Diabetic Retinopathy
What is diabetic retinopathy?
To find out what is diabetic retinopathy, we must begin by knowing that is diabetes. Diabetes Mellitus is a condition which reduces the body’s ability to store and use sugar. High levels of blood sugar, excessive thirst with increased urination, and changes in blood vessels of the body are the characteristics of this disease.
Also diabetes can cause serious changes in the eye. Cataracts, glaucoma, and occasional blurred vision, changes in blood vessels of the microcirculation of the eye, are some of the changes occurring in diabetic patients.What causes it?
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye complication of diabetes. And it is caused by deterioration of blood vessels that nourish the retina at the back of the eye. Deteriorating blood vessels can cause dilation of the vessel wall causing leakage of fluids such as plasma or blood. The end result is the appearance of retinal edema and hemorrhages.
The possibility of developing diabetic retinopathy is higher in patients who have had diabetes for a long time. About 60% of patients with diabetes for over 15 years or more have abnormalities in blood vessels in your eyes. Young diabetics are more prone to develop diabetic retinopathy at a younger age. However, only a small percentage of these retinopathies has serious problems of vision, and a smaller percentage can lead to blindness. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among adults in new countries in West and diabetic patients are 25 times more prone to blindness than non-diabetics.