DIABETIC RETINOPATHY
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye condition that can cause vision loss and blindness in people who have diabetes. It affects blood vessels in the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of your eye).
The condition can develop in anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop this eye complication.
SYMPTOMS
- Spots or dark strings floating in your vision (floaters)
- Blurred vision
- Fluctuating vision
- Dark or empty areas in your vision
- Vision loss
CAUSES
- Diabetes can cause multiple eye diseases including cataracts,
- glaucoma,
- and diabetes-related retinopathy
- which is defined as damage to the retinal vessels of the eye.
- These damage vessels can lead to poor blood flow (ischemia),
- inflammation,
- and ultimately legal blindness if not treated.
RISK FACTORS
Anyone who has diabetes can develop diabetic retinopathy. The risk of developing the eye condition can increase as a result of:
- Having diabetes for a long time
- Poor control of your blood sugar level
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Pregnancy
- Tobacco use
- Being Black, Hispanic or Native American
COMPLICATIONS
Diabetic retinopathy involves the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the retina. Complications can lead to serious vision problems:
Vitreous hemorrhage. The new blood vessels may bleed into the clear, jellylike substance that fills the center of your eye. If the amount of bleeding is small, you might see only a few dark spots (floaters). In more-severe cases, blood can fill the vitreous cavity and completely block your vision.
Vitreous hemorrhage by itself usually doesn’t cause permanent vision loss. The blood often clears from the eye within a few weeks or months. Unless your retina is damaged, your vision will likely return to its previous clarity.
- Retinal detachment. The abnormal blood vessels associated with diabetic retinopathy stimulate the growth of scar tissue, which can pull the retina away from the back of the eye. This can cause spots floating in your vision, flashes of light or severe vision loss.
- Glaucoma. New blood vessels can grow in the front part of your eye (iris) and interfere with the normal flow of fluid out of the eye, causing pressure in the eye to build. This pressure can damage the nerve that carries images from your eye to your brain (optic nerve).
- Blindness. Diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, glaucoma or a combination of these conditions can lead to complete vision loss, especially if the conditions are poorly managed.
The Preventive approach towards diabetic retinopathy
A preventive approach is the best ayurveda treatment for diabetic retinopathy. With each passing stage, the hurdles in treatment keep on increasing. For e.g., there are many advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy. Proliferative retinopathy is one among them. Here, circulation problems deprive the retina of oxygen. As a result, new, fragile blood vessels can begin to grow in the retina and into the vitreous gel that fills back of the eye.
