glaucoma, but open-angle glaucoma is the most common in diabetics.

Our Comprehensive Approach to Diabetic Eye Care

At our practice, we take a comprehensive and proactive approach to monitoring and managing diabetic eye health. We understand that diabetes is a lifelong condition that requires careful, ongoing management. Here’s how we help protect your vision:

Baseline Photo-Documentation: The first step in our approach is to establish a clear baseline. We use high-resolution retinal photography to capture detailed images of the back of your eyes. These images provide us with a reference point to monitor any changes over time and are invaluable in detecting subtle shifts in your retinal health before symptoms appear.
Annual Eye Exams: For most diabetic patients, we recommend an annual comprehensive eye exam, which includes a dilated retinal exam. Dilating the pupils allows us to see the retina more clearly and assess the health of the blood vessels in the eye. If we detect signs of diabetic retinopathy or other diabetic eye diseases, we can intervene earlier to prevent further damage.
Enhanced Imaging and Monitoring: Depending on the stage of your diabetic eye condition, we may use advanced imaging techniques, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), to obtain cross-sectional images of the retina. This helps us assess retinal thickness and fluid accumulation, which is important for detecting diabetic macular edema (DME).
Collaboration with Your Diabetic Care Team: We work closely with your primary care physician, endocrinologist, and other healthcare providers to ensure a comprehensive approach to managing your health. By sharing detailed findings from your eye exam with your diabetic care team, we ensure that your vision is considered in your overall care plan. If any treatments, such as laser therapy, anti-VEGF injections, or corticosteroid injections for DME are needed, we will coordinate with the appropriate specialists.

Treatments for Diabetic Eye Disease

While early intervention is key, treatments are available for managing diabetic eye diseases, including:

Laser Treatment: For diabetic retinopathy, laser photocoagulation can be used to seal leaking blood vessels and shrink abnormal blood vessels in the retina. This helps prevent further vision loss.
Anti-VEGF Injections: Medications that inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein that contributes to abnormal blood vessel growth, are used to treat diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). These injections help reduce swelling and prevent the formation of new, harmful blood vessels.
Corticosteroid Injections: In some cases, corticosteroids may be injected into the eye to reduce inflammation and control macular edema.
Surgery: In advanced cases, surgical options such as vitrectomy (removal of the vitreous gel and any scar tissue) may be necessary to treat retinal detachment or bleeding in the eye. We will refer you to the best surgeons if this is needed.

Why Regular Monitoring is Crucial

Diabetic eye diseases often develop without noticeable symptoms, especially in the early stages. Many patients do not experience vision problems until significant damage has already occurred. This is why routine eye exams are critical, even if your vision seems fine. With proper monitoring, we can catch problems early when they are more treatable, and the risk of permanent vision loss can be minimized.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that individuals with type 1 diabetes begin eye exams within five years of diagnosis and those with type 2 diabetes should begin eye exams immediately after diagnosis. After that, annual exams are typically advised unless more frequent monitoring is necessary.

Protect Your Vision Today

Managing your blood sugar is crucial for overall health, but maintaining regular eye exams is just as important to prevent the complications that can affect your vision. If you have diabetes, don’t wait until symptoms appear—schedule an eye exam today and let us help you preserve your eyesight for the future.