Keep an eye on your eyes

HEALTH

Diabetic retinopathy is a common but rarely diagnosed condition.

We've heard of diabetes leading to high blood pressure, obesity, heart diseases and renal failure. But a much less talked-about and even more infrequently diagnosed result of the condition is retinal damage.

Known as diabetic retinopathy, it affects every fourth diabetic and, in undiagnosed or untreated cases, may even lead to permanent blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy usually occurs in either those diabetics whose blood sugar is largely uncontrolled or those who've lived with diabetes for more than 10 years.

Since this form of eye damage often has no early warning signs, doctors suggest that diabetics get their eyes checked every six months as precaution.

The condition starts when, due to diabetes, the retina, which is the main nervous tissue in the eye and where the images of what we see are formed, undergoes changes.

"Existing blood vessels in the retina become weak and there is also formation of new, fragile blood vessels. Because these are weaker vessels, the chances of blood leakage is higher," explains Dr.

Ajay Sharma, chairman and managing director at the Sheetla Hospital and Eye Institute. This bleeding of the vessels, also known as haemorrhage, leads to damage in the eye and blurred vision. Initially the haemorrhage is not severe and the blood spots often go away within a few hours.

But, gradually, the severity of the condition increases, leading to black spots in the vision, weak vision and sometimes even blindness.

Early diagnosis and treatment is the best way to control this degenerative condition. Eye angiography often reveals any changes in the retina, thus enabling quick diagnosis and timely treatment. However, there are other forms of diagnosis as well, like ocular coherence tomography.

The treatment for diabetic retinopathy can be of three kinds, of which two involve laser treatment and the third "" vitrectomy "" is an eye operation.

Even though blindness is the very last stage of this condition, experts warn that if it is left untreated, the patient's vision cannot be rectified even with spectacles. So, just as you are careful about the state of your heart, if you're diabetic it would be a good idea to also keep an eye on your eyes.