Many Americans suffer with the effects of type one or type two diabetes. One of the most devastating effects of this medical health condition is the development of diabetic retinopathy. Many Americans currently suffer with diabetic retinopathy, which can make it difficult to complete day-to-day activities and lead to total vision loss. If you have diabetes, it's important to follow up with an optometrist for the management of your diabetic retinopathy.
At Vision City of Lake Worth in Lake Worth, TX, we offer effective treatments and can help provide preventative care for diabetic retinopathy. We want to help our clients manage their diabetic retinopathy with the help of our optometry specialist, Dr. Lieske. She can help prevent your diabetic retinopathy from worsening and leading to vision loss.
What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease caused by the buildup of glucose in the eye. In people with diabetes, it is difficult to control the amount of blood sugar levels, leading to a buildup in the back of the eye known as the retina. As glucose builds up, the eye needs to form new blood vessels in order to replace the damaged blood vessels. However, these blood vessels are not as strong as the original blood vessels, leading to bleeding and other complications.
Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy might not appear at first. However, as diabetes is poorly managed, diabetic retinopathy symptoms can emerge, including:
- Dark spots in vision
- Partial vision loss
- Blurred vision
- Dark strings or an increase in floaters in the eye
How Our Optometrist Can Help
Annual eye exams and screenings are an important tool to help prevent diabetic retinopathy from growing worse. Your optometrist will conduct annual eye exams as well as screen for diabetic retinopathy by dilating the eye.
In addition to having a screening done every year, it's important to manage your diabetes, control your blood sugar levels, and control your blood pressure and cholesterol. All these factors will help in preventing diabetic retinopathy from getting worse. If your diabetic retinopathy has worsened, your optometrist might use medication such as injections in the eye, or other treatments to help restore your vision.
Although these treatments can help in slowing down the progression of diabetic retinopathy, it's important to remember that proper management of your diabetes and learning to live with this chronic illness is the best way to prevent diabetic retinopathy from getting worse.
Stay Healthy with Us at Vision City of Lake Worth
At Vision City of Lake Worth in Lake Worth, TX, our optometry specialists will help keep your eyes healthy and prevent diabetic retinopathy from getting worse with preventative care such as screening. Call us at (817) 546-9000 to schedule an appointment!