Diabetic retinopathy, is a lesions in the retina of the eye that appear in the evolution of diabetes, occurs in 40-50% of diabetic patients. It is the most serious ocular complication of diabetes, leading to cause blindness. 25% of blindness in our country have this origin.
What causes it?
The onset and progression of diabetic retinopathy are related to alterations in glycemic control. Hyperglycemia (blood glucose levels) causes lesions in the retina and in the arterial vessels. These injuries are aggravated by hypertension patients often suffer with diabetes.
The frequency with increasing years of evolution of diabetes and patient age. It also accelerates the progression of retinal involvement during puberty and pregnancy, times when the risk of destabilizing the glycemic control is greater.
What are the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy?
In the early stages of diabetic retinopathy is usually asymptomatic and detected only by studying the fundus by an ophthalmologist. The main symptoms include impaired vision and see the images blurred, distorted or black spots.
How is it diagnosed?
Diagnosis is made from history and by studying the fundus.
What is the treatment?
The main measure to prevent diabetic retinopathy or slow the progress is adequate glycemic control. It is very important to control by the ophthalmologist periodically to diagnose lesions on the retina at the earliest possible moment.
The retinal lesions are treated by laser photocoagulation technique is usually painless and ambulatory performance. When lesions can not be treated with lasers may be necessary to perform a vitrectomy (surgical removal of the vitreous body of the eye).
Other recommendations
It is very important, along with strict glycemic control, other potential factors that facilitate or exacerbate vascular lesions of retinopathy. Thus the diabetic patient should strictly avoid the consumption of snuff and alcohol use, and control high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Also diet and exercise performance measures of treatment are critical to maintaining the physical and functional state of the organism in the diabetic patient.
They must keep good visual hygiene:
* Maintain regular eye control;
* Wear eye visual correction if required;
* Use sun protection glasses;
* Do not use eye drops or eye medications unless specifically directed to doctors;
* Use eye protection filters when working with computers or computer equipment screens;
* Do not subject to overloading the hearing or visual effort. Read and work with sufficient light intensity and guidance.
* Use eye goggles in case of activities that may involve risk of injury, burns to the eyes
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