In the United States, diabetes is fast becoming one of the leading causes of blindness in adults. As of 2007, 23.6 million children and adults in the United States suffer from diabetes, and the number is still growing. Also, surprisingly, one third of persons with diabetes have not been diagnosed. One of the reasons for this disease being America’s aging population and rising rates of obesity.
Although eye problems can be a cause of worry for the people with diabetes, most diabetics have only minor eye disorders. One of the major serious outcomes of the disease can be blindness or vision loss. Other problems include Diabetic Retinopathy, a condition which occurs in the persons with diabetes. Diabetic Retinopathy causes damage to the retina, the light sensitive lining at the back of your eye. It is a serious sight-threatening complication form of diabetes.
Diabetic retinopathy symptoms include:
- Seeing spots or floaters in field of vision
- Blurred vision
- Having a dark or empty spot in the center of the vision
- Difficulty while seeing at night
Treatments
If the disease peaks to the advanced level, leakage of fluid from blood vessels could result in macular edema. And only laser surgery could seal leaking of blood vessels or stop new leaky blood vessels from forming.
To minimize inflammation or stop the formation of new blood vessels, eye medications may be needed. If the situation worsens and reaches critical stage, a surgical procedure may be needed to remove and replace the gel-like fluid in the back of the eye, known as the vitreous. A retinal detachment caused due to diabetic retinopathy which involves separation of the light-receiving lining in the back of the eye, may also require surgical repair.
