Diabetic retinopathy is a common eye disease in diabetics. Those who suffer from diabetes are also at high risk for other eye diseases such as glaucoma and cataracts. All of these eye diseases can cause severe vision loss to blindness.
Diabetic retinopathy disease process caused by the changes that occur in blood vessels of the retina, which is a thin membrane is formed by nerve cells that line the rear two thirds eyeball. Nerve cells in the retina receives light and sends signals to the brain about what is seen by the eye.
Diabetic retinopathy consists of two stages, namely:
Nonproliferatif retinopathy. An early stage of this disease process. During diabetes, this condition causes the small blood vessel walls in the eye weakens. Arising from a small bulge on the blood vessels (mikroaneurisma) that can be broken so that the leaking fluid and protein into the retina. Reduced blood flow to the retina causes the formation of patches of the form "cotton woolen" gray or white. Fat deposition in white yellow protein (hard exudates) was also formed on the retina. This change may not affect vision unless fluid and protein from the damaged blood vessels causing swelling in the central retina (macula). This condition is called macular edema, which can aggravate a person of vision centers.
Proliferative retinopathy. Nonproliferatif retinopathy can progress to proliferative retinopathy is more severe stage of diabetic retinopathy disease. The main forms of proliferative retinopathy is the growth (proliferation) of fragile blood vessels on the surface of the retina. These abnormal blood vessels easily rupture, bleeding occurs in the middle of the eyeball so that impede vision. Will also form scar tissue that can pull the retina so that the retina regardless of the place. If untreated, proliferative retinopathy can permanently damage the retina and a portion of another portion of the eye, causing severe vision loss or blindness.
Diabetic Retinopathy usually develops into a number of levels in most patients with type 1 diabetes and some types of diabetes 2. Strict Supervisor of blood sugar levels can prevent the risk of developing severe retinopathy and vision loss. In case of retinopathy, the early detection and appropriate treatment (most often with lasers) can help prevent, obstruct or change the loss of sight.
Those who suffer from diabetes, his eyes should be checked at an eye doctor (oftalmologis) every year, even if they have no complaints even though the eye diseases. Dibetes Association of America suggests checking once a year (starting in three to five years after being diagnosed with diabetes type 1 and soon after being diagnosed with diabetes tipe2) with the following reasons:
Someone who developed diabetic retinopathy unknowingly because the disease does not always cause symptoms until the damage to the retina it worse.
Treatment will be more effective if done before the symptoms and complications developed retinopathy.
With regular eye examination, an eye doctor can find out and cure before continuing signs of retinopathy.
Unfortunately, many diabetics who did not check his eyes once a year to find out whether it has experienced retinopathy (or other eye diseases caused by diabetes). Consequently, they did not know that they have suffered from retinopathy until significant vision loss. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of new blindness in people between the ages of 20 to 74 years. The experts believe many cases of vision loss and blindness may be preventable by taking annual eye examinations in diabetics