Diabetes and the eye

People with diabetes are advised to get their eyes frequently. Do you know why?

Diabetes weakens the blood vessels in your body. This can cause bleeding and fluid leakage from the blood vessels and damage the tissues. This can adversely affect the heart and the kidneys besides the eyes.

In the eye, we can directly see the blood vessels in your retina and detect early signs of damage like small hemorrhages and exudates. This is a condition called DIABETIC RETINOPATHY. At the early stage, this can be treated with laser therapy and sight can be preserved. If it is not treated in the early stages, it worsens to a condition called proliferative diabetic retinopathy which is very difficult to treat and can cause severe loss of vision and even blindness.

Regular eye check-ups are the only way to detect this condition at an early stage.

The patient does not have complaints in the early stage.

Your diabetologist would also like to know whether you have retinopathy as it gives him valuable information about the condition of your blood vessels.

People with diabetes are also more likely to have GLAUCOMA. Glaucoma is a condition in which the eye pressure is increased and there is damage to the optic nerve. With glaucoma too, the patient will not have any complaints in the early stages. It is important to detect it in the early stages to prevent permanent damage. So eye check-up is the answer. We check the eye pressure and see the optic nerve every time you see us.

Diabetic patients are also more likely to develop CATARACTS. Cataracts are treated with surgery. Cataract surgery gives the best results when it is done before the cataract becomes too hard or fully mature.

Dr. Jagruti Desai ( M.S. Ophthalmology )

Oculus eye hospital
Tel. 9820094152, 9819983158