Thursday, 27 April 2017

Management And Treatment Of Diabetic Retinopathy

By Cynthia Gibson


A big number of people around the world are affected by the dangerous disease that is diabetes. A person can live long with the disease if they learn of it at an early stage and decide to maintain sugar levels of their body where recommended by the doctor. They can end up dying on the other hand if they do not manage it properly. Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that develops from having the ailment.

As a result of a person suffering from diabetes, his or her retina gets damaged leading to the development of this condition. This is because when blood sugar levels are high, they affect the retina. Blood vessels in turn swell, then leak or there occurs growth of new ones, which are fragile and abnormal. If proper care is not taken, the individual will end up going blind.

Patients in Bethesda, MD experiencing this kind of complication usually go through two stages. It develops slowly, sometimes not showing any symptoms or mild problems with vision, eventually causing blindness. People are thus advised to have regular eye check - ups from trusted specialists so that the problem can be discovered early enough to ensure good treatment.

Non-proliferative stage is the name used to refer to the first degree. Here, one sees very little symptoms or none at all. Many people here have blurred vision or see distorted or darkened images. These images also do look different to the two eyes. Macular edema, which is the swelling of retina, caused by blood vessels leaking, happens here.

At the same non-proliferative level of the condition, an occurrence known as macular ischemia happens. This is where blood vessels are blocked thereby stopping flow into macula. Exudates, tiny particles sometimes are formed in the retina. To determine this first stage, specialists use a fundus photography process to see leakages and blockages in the blood vessels.

The second stage is the most advanced one commonly referred to as proliferative stage. This is characterized by growth of new abnormal blood vessels in the retinal part of the eye. The growth process is called neovascularization. They bleed into the vitreous causing a few dark floaters or excessively to block the entire vision. They also lead to formation of scar tissue that cause retina to detach.

Bethesda, MD hailers with this problem lose their central or side vision or both. The process of testing for the second stage is by use of funduscopic exam. Treatment is then decided by choosing from the three available methods. Success of the method will be dictated by how far the patient was into the condition. The earlier they do the higher are chances of success.

The methods include administering laser surgery, vitrectomy and injection of corticosteroids into the eye. Although these treatment methods are proven to work, they do not cure the condition but rather help to manage it and prevent loss of vision. Therefore the best way to fight it is to monitor your diabetes very well and ensure healthy eating and living habits. This will allow timely detecting of problems as they arise.




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