Diabetes is a complex threat to your health on many fronts. Elevated blood sugar levels have the potential to damage organs and tissues throughout your body.
Diabetic retinopathy is a complication that damages blood vessels around the retina, or the image-forming tissue at the rear of the eyeball. While it takes time for noticeable symptoms to emerge, diabetic retinopathy can lead to blindness without treatment.
At Advanced Lasik in the Midtown East section of New York City and Long Beach, California, Dr. Randa Garrana and our team provide the care you need when retinopathy begins to interfere with your vision. Let’s take a closer look at the condition, how it progresses, and how you can prevent vision loss.
High levels of blood sugar, characteristic of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, damages body tissue from within, and its effects on the blood vessels that supply the retina are responsible for the symptoms of retinopathy.
Existing blood vessels become blocked, sometimes forcing your body to create new tissue to maintain the blood supply to the retina. Often, these new blood vessels fail to form fully, causing blood leakage within your eye.
However, the most common form of diabetic retinopathy is nonproliferative, meaning that new blood vessels aren’t yet growing. Instead, the existing vessels in your retina weaken and cause blood leakage that becomes more severe as time goes on.
Advanced diabetic neuropathy starts when abnormal, new blood vessels form. These weak vessels create scar tissue that pushes the retina away from the back surface of your eye, a condition known as detachment. Optic nerve damage is another potential complication.
As the most common form of diabetic eye disease, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in Americans between the ages of 20 and 74. Part of the problem is that there are no signs or symptoms of the condition in its early stages.
If you’re living with diabetes, these steps can lower your risk of retinopathy-related vision loss:
Since anyone with unmanaged diabetes can develop retinopathy, it’s crucial to control your blood sugar levels. This may require a diabetes management plan that includes blood sugar monitoring, medication, lifestyle changes, and regular medical visits.
Every patient has their own ideal plan, so work with your primary care physician or internal medicine practitioner to develop a solution that keeps your A1C blood glucose level within a healthy range. This prevents any further damage to eye tissue based on blood sugar.
Annual comprehensive dilated eye exams reveal diabetic retinopathy in its early stages. Eye exams with Dr. Garrana help you to discover any changes before you suffer vision damage. Add Advanced Lasik to your diabetes support team.
Nicotine has a negative effect on blood flow and blood vessel walls. Added to the challenges of high blood sugar, smoking and the use of other products containing nicotine may accelerate the deterioration of your eyes.
Extra pounds also place a burden on your circulatory system. Even modest amounts of weight loss improve conditions within your body, including vascular health.
Adding moderate levels of low-impact physical activity — including biking, swimming, and walking, stimulates aerobic activity — is another way to improve cardiac and vascular health, a key factor in limiting the damage that diabetic retinopathy can cause.
If you’re overdue for a comprehensive eye exam, call or click online to request an appointment at Advanced Lasik in Midtown East, New York City, or Long Beach, California, today.
