How Does Diabetes Affect Eye Health?

Stating that diabetes, which is popularly known as diabetes, affects the whole body, Eye Diseases Specialist Op. Dr. Şeyda Atabay said that diabetes also causes significant damage to the eyes.

Eye Diseases Specialist Op. Dr. Şeyda Atabay said, 'As with many diseases, diabetes is sometimes first diagnosed by Eye Diseases Specialists. In the routine eye examination, we find the damages of diabetes incidentally in the fundus scan, which is called the back of the eye or the fundus of the eye, '' he said.

'Damage to retinal vessels can blind them'

Emphasizing that diabetes damages the vessels in the retina layer (mesh layer), which has a very important place in the visual process in the back of the eye, Op. Dr. Atabay, 'Retinal layer retention is called diabetic retinopathy. Damage to the retinal vessels may cause edema (pooling) in the macula (center of vision), which can slowly and progressively reduce vision. Apart from this, it may cause sudden vision loss by bleeding into the eye. In addition, apart from the damage it causes to the retinal layer, it may lead to cataract formation and decreased vision at an early age.

Stating that the most important factor in the disease is the high level of blood sugar, Op. Dr. Atabay, 'It is the rapid changes in blood sugar level and the duration of the disease. The onset of diabetic retinopathy is usually in the form of small bubbles in the vessels. In a patient diagnosed at this level, we can regress the disease with blood sugar regulation and diet. However, additional treatments are definitely required in the patient who comes to the visual center where severe bleeding begins, at the level where edema has developed. With the treatments to be done here, the disease cannot be completely corrected, but only slowed down, "he said.

Noting that if the patient has additional hypertension and high cholesterol problems, the course of diabetic retinopathy can progress faster and damage the eye more. Dr. Atabay said, 'In cases where damage begins at the back of the eye, laser treatments to the eye and injections of drugs to reduce vascular formation and reduce edema are made. In the advanced stages of the disease, intense bleeding in the intraocular fluid and vascular problems on the anterior surface of the eye may develop. The treatments to be done during these periods are more aggressive surgical interventions. Depending on the level of their illness, people with diabetes should have eye fundus scans at certain intervals by an ophthalmologist. Many tests, such as eye fundus angiography, should be performed during the course of the disease.