Can Eye Damage From Diabetes Be Reversed?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that interrupts your body’s ability to turn food into energy. Your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar. The sugar then moves into your bloodstream. Whenever this blood sugar rises, your pancreas releases insulin. Diabetes occurs when your body cannot produce enough insulin or does not sufficiently use the one it has.

At this point, things get worse. First, a flood of sugar stays in the bloodstream. The buildup of sugar over time results in serious health issues. Among them are vision problems, kidney disease, and heart disease. Diabetic retinopathy is a vision problem that develops because of diabetes.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Tiny blood vessels in the body are responsible for supplying nutrients and oxygen to the retina. Any damage to these blood vessels is detrimental to the cells around them. The retina is the part of your eye that sends sight images to your eyes.

When light enters the eyes, it reflects off your retina. Next, special cells transfer the same information via the optic nerve. When these cells begin to die off, they affect your retina. It means the retina can no longer send distinct images to your brain. The result is vision loss.

Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy

Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy are difficult to notice at the onset. Once the symptoms begin showing, they can develop from mild to total eye damage. The first symptoms may include strings, dark spots, or mistiness in your vision.

Over time, symptoms of the disease escalate. The mistiness in your vision becomes worse. Dark spots in your eyes become large and may completely block your sight. These symptoms may affect both your eyes at a go. Lack of treatment can lead to retinal detachment, hemorrhage, and glaucoma.

Is Diabetic Retinopathy Reversible?

Thanks to advancements in modern science, there are treatments for diabetic retinopathy. However, there is still no cure for the disease.

An ophthalmologist can help treat retinopathy, though it depends on two conditions. These conditions are early detection of the disease and early medical intervention. A delay in intervention may result in total eye damage.

Treatments

The first step in treating the disease involves regulating blood sugar levels. However, your ophthalmologist can use two methods of stopping or slowing the progression of the disease. They may opt for laser surgery or intravitreal injections.

An ophthalmologist can use laser surgery to control the growth of new, weak blood vessels. The surgery keeps the blood vessels from bursting. A powerful light beam from the laser reaches the back of your eye during the surgery.

Your ophthalmologist may use an intravitreal needle to reach the vitreous humor. The vitreous humor is the gel-like liquid inside your eyes. The intravitreal injection helps the ophthalmologist deliver medication directly to the retina.

Prevention

Currently, there is no cure for diabetic retinopathy. The ideal way to manage the conditions is to keep yourself healthy. Follow your doctor’s advice on managing your blood sugar levels. Maintain a healthy diet and get into the habit of exercising. If you already have diabetes, visit your eye doctor periodically and get an annual dilation eye exam.

For more on eye damage from diabetes, call Limestone Eye Care at (785) 268-6880 to reach our office in Lawrence, Kansas.